Leisure Centre Gymnasiums
More and more, people are turning to local Council Funded Leisure Centres to use their often high quality health and fitness facilities. Most of the time they offer vastly cheaper rates than health clubs and private gyms, with the added bonus that instead of a monthly fee, you can usually just pay per visit - so if you're unsure if you can get there 2 or 3 times a week, simply pay as you train!
Councils are increasingly aware that there is a need for good quality equipment and health facilities, and often surpass the equipment levels of private health clubs. Where they don't compete is usually the surroundings, levels of advice from personal trainers and "luxury" services such as free towels, saunas and hot tubs, and the variety and frequency of fitness classes.
We would advise anyone who purely wants some good equipment to use in order to get fit to try out their local leisure centre first - you could save a lot of money that would otherwise be spent on services you wouldn't use. However if you are after the whole health club experience, and need top service to keep you motivated, go for the private option!
How to find them
There is a great site listing not-for-profit facilities in the UK available here: www.ukfitnessnetwork.org - it covers all of London, and it's also gradually expanding to encompass the whole country, although not all areas are covered quite yet.
If you can't find the facilities local to you on their site, we suggest finding your local city or borough council website, which should have details of all of the leisure facilities they run, with addresses, prices and full list of facilities.