According to the application, a new FS8 studio is being planned for 112 Lydiard Street North, just a few doors down from the train station and near the corner with Mair Street.

FS8 is a spinoff of the popular F45 gym franchise focusing on a combination of yoga and pilates rather than high-intensity interval training.

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FS8 Ballarat co-owner Daniel Kilpatrick, who is also a co-owner of F45 Ballarat, said the idea of the new franchise was to provide a high-intensity workout, but with lower impact than F45, and to make reformer pilates beds more accessible.

"A lot of the reformer bed pilates are clinical and to get into a clinical one, they're quite expensive per session. They can be $60 to $100 for a single session, whereas we thought if we can bring a more gym style of these reformer beds, that you pay $50 or $60 a week for a membership and you can come five, six, seven times a week, it makes it a lot more accessible for a lot of people," he said.

"We have induction classes to teach you how to use them, and really go through the progressions of how it all works and also how to use them to get the best out of them."

Under the plans, the interior of the shopfront would be completely gutted to make room for a 147-square metre training floor.

New storage and bathroom facilities would also be constructed at the rear of the site as part of the plans including accessible toilet and shower facilities.

Each of the long walls on the left and right side of the training space would include five televisions to provide constant demonstrations in a similar setup to the F45 gym while the front and back walls would feature barre bars. More than a dozen speakers would also be fitted throughout the studio.

Signage on the exterior of the studio is proposed to be simple and not illuminated with the awning to feature the FS8 logo on a white background while the front windows will be covered with a black and white FS8 decal to maintain privacy for patrons.

Mr Kilpatrick said the Ballarat franchise would be the first to open in the country after a run of test sites and a tough two years for a fitness industry constantly battling with lockdowns.

"Whether it's courageous or stupid, I'm not sure which one it is but I suppose time will tell," he said.

"F45 came to us and said if we want to do it, they would give us a bit of support to open it up. We've taken it on and the light's at the end of the tunnel now, so hopefully by November 5, we can get back to some normality.

"We're planning to open towards the end of October so it'll only be a week or two with a cap and then hopefully we can get back to normal. Touch wood, it'll be the perfect timing but with what's going on in the world, who knows."

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