Virgin Active Fitness Club, Croydon

...I was living at working. Virgin Active Fitness Club in the Grants complex, Croydon, fitted the bill in this respect and I’ve been a member there since November 2008.

== Why Did I Join a Gym? ==

There are many reasons for joining a gym. These include vanity; concern about health; a desire to improve fitness for sporting or professional reasons; programmes for recovery from injury; and no doubt various other reasons that ...
.../> My decision to join Virgin Active rather than any other gyms was based on location and to an extent on brand recognition – I was aware that Virgin Active was a major player in gym provision and felt that I couldn’t go too far wrong. The only other gym I’ve been a member of before was the Fitness First at Cottons near London Bridge, which was an excellent gym with which I was very satisfied, but which was no longer suitable once I wasn’t working ... more

Gyms are a funny thing. If you could transport somebody from any part of human history, they would be amazed by telephones and motor cars, and completely bemused by gyms. They are a bi-product of our unnatural, sedate and overindulgent lives. Exercising in a modern gym is a mockery of our hunter-gatherer heritage; a sad pastiche of the physical and military training of times gone by.

That is not to say that gyms are bad things. They keep us relatively fit and healthy, help us to unwind after our unnaturally stressful days, and allow us to pursue personal objectives and get one over our former slovenly selves. Rather like drugs that help to control a disease, it is good that gyms exist, but unfortunate that they have to exist.

Morbid philosophising aside, I always try to use a gym regularly when I’ve not got a job that involves regular exercise, and so upon taking up my current role at a college in South London, I soon sought out a gym that was close to where I was living at working. Virgin Active Fitness Club in the Grants complex, Croydon, fitted the bill in this respect and I’ve been a member there since November 2008.

Why Did I Join a Gym?

There are many reasons for joining a gym. These include vanity; concern about health; a desire to improve fitness for sporting or professional reasons; programmes for recovery from injury; and no doubt various other reasons that haven’t even crossed my mind.

My gym-going is a combination of the above. Vanity probably takes top spot; I’ve got no desire to possess body-builder biceps or even a modest six-pack, but I am always trying to manage my weight. This has considerable health benefits, but my weight control efforts have more to do with feeling good about myself and increasing my attractiveness to the opposite sex. I’m motivated too by a desire to be physically fit, both to increase my competitiveness when I play sport and to make things easier for me when I return to a job that is more physically demanding than my current role.

I relate this so that you can understand the process by which I judge a gym. I’m interested chiefly in cardio-vascular exercise, with perhaps a small amount of weights work or floor work. I know what fitness standards I expect of myself in terms of running, rowing, cross-training etc. and I’ve got no interest in classes, group sessions, personal training or any of the other peripheral functions of a gym. However I do like a workout to act as a wind-down from the pressures of daily work, and as such I enjoy a calm and relaxing atmosphere, even while I expect my breathing and heart rate to be frantic.

My decision to join Virgin Active rather than any other gyms was based on location and to an extent on brand recognition – I was aware that Virgin Active was a major player in gym provision and felt that I couldn’t go too far wrong. The only other gym I’ve been a member of before was the Fitness First at Cottons near London Bridge, which was an excellent gym with which I was very satisfied, but which was no longer suitable once I wasn’t working in the vicinity (my membership ended in 2006).

Gym Equipment and Facilities

On the face of it, Virgin Active Croydon has all the facilities that a good gym needs. It has a fair range of cardio-workout machines: treadmills; rowing machines; cross-trainers; exercise bikes; and a few other more exotic similar machines that I haven’t figured out. It has all of the usual weights-based machines that enable you to tone the full range of muscle groups in your body, and free weights are also available. It has a handful of mats and exercise balls in a rather grandly titled ‘flexibility zone’. As with most gyms these days, Virgin Active Croydon has a basic swimming pool (20m, rectangular) and it also has a sauna, steam room and spa.

The key question for me is whether there are enough machines to satisfy demand, so that I can carry out my exercise routine at the pace and in the order that I desire. This is usually the case at Virgin Active Croydon, but it is very frustrating on the occasions (particularly in January and February, when all gyms are at their busiest) that you do have to wait for machines to become available. This isn’t helped by the fact that many of the machines are often broken and can seemingly go for weeks on end without being fixed – for example last week no fewer than four of the seven cross-trainers were out of action, one of which must have been out of action for a good month or more. The existence of a ‘Ladies’ Zone’ where men are forbidden also baffles me, as there are often free machines here that I am forbidden from using (while women are also exercising on the same type of machines in the general zone). No gym I’ve ever visited before (which including day passes etc. is quite a few) has ever had a ‘Ladies’ Zone’ and I find it bizarre and a little offensive. I assume the idea is that some women feel more comfortable exercising without men around, perhaps we are all assumed to be perverted voyeurs? And why is there no corresponding ‘Men’s Zone’ in this age of gender equality? In any case the ‘Ladies’ Zone’ is in the same room alongside the general zone, so what difference its existence makes I don’t know, except that it reduces the number of generally available machines.

