A Word from a Member

As the weather turns colder and the nights grow longer, it can often be hard to motivate yourself to get out and exercise. Fortunately, there is an indoor alternative that can help you continue your health and fitness journey all year round; the swimming pool.

After 12 years working for the same company, I suddenly found myself with 5 weeks gardening leave. I was a little worried that I would become lazy during this time but luckily I have a good friend who very kindly gave me 1 months temporary membership to use the Laboratory in Mill Hill giving me the perfect chance to fill my time, whilst making the most of the lovely facilities!

I live in Borehamwood and the Lab is only a 15 minute drive from me, straight up the A1 and just off the A411. It's tucked away behind some houses and flats and if your eyesight is as bad as mine, you could miss the right hand turn into the spa and health club.

Once through the car park barrier, parking spaces can be found. Depending on the time of day, the car park can fill up quickly, however I have never struggled to find a space.

A warm welcome from reception awaits you. The area is bright, spacious, clean and can be filled with smells from either the juice bar or ESPA treatments.

During my time, staff have been very helpful by checking to see if spaces were available for the classes that I wanted to do. Being a temporary member, as you would expect, club members get priority booking.
Andrew was very friendly and attentive and offered to show me around the club. I was shown the juice bar, the day spa, the swimming pool and the gym. The changing rooms are kept spotless and you'll find both open plan and cubical changing areas. The showers are lovely and hot and shower gel and shampoo can be found in each one. There is also a large area with big mirrors and hair dryers. Plenty of lockers for all but you will need a padlock. The club will lend you one if you forget yours!

Pana, a very experienced Lab Pro, did my gym induction. She has been with the club for 9 years and clearly enjoys her job and working with her clients. We sat in the assessment office to talk through any ailments, what my goals were and what I was hoping to achieve. Once we established that, it was time to move onto the machines.... Pana talked me through all the machines, gave me a quick demo and then asked me to try them out. She asked if there were any ones I particularly liked and if there were any I disliked. For my plan, I chose the treadmill / cross trainer / rowing and ski machine along with some weight machines and floor exercises for my arms / legs and tummy. Pana then hand-wrote a gym programme especially for me.

The club offers a huge variety of classes! I've been to Aqua and I was super impressed by the way all the equipment (woggles / weights) were laid out pre class, meaning that the instructor can turn up and go straight into instruction mode. A super fun class that is easy on your joints, should you have any problems in this area.  I've also watched some of the Zumba classes and the participants are always smiling, it's a high energy class and the music is fab! 

The swimming pool is a 25 metre pool that has a lifeguard on watch. The majority of the time, the pool is split up into lanes (slow / medium / fast) with a larger lane for a general swim. In the swimming pool area you will find a sauna, a steam room and 2 jacuzzis that can be used pre or post swim or part of a spa day. You'll find loungers around the pool, should you just want to lie back and relax.

My experience at the Laboratory has been excellent and I would definitely recommend it to my friends and family.

Suzie x