As a full time student I believe I can fully appreciate the target market of 'The Gym'. Not…read moreexclusively those in full time education, but anyone with a busy lifestyle who wishes to improve their overall levels of fitness without making the serious financial commitments asked by premium gyms, without compromising on basic standards such as cleanliness, staff and equipment.
At £15.99 a month 'The Gym' is the cheapest in the Glasgow City Centre area I am aware of, even when taking into account other gym's student discounts. Signing up is done entirely online which I found easy and convenient. This is not a contract, and may be cancelled at any time at no cost (convenient when I travel back home for summer).
The location is very convenient, only a couple of minutes away from Glasgow Central Station. It's open 24 hours a day, and whilst I can't say I've yet used it in the small hours when it is unmanned, there are plenty of contact points should a problem arise.
All my dealings with the staff have shown them to be friendly, approachable and importantly enthusiastic towards their work. Personal training is offered, and each PT has a small profile detailing their specialist areas and contact details on a display board in the gym area. At a glance everything from muscle building, weight loss and nutritional advice is offered. Scheduled classes are also offered, and whilst I have never participated, there seems to be a wide variety. I have never found that these classes get in the way of my own work out, with them all taking place in a fairly spacious matted area out the way of most equipment.
Standards of cleanliness seem very high. The changing rooms and showers are immaculate, and the staff regularly do cleaning rounds of the machines and fixtures. My only gripe would be that the gym rule for patrons to wipe down their machines with a towel after use does not seem to be enforced. Naturally this is the fault of those people themselves, but perhaps more prominent signage would help this.
The equipment itself seems to be of a high standard and a good quantity. Even at peak times I have never struggled with finding cardio machines. Fixed and free weights are more crowded, but either side of the peak hour there are few problems. The gym's website features a graph showing the busiest hours, along with your own usage times. Furthermore it features a blog which provides fitness tips, ideas and motivation; It's small things like this which do provide that little bit more value for money.
All in all an excellent gym! I would fully recommend it to anyone who wishes to tone up or lose the odd pound without breaking their bank balance or busy lifestyle.