A GROUP of Bradford brothers are hoping that their new gym can provide a "route out" for young people in the area, encouraging them to "get away from the streets" and stay fit.

Maxxout Gym in Allerton opened on 1 September and already has a lot of people coming through the doors, boasting state of the art equipment, fully-qualified personal trainers and even a sporting champion in its ranks.

Umar Khan is a world champion in beeni - a South Asian sport which combines arm wrestling and martial arts - and has since become "a household name" for a lot of local lads in Bradford.

Umar, 28, opened Maxxout Gym with his brothers Yasser, Nazam, Nasser, Abid and Faisal, and the family have seen success so far.

"I used to travel to Leeds for the gym, because no gyms in Bradford had certain equipment that I needed, so we opened our own place", said Umar, who is from Manningham.

"We've done really well in our first month - we have over 550 members, a lot more than expected, and we're teaching them how to train and what to eat.

"There aren't many facilities in Allerton, and it can be hard for young people here, so we're helping the kids out.

"Most gyms have two or three back machines, but we have 12 or 13. We have seven or eight chest machines, eight shoulder machines and a variety of cardio machines, too."

The gym is located in Allerton Mills, on Allerton Road, and has "the look of a proper, old school gym" but with modern equipment, Umar added.

"People don't want to go to the more commercial gyms anymore, where they wait half an hour for a machine, and there's not many staff there to help - this is going back to how people used to train", he said.

"We've taken the third floor, and on the second floor there are lads opening a boxing club, then on another floor we've been looking at opening a martial arts centre - we've never had stuff like this in Allerton before, and having these kind of facilities is a good thing.

"It hasn't been easy, but my brothers have helped a lot. We've had a good start, and soon we are hoping to open a women's only gym, so if any women want more privacy they can have a safe space, and we also want to open gyms in other cities, too."

Umar has defended his world championship title at events in the UK and abroad, where he has had massive turn-outs in Dubai, and in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, where "around 40,000 people" saw him win.

In beeni, the two fighters form a grip, and in a four-round bout have to either break free from their opponent’s hold, or stop their opponent from escaping the hold. Fighters have three chances per round to break the grip, and points are awarded for breaking free or stopping the opponent from escaping.

"He's a Bradford lad and I think the youngest beeni champion to pick up the heavyweight belt, having won it when he was 18 or 19", said Umar's brother Yasser, 36.

"Getting into sport can be a route out for lads in Allerton. They get into a routine, and that discipline is a massive thing."

Maxxout Gym is open Monday to Friday, 6am to 10pm, Saturday 6am to 6pm and Sunday 8am to 5pm.