Balaam Leisure Centre – I’m now a gym goer!

by | Dec 20, 2013 | Fitness

I’m officially a gym goer now.

I signed up to a gym that is very local and is only 7 minutes walking distance from where I live. Last week I had a tour of the place and I pretty much liked it from the start. It’s funny as I did a Google search for this gym and there were quite a few negative reviews.

Here are a few of the reviews:

balaam leisure centre negative review

Negative Review of Balaam Leisure Centre

The leisure centre/gym has an overall rating of 3.1 out of 5. This is obviously not very good and I do think they need to make a few changes – that aren’t too costly nor too difficult to make.

So what are those changes?

I agree with the second review above – and that was made a year ago. Staff at reception seemed a little abrupt and they aren’t really behind the idea of ‘customer care’ or any other term that benefits the customer. Retraining or just be nicer to your customers? I don’t know, but someone out there does and it’s definitely an issue as other people have also posted similar issues with abrasive staff.

Another thing that I didn’t do today at the gym was have a shower. The shower room was wet, looked old, and was dirty. It could definitely do with a remodelling, as it’s just not up to scratch. I wouldn’t shower in there and I didn’t. Luckily I only live 7 minutes away, so I can just shower at home.

These aren’t really major problems. Also, for the price of just £19.95 per month, you really can’t complain too much. I’m the sort of person to not really care that much about these other things that people are pointing out – so as long the price is right then I’m comfortable with attending this gym. During my tour of this gym the tour guide actually did say they would be remodelling – hopefully that also includes the gym shower room.

So, how about the actual gym room?

In my opinion the gym room is pretty nice. Others have left reviews saying that the weight lifting section leaves a lot to be desired. I can certainly understand that point of view, as the gym – during peak hours – will be full of people wanting to go on the same machines that you’re using. I think it’s pretty much a free for all, and I could certainly see people waiting to go on the machines they’d like to use if the gym is full. Perhaps they could introduce a booking system? Then again, that may put a lot of people off from joining in the first place.

Factoring in the price and all the other stuff that I’ve pointed out, I would rate this gym/leisure centre 3.8 out of 5. If you’re looking for a no frills gym – then this is definitely the place to sign up.

What did I do in the gym today?

Enough with the review and onto what I actually did today.

I did 15 minutes of running and sprinting, 20 minutes of arm curls, 6 minutes of press ups, 20 minutes of poorly done sit-ups/crunches and 6 minutes of front planks. On that last bit, front planks are bloody difficult. They look really easy, but after a while it really hurts your arms, but you can definitely feel something happening around your ribs and abdomen.

I did enjoy today and it did feel like a good workout. I’ve actually signed up for a sort of plan that I’ll go on, which will happen on Sunday. So, instead of doing these random exercises, I’ll have a set routine. I’m actually quite excited about that.

Peace.

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