Exercise support for people with prostate cancer
A collaboration between PureGym, the ICR & The Royal Marsden
About the initiative
The ICR and The Royal Marsden have teamed up with PureGym to encourage men with advanced prostate cancer to be more active.
The initiative will see PureGym offer a free one-year gym membership for eligible* men on hormone therapy, alongside a structured exercise programme from experts at the ICR and The Royal Marsden.
*Eligible people are those with diagnosed prostate cancer who are on hormone therapy. If you have any concerns about your suitability to exercise, particularly if you are known to have disease affecting your bones, please speak to your doctor prior to registering.
Register your interest
Please fill out the form below to register your interest for a free one-year PureGym membership and a 26-week exercise programme with videos. The programme can be followed either at home or in the gym, and contains information and resources to support you in your treatment journey.
Prostate cancer and exercise
Advanced prostate cancer affects around 20,000 men in the UK each year. The main treatment is hormone therapy – side effects include weight gain driven by increase in body fat and muscle loss, fatigue and psychological changes. Long term, these treatments increase the risk of bone thinning, heart disease and diabetes.
Research has shown that exercise can result in a better quality of life for men on hormone therapy, with less fatigue, lower body fat and higher muscle mass, and improved bone density. NHS guidelines recommend that men with advanced prostate cancer are offered exercise programmes.
However, few programmes are available, and figures show that around a third of men with advanced prostate cancer are completely inactive and only around one in eight meet guideline levels of activity.
Financial pressures, fatigue, coping with a major illness, and lack of knowledge about how to begin exercising safely, are all recognised as major barriers stopping men with prostate cancer from exercising. This initiative aims to address this.
Meet the team
Professor Nick James
Professor Nick James is Professor of Prostate and Bladder Cancer Research at the ICR, and Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden.
He says:
“A diagnosis of advanced cancer is devastating. I frequently hear patients being advised by their families that they must take it easy and not overexert themselves whereas in most cases, this advice, while well-meaning is not usually true. In fact, the opposite is true.
“There is growing evidence that exercise, as well as improving general well-being, might also directly improve cancer outcomes. Some studies have shown that exercising is so effective that if it was a drug, we would call it a ‘breakthrough’. However, while prostate cancer patients may be advised about the importance of exercise, they are rarely supported to actually begin – or simply continue – exercising safely.
“Joining a gym, particularly when you are older and recently diagnosed with a major illness, is clearly a major psychological hurdle. It’s also a financial barrier for many people, so we’re delighted to partner with PureGym to offer men with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer who are on hormone therapy this free access to gym facilities. Alongside this, we will provide a structured exercise programme, which can be undertaken at home or in the gym, with the aim of supporting men to build a regular exercise habit that could improve their quality of life and overall health.”
Image credit: Michael Curtis
Emily Curtis
Emily Curtis, Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Research Fellow at The Royal Marsden, designed the exercise programme.
She says:
"I work with people living with prostate cancer to help them stay active during and after treatment with the goal of improving strength, fitness and wellbeing. Exercise is incredibly important but it can be very difficult to get started and maintain, particularly with some of the side effects that come with a cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment.
“Thanks to Sir Chris Hoy’s incredible commitment to championing exercise for people with prostate cancer, and the generosity of PureGym, people with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer on hormone therapy can now access a free 12-month gym membership. I am delighted to be involved in this fantastic initiative, which will support people with prostate cancer to get started with exercise, stay active or build on the exercise they are already doing in a safe, effective and hopefully enjoyable way."
Image credit: Scottish Government
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Sir Chris Hoy
Sir Chris Hoy, six-time Olympic gold medallist, announced the partnership at his inaugural Tour De 4 – a cycling event designed to change perceptions around stage 4 cancer.
He says:
“This is a groundbreaking partnership and initiative which demonstrates the power of the Tour De 4, what it can achieve and the legacy it will leave.
“Scientific studies have shown that structured exercise is the perfect complement to many cancer treatments, but we need to break down the barriers that often prevent patients getting consistent and regular physical activity to experience these benefits.
