Joining a gym for the first time





Liam Coleman - Muswell Hill Member

Joining a gym is something that I have never done before, I’ve always been slightly intimidated by it, and worried that in some way, shape or form I would embarrass myself. But after a month as a new member at one of London’s highest rated clubs, I would wholeheartedly recommend signing up to anyone -  especially if it's the Laboratory Spa and Health Club.  

Just five minutes walk from the famous Alexandra Palace the top class North London spa and gym, situated on a former British Rail laboratory, has been transformed into a beautiful and sophisticated gym. 

It has top of the range strength and cardio equipment, a well-spaced weights area and treadmills with a wonderful tree lined view over the nearby park.

You can read the reviews online for yourself but the facilities at the spa and gym are second to none, but what I found most enchanting was the other people who were also members. 

Friendly, happy to help you, open to have a chat in the locker room or in the coffee shop. The place has everything that you want and need as a new member, looking to throw yourself into what is on offer.

After a pelting run on a treadmill, an intense spinning class, or maybe you’ve just gained a new PB on the weights, the best way to recover I have always found is to try and clear your head. 

Rather than having to make a sweaty tube ride home you can jump in the pool, grab your towel and head to the sauna or stretch out in the steam room. 

It is what has made me want to go back almost everyday, it’s like a treat at the end of the day, and when it is hard enough to motivate yourself to have to join a gym in the first place, knowing that after you have started to sweat off those weekend indulgences you can just go and relax really makes the struggle an awful lot easier. 

Within the first few days I signed myself up for their complimentary monthly refocus session with a fitness coaching expert, where they will run through what you want to achieve from your membership. So I’ve played football all my life, my flexibility has always been terrible, my fitness levels have certainly got worse in the last couple of years but it has got me by. 

In the last few months I’ve been playing football 2-3 times a week, and since I joined I have seen and felt an improvement in all parts of my game thanks to the work and help of those at the gym. In our first meeting, Sam (the trainer) showed me what he thought the best machines were for me to use. He went through adjusting the seat height, telling me roughly what weight I should be working towards, and just made me feel comfortable all round. 

Every time I went back to the gym I was carrying out what he had gone through with me and by the end of the first month I have already seen and felt the improvement in my overall game on the pitch. Just the sort of results you would always want, and being able to see that the work is paying off shows just how much these guys know what they’re doing. So for me, joining the gym has been a massive step in the right direction and the perfect way to start my year, and it’s certainly exactly how I mean to go on.”

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