indoor cycling has been identified as the most popular group workout in the UK – beating pilates and yoga – by a new industry report from ukactive and the DataHub.

The Moving Communities: Active Leisure Trends 2018 report indicates that group cycling currently makes up 13 per cent of all exercise classes.

Other findings from the report – which was based on data from more than three million customers and 150 million individual visits across 396 leisure centres over the past three years – include that group workouts are far more popular with women than men.

While 38 per cent of women visits are for group exercise, the percentage of men visiting leisure centres for group classes is only 14 per cent.

Women also make up 74 per cent of group exercise participants.

The report also confirms that swimming is the choice of exercise of the elderly population – and much less popular among the young.

Swimming makes up 39 per cent of visits for people aged 75 and over, compared to just 8 per cent for those aged 16 to 24.

"This report shines a light on the key trends influencing public leisure," said Steven Ward, ukactive CEO.

"Our sector now knows more about how customers interact with fitness facilities than ever before – understanding when, where and how they work out.

"Armed with this knowledge, operators are better able to tailor their fitness offerings to meet the wants and needs of their customers, which can only help support our goal to get more people, more active, more often."

Describing the report, DataHub Director Utku Toprakseven added: "Our primary goal in working with ukactive on the Moving Communities report remains to address the wave of inactivity we face; getting the nation more active and healthy by giving the industry valuable, credible and actionable insight.

"This report is a great example for DataHub’s mission coming to life through strong sector partnerships; helping operators and delivery partners to unlock the potential of their data."

To read the report in full, click here to download a copy from the ukactive website.