Couples strolling hand-in-hand and wearing matching knits; jewellery adverts with lovers adoring gazes - as the dark chilly nights close in it seems that you can't escape paired off couples and if you don't have someone to share the winter evenings with then it could be tempting to sink into the comfort of your sofa and forget about the outside world.

But fear not singletons - according our research the footloose and fancy-free people of this world are finding love and companionship at the gym.

Harpers customers seem to be swapping speed dating for a session in the gym; with 51% saying that they might consider approaching someone who they fancied in the gym, with 88% saying that they would be more inclined to approach someone in the gym if they had previously flirted or at least made eye contact.  Not surprisingly only 6% said that they would approach someone at the end of the work out.

Harpers research showed that a good bum was the biggest turn on in the gym, getting 45% of the vote and 22% of respondents saying that people who worked hard during a work out was the biggest turn on.  The motto of this.work hard on bum clenches!

34% of the people said that they have already found love in the gym or were at least working on it so it seems that a trip to the gym could prove to be your perfect winter warmer in more ways than one.

Victoria Branch, marketing manager at Harpers Fitness says:  "We all need some motivation to go the gym, especially in the run up to Christmas, so what better reason than the possibility of a quick Christmas kiss under the mistletoe."

In case you still need an extra push to persuade you to ditch the lonely couch, Harpers is offering the Harpers Experience: an induction session with a personal trainer, full body health check, movement analysis and follow-up personal training sessions for just £20. The package has proved so popular Harpers has extended a pilot scheme in 12 of its centres to all 70 Harpers gyms across the country.