22nd August 2008
Reebok Sports Club
I have been a member of the Reebok Sports club now for just over a year. Prior to this I had been a member of my local gym and had also tried and tested Fitness First in 3 different boroughs.
I love the Reebok! Its a real luxury gym (with a luxury price tag too I'm afraid!) Weekend membership, from Friday 4.30 through to Sunday evening is currently £55 a month, for the full week, 5am (I think!) until 10.30pm week days, its £100 per month, but safe as to say, you really do get what you pay for.
There are around 160 classes per every week, they happen from around 6am and the last ending at 9pm week days, and weekends, are from around 9am until the last ending at 3pm. I really rate the classes- they are fantastic and a very good way to keep fit. Classes range from Circuit, classes, spinning classes and aerobics through to Ashtanga Yoga, Ballet, Yogalaties and Hula Hooping- The instructors are motivating, approachable and really know their stuff- I have learnt a lot just from going to the classes- its amazing how much you find out your doing wrong and actually not working out at all due to your posture, now I have a lot more confidence to carry on in my own time if I cant make it to a class or decide to workout alone.
There are free towels (not free to take home, but free to use) both on the gym floor/in the classes and larger ones for the showers. The showers are all nicely spaced out, they are power showers, variable temperature, and turn off when you want them to, not when a timer dictates! Also in the changing rooms/shower rooms, there is a sauna and steam room. I think they do an excellent job of keeping the area very tidy and clean, there are cleaners constantly restocking clean towels, cleaning the areas for newer members or there to help you out if your lost! (its a big changing room). Lockers are excellent as you just lock them with a code of your choice, rather then take away a key or card, so you really can lock everything away and forget about it, go to your class and carry nothing but yourself.
There are 3 floors: changing rooms, weights and training rooms and cardio. There is also a swimming pool, it is a little small but the water is not icy cold (very very good!) and the water is UV filtered or something, I think its a way of cleaning it without using so much chlorine. It must do something as my eyes don't sting when I go swimming and normally they do.
The machines are your treadmills, bikes, elliptical machines, ski machines, step machines...and several different varieties I don't know the exact amount of machines in the club but on the top floor I reckon there is about 100.
The next floor down is weights and cooling area. Self explanatory- many many weight machines, and power plates There are many Swiss balls, weighted basket balls, dumb bells... and also the rooms where the classes happen. The rooms vary in size but fit up to about 40. Rarely they will be too full, in fact its never happened when I have been there! It used to be that you had to get a token for smaller classes, but they just made a bigger room and now you don't need tokens at all.
There are also TVs dotted around, and quite a few machines with TV. Channels are normally the Sky News, MTV, The Box, BBC1 and ITV. There are some others like sports channels. I am usually plugged into my ipod (which you can actually slot into the machine and control from the screen of the treadmill as oppose to a tiny screen on your arm!).
The Gym has a nice clean and airy feel, its quite high up so you can see the sky and part of the view around the docklands. Its a nice atmosphere to exercise on as the air conditioning combined with the views, mirrors and light give it a nice sense of calm.
There is also an attached sports shop with Reebok clothing at normal prices, a bar, a drycleaners, a spa and monthly you can also pickup a free massage from the club if you make it to the sessions. There is also a nutritionalist to talk to and you can work out with a persoal trainer for an additional fee.
You can stop your membership any time but have to give 4 weeks notice, to stop the direct debit. If you do remain a member for a while (like about 3 or 4 months) you start to get sent vouchers for things. Nothing mind blowing, but a nice sweetener!
My only fault is that there are not enough classes late in the weekend, they all end by 3pm-ish and this means if you like your lie in, you are left with they gym and working out alone- until the gym closes at 7pm. Also that it can get quite busy at lunch times and between 5 to 8pm week days. I have never had to queue for a machine but I have had to queue for a stretching space or the power plate. Its a good gym and popular, this is the result. I also wouldn't mind the gym being open until 10pm weekends as well as the 10.30pm week days. I can only visit at the weekend so its often hard to get everything in.
I would recommend this gym to anyone who really sees fitness as a lifestyle, not just a part time hobby. It can really make a workout feel like something you look forward to rather then dread.
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