Treadmills to deadlifts: Why Gen Z are swapping cardio for strength training

When Antonia Duffin, 34, started going to the gym, she wanted to lose weight and tone up.

It became such a big part of her life that she decided to become a personal trainer alongside her day job in operations for a supermarket chain - and now runs her own women's gym in Manchester.

"Some of my clients want to feel stronger, some want to get in shape for a baby and some are struggling with other conditions like endometriosis and want to feel better," she says.

Hybrid training, like Hyrox, which is sociable and competitive, seems to have taken over from running on a treadmill or general cardio on a bike, she explains.

Antonia also notes an appetite for more strength training workouts among younger clients, adding: "I think people are now realising the importance of it - we're preventing osteoporosis and things like that."

Do numbers bear that out? And how are workouts across the UK changing?

According to Sport England, more young adults are going to the gym, using exercise machines and weights to keep fit compared to nine years ago.

"Gyms offer broader types of exercise, like resistance training, which can improve body composition and shape more quickly than aerobic exercise training," explains exercise expert Dr Andrew Scott, from the University of Portsmouth.