“Exercise has been a fundamental part of my life and never more so than since my diagnosis of prostate cancer. I find it hugely encouraging that the importance of exercise for prostate cancer is being recognised. This is a significant step forward and potentially transformative.
“I have a long-standing association with PureGym which, more than any fitness organisation in the UK, has the scale, reach and capability to make a demonstrable national impact. I look forward to seeing the results of this initiative in the coming months and years.”
Clive Chesser
Clive Chesser is the Chief Executive Officer of PureGym, a leading global gym operator, with 2.4 million members across 693 gyms globally.
He says:
“Prostate cancer, the most common cancer among men, is a terrible disease with nearly 50k diagnosed with it each year. For a number of reasons many of these men are not as active as they could be and we want this to change, which is why I am delighted to be announcing this partnership, enabled by our national reach and scale as the UK’s largest gym company.
“We hope that offering free membership to advanced prostate cancer sufferers on hormone therapy will enable thousands, across the country, to benefit from regular exercise, with expert guidance from The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden.
“As Sir Chris Hoy, with whom we have a long association, has so bravely shown staying active is a great way of managing the disease both mentally and physically and we are proud to be supporting him with his vital mission.”
About the partners
The Institute of Cancer Research, London
The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) is one of the world's most influential cancer research organisations.
Scientists and clinicians at the ICR are working every day to make a real impact on cancer patients' lives. Through its unique partnership with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and 'bench-to-bedside' approach, the ICR is able to create and deliver results in a way that other institutions cannot. Together the two organisations are rated in the top four centres for cancer research and treatment globally.
The ICR has an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years. It provided the first convincing evidence that DNA damage is the basic cause of cancer, laying the foundation for the now universally accepted idea that cancer is a genetic disease. Today it is a world leader at identifying cancer-related genes and discovering new targeted drugs for personalised cancer treatment.
The ICR is a charity and relies on support from partner organisations, funders and the general public. A member institution of the University of London, it is one of the UK’s leading higher education institutions, placing first for biological sciences and second overall in the definitive ‘REF2021’ rankings of UK university research quality, impact and environment, and provides postgraduate higher education of international distinction.
The ICR's mission is to make the discoveries that defeat cancer.
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
The Royal Marsden opened its doors in 1851 as the world’s first hospital dedicated to cancer diagnosis, treatment, research and education.
Today, together with its academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), it is the largest and most comprehensive cancer centre in Europe seeing and treating over 59,000 NHS and private patients every year. It is a centre of excellence with an international reputation for groundbreaking research and pioneering the very latest in cancer treatments and technologies.
The Royal Marsden, with the ICR, is the only National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre for Cancer. This supports pioneering research work carried out over a number of different cancer themes.
The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money solely to support The Royal Marsden, a world-leading cancer centre. It ensures Royal Marsden nurses, doctors and research teams can provide the very best care and develop life-saving treatments, which are used across the UK and around the world.
From funding state-of-the-art equipment and ground-breaking research, to creating the very best patient environments, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity will never stop looking for ways to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.
PureGym
PureGym is a leading global gym operator, with 2.4 million members across 693 gyms globally. PureGym has corporate owned gyms in the UK, Denmark, Switzerland and the USA, in addition to 23 sites operating with a franchise partner in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
PureGym was launched in the UK in 2009 where it pioneered the model for affordable, flexible, high quality fitness clubs and is the market leader. Typically, its members pay monthly and have no contractual commitment. Many of its gyms are open 24/7 and offer a full range of top-of-the-line equipment, including cardiovascular equipment, fixed-resistance and free weights, as well as classes.
The group is jointly owned by Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., KKR and key members of the group’s management team.
As of 30 June 2025, PureGym had 433 gyms in the UK, 135 gyms in Denmark, 43 gyms in Switzerland, 59 gyms in the USA and 23 franchise gyms in the Middle East (21 in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and 2 in United Arab Emirates).