I like bouncing around and being all active or "running around in the sunshine" as I call it regardless of whether or not there is any sunshine or if I am even outside for that matter and to be quite frank the running bit isn't that important but there you have it...
When I did my degree I had to do a dissertation so you can imagine my distress... I didn't even get to run around in the sunshine on the tube escalator at Angel each day! It is on this basis that I joined a gym... (The gym I joined was not a Fitness First gym but was just a local sports centre owned by the council (a good one at that)... So when I compare FF to my old gym this is the one I'm talking about.)
At my old place the induction was quite full on. We got shown how to work all the cardio stuff and very importantly were given technique tips and shown how to use the resistance equiptment in order not to injure yourself. It was a nice big gym area with plenty of space to stretch with mats, sit up thingies and big blue balls. There were wall bars, free weights and mirrors. Like I said... that was my old place...
The reason I joined FF was because my sister had won 6 months complimentry membership and was lovely enough to let me have it. It was for the Camden (London) branch so off I went and claimed my free gold membership.
~~THE MEMBERSHIP~~
Gold Membership at this branch costs £39 (12mth commitment or £45 (3mth commitment) per month. This allows you full use of all the facilities at all branches of FF and there are a lot of them not only in the UK but also a few dotted accross Europe. The London clubs all cost a similar amount but if you live outside of London Gold membership can be as little as about £29 so I'm told.
There are supposed to be joining and admin fees that can be as much as £100. It is a one off fee and with it you get a goodie bag with things like headphones and a towel and some vouchers towards personal trainer sessions and tanning sessions and a couple of free days for mates vouchers. There are so many offers at various times of the year that you would be very unlucky to have to pay the £100. Usually i see it advertised for free or for £20 "for a limited time". I didn't get the goodie bag so I can't comment as to the quality of the towel etc! boo hoo!
In addition to Gold membership there is off-peak membership. At the Camden club this costs £34 per month and allows you to use the gym ONLY between 8 and 4 mon to Fri and after 2 at the weekends. There are also restrictions on the use of facilities at other clubs! Bit pants that really if you ask me as it is not much cheaper than the Gold membership which gives you far more!
The price of membership is a lot less than most other local "all inclusive" clubs in case you were interested and with the membership you can use the facilities at other clubs. This includes the classes and sauna and stuff! which is quite good. I have rarely been to Camden since my induction and instead use the FF at Old St (London) and Islington (also London).
~~THE INDUCTION~~
You have yo do this pretty much whenever yo join a new gym. First you fill in a form asking about any health conditions and a few other questions about why you are joining the gym and what your aims are. I don't know why they bother with half of this as they don't use it... The instructor we had just glanced at the injuries bit.
I think we were quite unfortunate in our induction as we had someone who was very new. Still I don't think this should be an excuse as the equiptment was pretty standard! We did not get taken around the resistance equiptment all that was said about that was there is the weights equiptment and pointed [No shit Sherlock!] and took us arolund the Cardio stuff. He did in all fairness make us get on and have a go at operating the program selecters and stuff buit that was about it... There was no real discussion on what the difficulty levels were like or anything like that. On the rowers he didn't even explain good rowing technique which is something I would expect at the least and only takes about 30s to demonstrate!
All in all I though that the induction was an absolute waste of time... for a start it was over 30mins late in starting during which time we were all waiting arounf like lemons... My old gym was sooooo much better in this respect.
~~THE GYM~~
The impression of the place is very cramped. There is not a lot of space between apparatus which is something not so nice about the club. The FF in Old St suffers a similar problem (although Islington is more spacious). This is also apparant in the weights and stretching areas... there is some space but not much and you are so so so close to the resistance stuff it is silly. At Old Street there is barely even a stretching area at all... when you bear in mind how many injuries are caused by not stretching properly I think this is quite bad.
Aside from that the gym is nice and well equipt. In the gym area there are various television screens set to different channels and you can connect your earphones at points by each of the cardio machines to listen to the channel of your choice or the radio.
~~THE CLASSES~~
There is a good full timetable with allsorts. Aerobics, Yoga, Pilates, Body Combat, Legs bums tums, Circuit, Tai Chi amongst others. There is usually something on which is good. There are mirrored walls in the studios which is always a good thing. Generally the instructors are good and motivating with a smile! As I said... the classes are include so you might s well have a go if the time suits!
~~OTHER FACILITIES~~
Most branches of FF have a video or DVD ;library where you can borrow items for free for a fixed length of time. This is a nice little extra but I don't have a video at the moment so I haven't used this service.
There is a drinks bar which has fizzy drinks on tap, a coffee machine and tea facilities. There is also a water fountain. These are complimentary as are newspapers in the little seated area. Once again this is a nice touch... You can also buy bottled drinks from machines if you prefer.
At this branch as with quite a few there is a sauna. I am not a big fan of saunas as I can't run around in them so I can't tell you much about this facility. Use is included in the membership.
There are also lovely changing rooms... The other clubs I use also have nice changing rooms especially Islington which is spanking new! There are showers with complimentary shampoo and body wash. The changing rooms have a mixture of cubicles and open space so you can decide on how much you want to flash! There are mirrored seating areas with hair dryers as well. Oh and the toilets have been clean every time I have used them!
The lockers are operated with your membership card. You put your card in (like you would put in a 20p or whatever) and close the door and take a key... Just don't forget your card when you leave of you'll have strangers laughing at your digital photo HaHa!
The only downside is that they don'e provide towels. Apparantly Islington are looking into a towel hire facility but I can't confirm this. Other FFs I have spoken to (Fetter Lane and Holborn) don't do towels either which is a pain if you don't fancy carrying too much around if you want to use a gym near work or something.
There is a beauty salon at the Camden branch. For the services you have to pay extra and the prices are pretty similar to other beauty salons. I guess its just quite convenient.
~~HELPFULNESS OF STAFF~~
I have had absolutely no problems with the staff at FF. They all seem to be very polite etc. There was only one thing that worried me... in the gym I have seen people using the equiptment badly (the rower which is my pet "running aroung in the sunshine" toy)and nobody who worked there stopped her and gave her tips... This was at the Old St branch and I think it is because the staff can't really see the whole room from where they are. The only reason I mention it is that at my old gym there were alsways lots of staff who would come and advise you if you might be hurting yourself or even if you were just not using equiptment effectively.
Like I said the staff are lovely. This goes for other branches whose receptionists have faxed me class timetables and explained stuff to me.
~~FURTHER INFORMATION~~ www.fitnessfirst.co.uk is a very good site. It does not contain pricing information but it does tell you all the facilities in all the clubs and give you a bit more info as to their location adn how to contact them.
If there is anything I have not covered please leave me a message.
In the meantime I'm looking forward to punching and kicking to music (Body Combat)... an excellent form of running in the sunshine of a studio.
