Don't Overlook Your Local Leisure Centre... (Gyms in General)

Member Name: beckstrous

Product:	Gyms in General
Date:	14/10/02 (289 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great value, No snobbery, Lots of choice

Disadvantages: None to speak of.

I'd been meaning to join a gym for ages, really I had. But the guys at work were paying a whopping £80 per month at Cannons in central London, and that was on top of a joining fee - all a bit expensive, I concluded. Unsurprisingly, I put the gym on hold, but office discussions about treadmills and cycle machines got me feeling a little left out...and that was when I remembered that there was another gym right on my doorstep.

This is how I discovered the fitness suite at Cranleigh Leisure Centre. I went to school in this village and we used to have swimming lessons at the centre, which always seemed a little tatty. I suppose I'd always assumed that the gym - if there was one - would be decidedly downmarket, so I almost forgot it existed and only bothered to check when it was recommended by a friend.

How wrong I was! The Isospa - as it is now called - has recently been rebranded, and is run by a company called Serco on behalf of Waverley Borough Council. When I went along to ask about membership I was given a quick tour of the gym itself, an overview of the other facilities and some details about how much it would cost, all without so much as a hint of the snobbery I've come to associate with gym culture.

I promptly joined, and for £32.50 a month I get unlimited access to the gym, the relaxation area (which has a spa bath, steam room and sauna), swimming pool, aerobics, yoga and other classes. There was no membership fee and the opening hours (6:30am-10pm on weekdays and 8am-8pm at weekends) are sufficient enough for even the busiest of people to fit in a few hours' excercise/pampering a week. And don't let the very reasonable price tag fool you into thinking it's second best to the more expensive gyms - there is a Division 1 footballer who trains regularly at the Isospa, so if it's good enough for him...

I love the freedom of being able to use all the facilities at the Leisure centre as part of my member

ship, and I tend to divide my time between the gym, the relaxation area and the fitness classes.

The Gym
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There are 45 cardiovascular and resistance different machines here, including treadmills, three different types of excercise bike, steppers, rowing machines, crosstrainers and various sets of weights. The gym is T-shaped and is arranged into three different sections - one concentrates on cardiovascular excercise, one on weights machines for your legs and one on free weights and machines for your arms (I quite like this, because I rarely use the arm machines and don't like to watch beefcakes pumping iron!).

The room is air-conditioned and has two televisions, with a range of satellite channels (they're usually on MTV, which is the most popular choice as music's good for motivation, though sometimes they switch to Sky Sports if it's not busy). There are also stretching mats, ab cradles (for sit ups!) and excercise balls dotted about the place.

You get all sorts of people of all shapes and sizes at the Isospa - from Division 1 footballers to ordinary folk like me, just trying to keep up an active and healthy lifestyle. Staff are very friendly and helpful, and they encourage you without being at all intimidating. Occasionally the place gets quite packed, but I'm working out which are the best times to go (and if you get it right, you can almost have the whole place to yourself!).

The Relaxation Area
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I like to visit this bit once a week, usually with a friend when I get back from work on a Friday evening. There's a steam room, which is great for cleansing your pores, a nordic sauna (which gives a dryer sort of heat) and a bubbling warm spa bath - which, I'm told, is quite good for helping tone you up. It's a nice way to start the weekend, and doesn't seem to be that busy early on Friday evenings either.

The Excercise Classes
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Now, I'm terrible at aerobics. I never bother, so sick am I of the embarassment of swinging my right leg forwards when everyone else is swinging their left arm backwards. You get the picture...my friend Louise claims that the aerobics classes at Cranleigh are "a real laugh", however. Instead, I go for "Legs, Tums and Bums", which requires less co-ordination and more resistance to pain. Not recommended if you don't like sit-ups, but because you're in a class with others you find yourself motivated to do things you wouldn't normally bother with.

There are also other classes (Step, Body Balance and Yoga to name a few, as well as aqua aerobics in the pool) and the excercise studio is very pleasant, with air conditioning, a sprung wooden floor and mirrors along one wall. The teachers aren't too frightening, either...

The Other Bits
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There are two swimming pools (one is for learners, and the other is a 25m x 10m general swimming pool) and the Leisure Centre also has a creche, a cafe and some squash courts (the only things not included with membership). The place has certainly improved almost beyond recognition since I used to visit it in my schooldays and if you're local, and looking for a gym to join, then I would not hesitate to recommend it. I think it's fantastic value at £32.50 a month - and it never ceases to amaze/amuse me when I think of the £80 my colleagues are paying. I will never overlook the local leisure centre again!

Summary: