LES MILLS LAB RESEARCH
Significant investment in research is an important part of Les Mills’ business and ensures our club partners and their members know that our group fitness programs are safe, effective and powered by science.
We partner with internationally-renowned university research teams to test the effects of our programs on key community health factors such as obesity and heart disease, along with investigations into the motivational and behavioural aspects of fitness. Les Mills Lab research is independent, peer-reviewed and industry-recognized.
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Our team
BRYCE HASTINGS
Head of Research, Technical Advisor, Les Mills International
Bryce is literally the brains behind the brawn, leading ground-breaking research and collaborating with internationally-renowned research partners to unearth the latest and most effective fitness techniques.
Drawing from this research and his time in the fitness lab, Bryce ensures that every LES MILLS™program is safe, effective and powered by science.
Conducting research such as the ‘Get Fit Together’ trial and studies into the LES MILLS GRIT™ program, Bryce has illustrated how Les Mills’ programs dramatically decrease fat percentages, lower dangerous cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and contribute to more effective fitness routines. The research not only provides important insights into methods of fitness training, it also offers invaluable evidence and solutions to address growing global government concerns over rising obesity levels.
Bryce became a certified Physical Therapist in 1986 and completed his Advanced Diploma in Manipulative Therapy in 1990. He went on to complete a Masters in Philosophy at Auckland University of Technology where he serves as a Research Associate and lectured part-time for eight years. In 1990, Bryce opened his private physical therapy practice at Les Mills World of Fitness in Auckland, the original Les Mills gym established in 1968 by Les Mills Senior.
He has co-developed research programs on core conditioning, high-intensity interval training and exercise strategies for sedentary individuals, and he has co-authored reports in a variety of fitness and scientific publications.
DR JINGER GOTTSCHALL
Adjunct Associate Professor, Columbia University, U.S.A
Jinger S. Gottschall, Ph.D. earned her doctorate degree in integrative physiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
She furthered her academic career as a postdoctoral fellow in neurophysiology at the Emory School of Medicine and as an Associate Professor in kinesiology at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Gottschall is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Science at Columbia University.
She was also the founder and co-owner of FITOLOGY, a Les Mills group fitness studio. A passionate advocate for physical activity, Dr Gottschall has dedicated her career to finding programs that promote balanced, healthy lifestyle choices while delivering the results they promise.
DR GILLIAN HATFIELD
Associate Professor, School of Kinesiology, University of the Fraser Valley, Canada
Gillian Hatfield, Ph.D. earned her doctorate degree in Biomedical Engineering from Dalhousie University.
Her research focused on developing prediction models for the progression of knee osteoarthritis based on walking biomechanics. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Physical Therapy, where she looked at the effect of exercise interventions on knee loading and muscle activity. She is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Kinesiology at the University of the Fraser Valley, where she teaches Biomechanics and Athletic Injury courses.
Her current research program focuses on the benefits of physical activity in various populations – older adults, people with knee osteoarthritis, people with a history of lower back pain, and postpartum women. As a Les Mills instructor, she is especially interested in the efficacy and benefits of LES MILLS group fitness programs.