Virgin Active to roll out ice baths and more for those who want to chill

Fancy an icy plunge after your workout or sauna as you visualise yourself dipping into a frozen lake in a Scandinavian country? Virgin Active members in Johannesburg will soon get a chance to experience this, as the fitness group plans to roll out the ice bath concept at select gyms in the city after a pilot project at its club in the Silos at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town proved a big hit.

It is one of the new fitness trends the company, which is 67% owned by Christo Wiese-backed Brait, is looking to bring to its clubs as it increasingly melds exercise, mindfulness and healthy eating into an overarching lifestyle concept aimed at drawing feet through the doors and keeping them there.

Virgin Group CEO Dean Kowarski says that since the ice baths (one in the men's changing room and another in the women's changing room) were introduced at the Silos, they have become so popular that the company is considering installing even more.