The weights and floor areas are both very small indeed, and has led to me using these even less than I would have liked. With the weights there are only one of each machine and they are frequently in use, and while the free weights are adequate there is very little space in which to use them. Space is very much a problem with the floor area (the ‘flexibility zone’) which amounts to no more than a couple of mats shoved between the treadmills and the water fountain, so that you feel a bit ‘in-the-way’ and self-conscious when you use it.

The changing rooms are clean and have plenty of space, although there are a limited number of decently sized lockers as most of the larger lockers are not for general use, being either used by club staff or perhaps rented by the month to members (I think I remember seeing this as an option). You have to provide your own padlock, which is fine, and padlocks are available from the reception. The showers are individual and have shower gel (which doubles as shampoo) and hair conditioner provided. They are hot and strong and provide a pleasant tonic to a hard workout. Towels are provided for £3, though I prefer to take my own. The steam room and sauna are clean and pleasant, though small, and the pool is always in good condition and is divided into lanes. I’ve never investigated the spa, which is on a separate floor above the gym, so I can’t comment on that aspect. There are two studios for classes which include all the usual offerings such as aerobics, step, yoga, Pilates and so forth. These are well attended so I assume they are good (they are also free), but the studios do look rather cramped when everybody is in their exercising. I’ve also noticed aquarobics taking place in the pool which is something to be careful to avoid if you just want to swim up and down. There are a couple of handy water fountains and also paper towel dispensers for wiping down the equipment, although these aren’t topped up very regularly which is frustrating.

Ambiance

I alluded earlier to my use of the gym as a means to de-stress after a day in the office, and in this respect Virgin Active Croydon completely fails. I was aware when I first toured the club prior to joining that it lacked a ‘club’ atmosphere and was more of an exercise ‘factory’, but I thought that this wouldn’t bother me as it was the equipment I was interested in. I was wrong.

The whole of the Virgin Active ‘health club’ (except for the spa) is crammed into a single small space, with all the exercise areas in one room and the studios and pool immediately off it. Everything is cramped and angular, and there are not really any plants or seating/relaxing areas to speak of, or any bar or TV room or anything like that. None of this bothers me per se, but it does create an impersonal, cramped, functional atmosphere that is at odds with my desire to chill out and relax. In this respect it is completely unlike the Fitness First at Cottons, London Bridge, of which I used to be a member, which had gym areas in separate rooms, a large pool, a bar and seating area, and also other sports facilities such as squash courts, which all combined to create a more relaxing, ‘club’-like ambiance.

This is no reflection on the staff at Virgin Active Croydon. They always greet me with a smile and when I’ve had occasion to ask them a question they have always been very friendly and helpful. However, their club simply doesn’t have a good vibe to it, which is the main reason that I wouldn’t recommend it.

Signing Up: The Deal

Gyms and health clubs are often disappointingly opaque about their price. To complicate matters they often seek to tie you into long-term deals with long notice periods, yet on the other hand they are often open to negotiation so that you can pay less than the price first quoted.

I signed up for a year’s membership at £47/month. If I had wanted to cancel sooner than that I would have had to pay for the remainder of the year regardless, though it is possible to transfer membership to another Virgin Active club. It is also worth bearing in mind that the membership doesn’t automatically finish at the end of the year; you still have to cancel giving a month’s notice. This I recently did and it wasn’t too arduous, just requiring the completion of a short and simple form.

The annual membership worked out better for me than a rolling month-by-month membership, since I continued to use the gym for the full year. The rolling option is £60/month, which is a lot more expensive, but if you aren’t convinced that you will keep using the gym for a full year (most people who join a gym stop going regularly after 2-3 months), then it may be the most suitable option for you. Other membership options include one that allows you to use any Virgin Active club; off-peak only options; 16-17 year olds’ options etc. There was also a signing on fee, but I negotiated to have that waived. I’m sure that if you push harder than I did you could get a better deal on the monthly membership price as well.

The prices are more or less what I expected for a ‘big name’ gym in London (even an outer London area such as Croydon), but are definitely on the steep side for one with such relatively basic facilities. Smaller, independent gyms can be considerably cheaper and will probably not be much inferior in the way of facilities; for example there is a gym in Croydon called ‘Solutions’ which offers membership options from around £30/month.

To Find Out More

Visit www.virginactive.co.uk.

Final Word

Virgin Active Croydon has all the essential equipment and facilities, but lacks character. It’s a no-frills gym without a no-frills cost. Not recommended.
 

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