Student Gym Membership in Central London / South London

d.m_3

Hi al

Im a student in london and i need a gym membership. im not keen on joining my university gym becuase its really crowded all the time, im thinking of joining a chain gym.

I joined LA fitness for 1 month about 2 years ago in london, Hallam Street. I paid for a £50 gift box which i then used myself, which was a 1 month membership.

Could anyone fill me in on any deals that are currently happening, or how to get good deals. Ive read the guides on MSE and the gym forum, which havent really helped too much, anyone else got any tips, hints and advice how to get the price of a gym memberhsip down.

I'd like to use it for 3 months, not sure if im gna be using it any longer cause of exams and the fact that i live in south london but i spend at least 12hrs a dya in central london every day so i might as well go there as its convinient.

jenniewb

Am just ending my LA fitness membership (can't stand the smell of people who refuse to be clean/wear deoderant!) Its currently around £65 a month. For the last year I've been paying £47 a month! Whopping increase and so not worth it!

My local council gym is pricey for what it is, but is still cheaper at somewhere between £20 to £40 a month- would be cheaper still if I was a student- maybe worth checking out your local council gyms?

I know not to join Fitness First as they have a habit of charging people long after you've left and being taken to claims courts to get back what your owed/and any charges incured- so not worth the stress!!

Ideally I'd join Virgin or another posh gym, but don't think thats happening any time soon- the current London fee for Virgin is £89 a month!! (so worth it though- if you have the cash and like me have a gym obsession and spend a lot of time there!)

Look around but be wary that they are all going to be very busy for Jan until mid Feb when people make new years resolutions and try to lose a lot of weight very quickly before realising that food makes a bigger difference then excercise. Exercise helps but its what you put into your body that makes the difference...I digress...!

d.m_3

Outtch, thats one hell of a price rise in two years. What happened to deflation??? lol. Well im not a fan of my local council gym and it'd be a bit out of my way to get there in the morning. I travel on the South west train service to London Waterloo and then to university (UCL). I pass through Wimbledon / Clapham / Waterloo / Charring Cross / Leicester Sq. etc. So a gym near those locations would be great.. but the more central you go the more expensive, i know. It's so frustrating. Just emailed LA fitness asking about discouts, hopefully i'll get a reply from them.

I haggled a Fitness First membership down to £35/month on tottenham court road, for 3 months (this happened 2 years ago).. but at the time i was a poorer student and that was too much. I'd pay that now, but given your statement about FF above, i'd now reconsider altogether.

d.m_3

Also, you're prob wondering why i said no to the £35/mo for 3 months and why I took the £50/mo LA fitness deal 2 years ago.. i couldnt commit £105 for 3 months, it was my first gym membership so i wasnt sure if i'd be committed... so it was better to spend £50 for 1 month at a nice gym and enjoy the facilities instead.

jenniewb

The reason for the LAFitness price rise (I think) is because they have a new 'celeb' fronting them, for the past year or so it had been that really irritating Harvey guy from that fit-fat club TV show (the army guy who shouted to get people moving, Ann Widecomb was a candidate) obviously he was cheaper then the new 'celeb': Alisha Dixon who recons she'll be going to the Leadenhall and Picadilly branches (yeah right- love to see her queue for the treadmills for 20 minutes with the rest of us!) the gyms are too over crowded as it is!! And classes (which she wont be doing btw) are already so far overbooked that you have to book now online 3 days in advance from 6.30am. If you try to book at 9am, everything has gone.

Stick with a council gym if your looking to save cash, if you can afford better, go to a posh gym as the facilities will knock you out! The facilities at LAfitness do not warrent the price they charge. They don't allow chavs though so that is a major bonus! But not with the new fee and not when you can compare them to a council run gym who although the facilities do need to seriously be redone (mould and dust and litter everywhere) staff who can be so red-tape its laughable but LAfitness from what I can see -aside from the central London Picadilly branch, only clean once a year : December-January. Then cut costs on cleaning. Shocking but true. It shocked me anyway-The classes are OK but no better then my local gym, or maybe I just have a good local gym! (SE london so out of your reach I'm afraid!)

I didn't think I could commit to a proper membership 3 years ago when I tried a posh gym (Back when I was working in a good job) I joined a gym where it was pay every month and leave any time you want, but the price was scary high! (v.posh gym which back then I could afford- as long as I didn't go out anywhere/buy anything/eat anything posh!!) I loved it! I did worry about value for money but I was there 6 days a week several hours a day! I loved the classes and the community, the facilities were that of a hotel and was well worth the money-it was not a challenge to commit to it- if you have the money to and want to really get into the gym lifestyle then do look into it and you can get trial days in most gyms. But if your just after somewhere cheap and cheerful, stick to the council run gyms. The LA fitness/Fitness First gyms aren't really all that much better yet charge up to 100% more!

Kirri

Have a look at Kinetika gyms, they are around the SW/S London areas and prices aren't bad. They usually have a trial offer, free day or sometimes (ie probably new year/summer etc) they offer a shorter term membership or you can (or used to) pay per session fee to try it. I've found then a lot cheaper than any of the bigger chains.

d.m_3

Wow great to see all the replies! I was initially attracted to LA because of the atmosphere. Hallam St. was nice and clean, it was quite niche and small, had a nice community feel to it and the facilities were pretty complete! The staff were helpful and the people were pretty cool, many wealthy guys with interesting stuff to say.

Anyone got any idea how much I could haggle the £65+ fee down to? Im a student and im willing to ask, and ask again, and perhaps one more time for good luck They must surely do a student rate?

I'll also check out Kinetika, havent heard of them but i'll take a look and see whats in store.

DjP

Hi

Yes I would love to know if La Fitness have a student rate, too.

Or how low I can haggle them to.

What's the lowest anyone is paying per month.

Though they currently have 18 months for the price of 12 months.

I don't mind paying for a year, but do they let you pay cash up front.

As I don't want them to take DD as there have been so many horror stories.

Anyway, what's the best price you think I can get from LA Fitness?

Thanks for any help x

P.S. opening poster if you have Tesco vouchers you can save 75% I don't so boo hiss

d.m_3

I saw some people giving out LA fitness leaflets earlier but i was driving, couldnt get a glance at them. Anyone know what they're promoting.. or any offers for LA?

belfastgirl23

Are you sure the student gym is always busy? We have a student centre near us and it's actually very quiet first thing in the morning, quietish mid morning, and doesn't really get busy till lunchtime....

jenniewb

d.m wrote: »

I saw some people giving out LA fitness leaflets earlier but i was driving, couldnt get a glance at them. Anyone know what they're promoting.. or any offers for LA?

Current offer is "pay nothing until feb 2010"