David Lloyd or pure gym

[freechickennuggets]

So I live in kidbrooke walking distance to both pure gym and DL I joined DL as I have back pain for swimming and spa which I use 3 days a week minimum but I don’t use the classes or gym as I don’t like the set up of there gym no private studio area to do your stretching etc so feels uncomfortable doing that front everyone standing behind me but cost is 240 a month. The other option for my back is recumbent bike treadmill etc in pure gym and I can do my own workout and stretches in there studio area more private get my workout done all in one go for £20 a month but no swimming or spa what would you all choose?

Completely different

I was a member of that DL and it’s more of a lifestyle/health thing rather than just a gym

but if you just want to focus on exercise go with pure gym

Mainly just exercise so thought swimming is a good option which pure doesn’t have and with my back spa is a nice bonus but I thought for the price I can also get a good workout on a bike at puregym and do my own workouts I guess it also depends what form of exercise is more enjoyable

Enjoy swimming but I suffer anxiety so a large club can feel daunting at times but I do enjoy swimming but don’t want to travel to go anywhere else so it’s pure or DL

Bit like saying Waitrose or aldi? Not the same offerings really

If you have a DL contract it will take a while before it ends so can you trial Pure Gym payg during DL notice period? Or will your costs get hiked if you change your mind and want to stay?

For me, it's DL or nothing though.

can you afford both? If you are paying £240/month for DL then presumably another £20/month to add the gym at PG wouldn’t be a stretch?

As above, it’s like comparing apples and oranges. We are members of the DL near us and we use it a bit, definitely don’t get our moneys worth but it’s one that’s been heavily upgraded every few years and the really invest in it.
Ds and I use the gym a couple of times a week and dh and I use the spa a couple of times a week too, just for an hour or so, we don’t hang about in there. Steam, sauna, I usually have an outdoor swim.

I think you just need to decide if you’re happy to spend or would prefer to save the money and just use PureGym.

As others have said maybe both?

DL is lovely but often way overpriced and hard to leave. 3 Months notice from some seemingly random date they pick.

Some of the branches offer a short membership. May be worth asking .

Pure gym is easy to leave and often have special deals on

I’ ve been going to gyms for decades. And I think swimming is the best option. So would be reluctant to give up that

The swimming is hard to give up it’s so lovely and doesn’t feel like excercise but I get nervous in larger environments

But don’t want my anxiety to be a reason I quit something I enjoy £240 already feels expensive so extra 20 just adds on top when I can be saving even if it’s a little something every penny adds up I guess. Just prefer one place I can get all my workout done.

What’s the point of DL if you are only swimming/spa? Are there no other pools in your area? private ones?

Yeah was thinking of joining pure gym on my door step and pay as you go swim somewhere else couple days a week 10 minute bus journey but no spa

We had this exact dilemma. We went for DL in the end and I’m v glad we did as I get a lot out of the pool.

I know what you mean about the set up for stretching and I felt v self conscious the first time I used the room but you get used to it really quickly and now I just go in and crack on with the stretches. No one is watching anyone else really, they’re getting on with their own thing.

I do use the gym and was far less intimidated by the gym at DL than at PG which was full of people in their twenties and thirties whereas DL has a wide spread of ages. I’m mid-fifties.

I guess it depends what you’re after from a gym. We didn’t opt for the package that gives access to the spa as we are there to keep fit and I know that given half a chance I’d go to the spa rather than the gym and kid myself I’d had a workout 😂. We go at least 3 times a week and use the gym a couple of times and swim once a week. I’m really pleased with our choice but we do get our money’s worth.

Hi thanks for your input I’m terrible with decisions lol know what you mean with the spa sometimes it’s tempting to not excercise and go straight to spa haha. If I go with DL it would be just swimming 3 days a week spa couple days a week but more time spent there in the summer outdoor pool. At puregym just back friendly machines bike treadmill etc some Pilates and stretching in the studio more privacy. Also I’m 38 back of a 80 year old lol

£240 seems crazy to me, that's the same as my mortgage! I'm with Bannatyne and they have pool, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and it's less than £60 per month and I thought that was expensive!

My partner is with pure gym and I wouldn't go there, his gym seems very 'macho' it's not as clean as mine and no hairdryers, or proper changing rooms. It's also very, very busy at peak times and he often has to wait for equipment.

£240 a month to go swimming three times a week seems nuts. DL is a lifestyle though. My MIL goes to socialise and seems to spend most of her week there.

Have you tried yoga for your back?

Not just the swimming the spa facilities as well. But yes is expensive

Well if the swimming and spa are what you use, it would be pointless to move somewhere that doesn’t offer them.
Is there no halfway house like a Nuffield or something? Would be half price or less than DL
and still have a nice swimming pool.
Mind you if it’s the outside heated pool, you can’t really beat that. I was at DL
for a while and loved the outdoor pool, but wasn’t going often enough to justify it and then they started closing it over the winter.

Someone I know is also there most days, works part time now and leaning into retirement, I see her there occasionally and she’s always chatting to someone she knows from down there.
im not into the social/lifestyle side, im there to either gym and sweat or spa and sweat 🤣 the outdoor pool is nice, indoor is always busy whenever i go but on the off chance its quiet I can’t resist getting in!

Yeah same I’m not one to really socialise!

Yeah same im not really one to socialise!

Better Leisure is about 40 quid for a swim membership, you can get the 178 to the new centre in Woolwich, which also has a thermal spa (not sure how much this on top)

There's alot of Better pools in Greenwich Borough, including Charlton Lido which isn't far from you

I always found that Pure Gyms' studio areas were constantly infested with the overspill of the Functional Fitness crowd (after they'd already dragged equipment from the main area into theirs, spread out between the machines in the main area and still not managed to make it impossible to move, exercise or leave without risking permanent damage from ropes, blocks, weights, abandoned Concept IIs, men dangling off the lat and pec decks one handed and generally making it as unpleasant a place as possible. Oh, and music at 120 dB+ (was a sound engineer, I know exactly what SPL it was). There was no way if there wasn't a personal trainer session or a class going on in the studios that you'd be able to get in there - it was a mat by the door at best.

So if you've got the money for a less budget gym, stick with that and develop more focus on yourself rather than people seeing on you.

Wow is that how much DL charge?
I use a CrossFit and can attend every day (teacher led) for £100

Aside from the pool at DL, I don't get what it offers over a normal gym. They seem to have a bog customer base though so I must be missing something

I

The main selling point for me is the heated indoor and outdoor pool and the spa but as it’s only a minute walk makes it convenient where if I had to travel Id more then likely wouldn’t of bothered especially as there parking is ram packed so that’s a bonus but pure is also a minute walk. just think I’d miss the swimming. For the extra 20 I will use both and just see over the next few weeks which I naturally gravitate towards and use the most, a few weeks will tell.