Holmes Place, Edinburgh

...up.

Holmes Place is an established chain, and their brand spanking new Edinburgh club is the biggest gym in all Scotland!! I was lucky/ gullible enough (delete as per your opinion!) to sign up for this place before it opened, at the bargain joining fee of £20.

Bear in mind it’s £59 a month membership after that though! It isn’t a cheap option in anybody’s language but as a regular gym bunny I know I will get my money’s ...
...UPDATE ***

Holmes Place continue to impress me with their commitment to customer service. They send out a monthly newsletter, updating members on changes and improvements, and seem keen to listen and respond to our concerns. The timetable has been dramatically expanded with an average of 15 classes per day! Add to this the fact that they are doing a whopping big weeks worth of fundraising for Comic Relief - and you see why I'm impressed.
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Hurrah! Ciao have finally created a proper category for this, so it is now PF-friendly ;) I wrote this a couple of months ago and still stand by every word...

Right. So we’re all in the same boat. Christmas and New Year are now but a tinselly memory, leaving us with nothing but unwanted socks… and a big flabby tum. It’s a well known fact that this time of year is a gold rush for the nations gym owners, as we all dash eagerly to sign up for the nearest available fitness ‘quick fix’.

And you certainly don’t need me to tell you that there’s no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to fitness! You need to do it 3 times a week (working out, that is), and raise your heart rate for at least twenty minutes, preferably forty or even a little bit more. If you don’t make the effort, you won’t see results. You need to be committed! (Half of Ciao’s male population sigh lazily and shuffle towards the exit).

So now that you are ‘on board’ and willing to commit to your new regime, what are the options? Well, if you’re at home a lot then obviously an exercise bike or workout video will suit you well, especially if you’re a busy parent or whatever. If like me, however, you are lucky enough to live in a reasonable sized town or city, with a few evenings a week to spare, then joining a gym is by far the best way to get motivated.

There are so many gyms around these days – most of them part of chains – that standards are generally very high across the board. Every gym worthy of the name will offer a wide array of weights, machines, classes and usually a pool, sauna etc too. Luxury extras such as fluffy towels, satellite telly and large lockers are fast becoming standard as the competition for your business hots up.

Holmes Place is an established chain, and their brand spanking new Edinburgh club is the biggest gym in all Scotland!! I was lucky/ gullible enough (delete as per your opinion!) to sign up for this place before it opened, at the bargain joining fee of £20.

Bear in mind it’s £59 a month membership after that though! It isn’t a cheap option in anybody’s language but as a regular gym bunny I know I will get my money’s worth.

I’ll talk you through the Holmes Place experience as if you were at my side, coming to the gym with me.

Ok, so after a very convenient bus journey we arrive at the Omni Centre at the top of Leith Walk. The smell of popcorn from the cinema above grabs our imagination but you must fight the urge to go to the movies! We’re here to get fit, not slob out. After passing through the sliding glass doors that lead to the gym, we go down into the reception area. If you’re wondering why there are so many air hostesses here, it’s because in fact they are the gym receptionists. I’m not a big fan of their uniformed appearance but so what – they’re a friendly bunch and very obliging.

For today, we’ll skip the bagel and coffee shop in the foyer – tempting though the smell is!

We swipe our membership cards through the slot, and go through the turnstile. If that sounds like you’re about to enter Wembley Stadium, don’t worry. This place is pot plant heaven, and very civilised! We pick up our fluffy towels (I always have two – one for me, one for my hair) and walk to the ladies changing rooms. (Men – you are an honorary chick today, ok?). As we go, we pass a big plasma screen with all the days classes and news items on it.

And here we are in the huuuuuge changing room. Finding a locker will never be a problem in here – there are hundreds of them. The area is divided up into lots of little rooms, so you’re only ever actually naked in front of a few people at a time!! There is a private cubicle available but to be honest it’s only really used by elderly ladies.

So now we’re in our groovy gym gear, let’s stroll out and see what’s happening. Ok so we are now in the main gym area – and yes, it is f***ing massive! There are at least ten of each cardio machine – that’s bikes, step machines, rowing machines, cross trainers, you name it. Pick up a wee towel from the wee towel shelf, and have a peruse through todays papers too as you decide what to do.

