As i have never been to fitness first i cannot comment on how they operate but as a fitness unlimited customer i can say the following.
Fitness Unlimited (Sheffield):
Firstly I am the kind of person who has never done any exercise in my (adult) life. So the fact that I decided to join 'Fitness Unlimited' came as quite a shock to my closest friends and family.
Fitness Unlimited is a way of joining four fitness centres in Sheffield: Ponds Forge, Hillsborough and Don Valley stadium, not forgetting concord. The idea of belonging to four centres may seem a little strange but in fact gives you the best of all worlds. As Ponds Forge is often used for national and international events, it allows you to use a different centre when their facilities are unavailable. It also means that they can provide a much wider range of activities throughout the consortium. Having so far only tried out the Ponds Forge sports centre, I can only talk about their facilities but I have been assured that the others are similar.
The company itself Sheffield International Venues, has an interest in to many activities in Sheffield including, City hall, three golf centers, and of course the Roundhouse Nightclub.
The facilities themselves are fantastic. You can go lane swimming (in an Olympic size pool at Pond's Forge), fun swimming (with flume slides, bubble pool and a lazy river!), use the gym, circuit training, aerobics, aqua aerobics, yoga classes and maybe best of all (for me anyway) full use of the health suite, which includes Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room.
The Health club also has been quiet when I have visited and although the Jacuzzi was out of order on my last visit, the general service level has been excellent. Also, which I found quite surprising, the steam room and sauna are always friendly chatty places, rather than stare-at-your-toes-in-silence areas. And on occasions is set-aside for single sex groups.
There are changing areas close to every facility (mixed in some areas) and I have always found them to be clean, tidy and with plenty of cubicles.
And the best bit? Saved until last, is the price. Only £19.99 per month! Unbelievable but true! You do have to pay by direct debt, but personally I find this a lot easier than receiving a bill or having to pay in person at the start of each month.
All of the machines are new at Ponds Forge and they all have the same (or similar) control panel, which makes it very easy for a beginner like myself.
Our instructor pointed out she could show us around for as long as we liked and we could always go back to her at any time during future visits for a repeat explanation. We can also have a free assessment, during which the instructor follows you around your work out for an hour and then develops a personal training programme for you.
Do you remember herol Bomber Graham Sheffield’s long lost fighter well boxer, well he runs a Boxercise class on Wednesday and Friday nights, good for those who need to lose aggression.
More details
Price
£19.99 a month through direct debit
Size
Very Big
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