Cheap gym for weightlifting in Central London?

lydgate

I've recently started trying to get fit and things have been going reasonably well in terms of weight loss. I'm now interested in weightlifting to build up muscle. To this end I've got some dumbbells at home, which I bought since I figured they'd cost less than a gym membership, but I've now decided I want to start working with barbells, and this just isn't feasible in my tiny flat.

I was wondering whether there's anywhere near Angel that would be a good place to do this cheaply. I want to do barbell squats, benches, deadlifts, maybe cleans or snatches, and eventually weighted pullups. I would need training to start doing so. I live very close to a Fitness First, Virgin Active, and Otium, but I wasn't sure that these would particularly be amenable to people wanting to powerlift. I also assume that their fees will pay for machines and pools and saunas that I have no interest in. (Is this right? I haven't been to any gyms in London, though the people going into Fitness First near me look more like they're about to do pilates than clean and jerks.)

The only place I've found that looks like what I want is down in Peckham --google for "british barbell", I'm not allowed to post links.

Since their fees are so low (start at £10/month) and they seem to be enthusiasts, I'm thinking of going down there in the early stages to learn the lifts, but I doubt I'd be able to get down there very frequently. Does anyone know of anything more central that would be appropriate? The only things it really needs to have are the equipment, the space, and ideally people who would be friendly/helpful to a beginner.

Any help greatly appreciated.

ollyver

lydgate wrote: »

I've recently started trying to get fit and things have been going reasonably well in terms of weight loss. I'm now interested in weightlifting to build up muscle. To this end I've got some dumbbells at home, which I bought since I figured they'd cost less than a gym membership, but I've now decided I want to start working with barbells, and this just isn't feasible in my tiny flat.

I was wondering whether there's anywhere near Angel that would be a good place to do this cheaply. I want to do barbell squats, benches, deadlifts, maybe cleans or snatches, and eventually weighted pullups. I would need training to start doing so. I live very close to a Fitness First, Virgin Active, and Otium, but I wasn't sure that these would particularly be amenable to people wanting to powerlift. I also assume that their fees will pay for machines and pools and saunas that I have no interest in. (Is this right? I haven't been to any gyms in London, though the people going into Fitness First near me look more like they're about to do pilates than clean and jerks.)

The only place I've found that looks like what I want is down in Peckham --google for "british barbell", I'm not allowed to post links.

Since their fees are so low (start at £10/month) and they seem to be enthusiasts, I'm thinking of going down there in the early stages to learn the lifts, but I doubt I'd be able to get down there very frequently. Does anyone know of anything more central that would be appropriate? The only things it really needs to have are the equipment, the space, and ideally people who would be friendly/helpful to a beginner.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Dude, check payasUgym. You will be able to find plenty of gyms in Central London

Savvy_Sue

It would be worth going and taking a look at the places which are convenient, because hauling out to Peckham at regular intervals isn't going to be conducive to long-term use IMO, but I can't believe there's only those 3. Mind you, I have no idea what barbells involve, and no real interest in finding out, so maybe it's a bit niche!

Having said that, I've been using an Otium gym under the 'Schwim for free' offer, and the gym seems to have an impressive amount of kit in a small space!