The weights area is always quite lively, but never intimidating. Women have equal status here and are often just as strong as some of the men. And if they aren’t, that’s fine too. It’s all about keeping it at your own level.

Most new gym bunnies want to have a jog on the jogging machine. Did you bring your headphones? Good. You can plug them into the entertainment channel and listen to the radio or watch tv as you pound away the fat. The jogging machines here even have their own built in fan system!! At the touch of a button you’re running in a light breeze.

Don’t know how to work the machine? Just ask a passing member of staff – they all wear the same red t-shirts for ease of identification, and they are there to help, no matter what your query is. The staff here all seem quite young, I can only assume that they all have the relevant qualifications and experience. Certainly, the ones I’ve dealt with have all been really friendly and enthusiastic.

But I’m not here for the machines or the weights. I come to the gym almost exclusively for the classes, and what an awesome programme they have here. My favourite Body Combat class is on every day of the week! Hurrah – never again do I need to feel guilty about missing a class – I can just go the next day instead. For those of you who don’t know what the hell Body Combat is, read my op! Alternatively, try one of the many other options.

Currently available are: pilates, hatha yoga, astanga yoga, MTV Dance (? Visions of Britney!), ballet fusion, body step, body pump, circuits, body combat, freestyle dance, and spinning. Phew! The classes all take place in the huge aerobics studios to the right of the main gym, in air-conditioned, fully mirrored luxury. There are two big studios for aerobics, plus a smaller ‘mind and body’ studio for yoga and stuff. Spinning takes place in the separate spinning studio. With all these studios to choose from, the programme can be really diverse as up to four classes can run simultaneously.

I haven’t quite ‘found my feet’ yet with the instructors as it’s all so new – this gym only opened on January 3rd this year – but early indications are that the teachers here as as enthusiastic and knowlegeable as any I’ve had in the past.

Right, so we’ve sweated and grunted our way through body combat – now it’s time for the fun bit!

After showering off (again, about a million showers so no queuing required) it’s time for a leisurely swim. Accessed directly from the changing area, the pool here really is the last word in luxury. Decorated in tasteful (but understated) mosaic, it measures a full 25 metres long, making it ideal for swimming laps. To deter swimming loafers – you know, the idiots who just want to stand in the water and chat to their mates – there are 3 swimming ‘lanes’ – slow, medium and fast. So jump into a lane or just amble about in the open part – it’s up to you.

When you’ve had enough, it’s time to slide into the jacuzzi. And prepare to meet the biggest jacuzzi you’ve ever seen! Seating about 12 people in comfort (though not sure I’d love to share my jacuzzi experience with 11 strangers), this is situated beside the pool. From the pool area you can look through the huge glass wall at the poor punters slogging it out in the gym. Slip back and enjoy! Or, if all of this seems a bit too wet for your liking, stretch out on one of the loungers that surround the pool, and read a book.

Before you do your final shower, you may want to visit the sauna and steam room. These are located in the changing areas, so are separate for men and women - thank god! Loud, shouty men in the steam room was my pet peeve at my last gym. It’s a chillout zone, lads! Not a flippin’ rugby coach! Anyway, no worries here – it’s ladies only and very quiet and relaxed.

So now you’ve sweated, swum, steamed and showered. Time to get dry in the luxurious changing rooms – underfloor heating makes it a joy to walk around barefoot – and then put that face back on at one of the many vanity stations. The hairdryers here are the most powerful I’ve ever used – my hair is dry in seconds. There are bottles of cleanser and body lotion to help yourself to, but I can’t vouch for the quality as I bring my own.

There’s a ‘towel drop’ as you leave the changing area and then out we go – time to face the real world again, but feeling fresher, brighter and fitter than we did just a couple of hours ago.

Did you enjoy it?

Well, come with me next time too! I’m dying to try ‘ballet fusion’ and I’m sure we’ll all have a good laugh as I attempt to fly, Billy Elliot-style, like a swan through the air!!

See you next time…. X

UPDATE *** UPDATE ***

Holmes Place continue to impress me with their commitment to customer service. They send out a monthly newsletter, updating members on changes and improvements, and seem keen to listen and respond to our concerns. The timetable has been dramatically expanded with an average of 15 classes per day! Add to this the fact that they are doing a whopping big weeks worth of fundraising for Comic Relief - and you see why I'm impressed.

xx
 

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