The Gym Group

cazs

Hi,
Just wondering if anyone has any experiences of being a member at one of The Gym Group gyms? Currently with Fitness First for a while now but a new gym is opening up even nearer me. It's about 1/2 or 1/3 or what I pay per month in fees and open 24hours so quite appealing.
However, I just wondered if, given the low prices, people find it gets super busy. I am also aware it's only staffed 8am-8pm and had anyone had any problems with safety etc exercising when there's no staff around.
Any info from current users would be appreciated.
Thanks

jenniewb

I've not used a Gym Group gym because I've had friends who used the local Gym Group gym nearest me. They all had similar experiences of lockers being broken into and items stolen, once contacting the Police little was done because the thefts were happening so regularly and the CCTV was never clear enough for the Police to identify anyone. The Gym Group were of no help with people trying to get items back or even prevent future break-ins and just said items were 'left at owners own risk'.


The problem wasn't the locks people were using but the hinges on the lockers which were smashed and broken off for items to them be taken from the lockers. No staff were around to prevent this happening and it meant people were unchallenged.


I'm not saying all 24 hour gyms are like this, but if you can speak to people at the gym you are interested in this could help because once stolen it's often hard to replace things. Even if it's just your shower kit a towel and change of clothes and house keys which in the case of one friend was all it was (luckily a shared house so someone was at home and locks were changed ASAP) it isn't an experience I think you'd want to pay a membership for.


Not sure if you have a local council gym near you, some are better than others but I know the ones near me lowered their prices when the 24 hour gyms came along to compete, they were once £50 a month and now are £25 a month- not open 24 hours but the lockers are safe to leave things in at least!

ukjoel

I belong to the one in Southampton and its got its good and bad points.

Good - its cheap - I pay 10.99 a month to go (local council gym thats about to open will be £40 a month and wont be open 24/7) - however the downside is its incredibly busy as certain times as its the cheapest in town(despite being a massive gym).

Its open 24/7 and the security to get in is very good. After 8pm you need to enter an 8 digit passcode to get into the building and then another 8 digit passcode to get into the gym (second entrance is a cylindrical tube that you stand in so only one person can enter at a time.

There are lots of cameras in the gym itself (although not sure how many are connected. The Southampton gym seems to have staff around until after midnight.

I never leave anything in the lockers so cant talk about security there. There are outside lockers in the gym itself but I imagine they get full quite fast.

The music is awful - truly hideous on an epic scale and you need your own headphones and sound to just blot it out.

It does attract a lot of posers and people who love themselves. I find this all rather amusing but I imagine at busy times it must wear thin.

Because they charge a low membership they want to get as many people in as they can. January was a nightmare month with new years resolutions but after 9pm its fine.

ukjoel

Forgot to say - their is no membership commitment and they do day rates so best thing is to pay £5 for the day pass and try it out yourself. I think they also do some free days but I only ever skim their emails. And it has wifi - nothing my wife loves more than a sweaty selfie of me while she is at home eating easter eggs.

Hutchch0920

I had a membership for about 4 years and never had a problem. I never saw any signs of locker damage or had any security issues myself; I am a young woman.

Sometimes it was quite busy in the free weights section but generally most of the members were always prepared to sub in and out

surfsister

http://www.thegymipswich.co.uk
is this one of them? if so £99 a year at the moment and I've been several times 2 large gyms and not seen it over full also loads of classes!

cazs

Thanks for the replies.

I actually signed up today online - my FF still runs till the end of the year but I figured for £13 and a waived joining fee I can try out the first month and cancel if I don't like it, or I see you can freeze the membership for £5/month so I could use FF till the end of the year, then move to TGG still at the special price.

That's the plan at least.

Good to hear other females haven't had issues. I've never had a problem at FF but it's always staffed. As I often go early or late to the gym, I was just a little unsure that I'd feel a bit vulnerable.

As per the lockers, not a worry for me fortunately, as I just carry a gymsack around with me as I live about three minutes away so go home to shower and this new gym is opposite my building so all of 10 seconds away.

It opens in June so I'm looking forward to trying it out. They already gave me my entry PIN though I have heard people sometimes try and watch it over your shoulder and use your code so will be aware of that.