Fitness First

I have been a member at this gym for well over a year now and have to agree with some of the recent reviews around overcrowding and the service not matching the price point.

Over recent weeks it has been extremely difficult to get a full work out in because of how busy it is! I avoid peak times and even then the free weights room is packed. On a recent occasion I attended and there were two exercise classes happening at once, one in the usual studio but then also one on the main gym floor, utilising all of the lower weighted dumbbells that are already in high demand and blocking a lot of equipment.

In my experience some trainers in the gym will often use 2/3 pieces of equipment at a time with their clients which doesn’t help.

The main reception staff have always been friendly and helpful. However for the price of the membership you should be able to consistently have space and access to the equipment. I suspect it’s an oversubscription issue as this isn’t just a problem during the evening and weekends.

Decent gym, clean, well equipped and great staff.

It gets very very busy especially at the functional area at peak times. I feel like for the price I’d expect more free space at a high end -ish gym.

I was a member but I had to cancel because I moved. However, I still commute for my training sessions with Bernard. Thanks to him, I believe that sky is the limit when it comes to growth and more precisely physical strength. It is hard to explain Ben’s coaching style in words, but hopefully this one may illustrate a part of his work: he detects the imperfections in the movement pattern (squat for instance) which are likely to be responsible for a pain or a plateau, he makes sure that the body makes the correct adjustments and then growth becomes the norm ! Thanks Ben 🙏

I advise you to steer clear of Fitness First, which engages in some shady business practices and whose customer service team is only available via email and then takes days to respond to queries or complaints. In my instance, the company breached their contractual agreement by levying a charge a day earlier than my contract stipulated. They did not deny this, but were unwilling to resolve it. Take your business elsewhere, or risk similar treatment.

Ive had to remove my original glowing review because the last few months things have really changed.

Since the closure of two gyms, highbury has become over run. Its literlly full from morning to night and its started to affect the gym.

One of the biggest REGULAR annoyances is the lack of hot water first thing in the morning.
Nothing worse than stripping down after a crowded work out only to have to get dressed again because of the ice cold water.

The toilets are also lacking in cleanliness. I understand its busy so staff may not have the time they used to have, but the messes i see in those toilets its unacceptable.

I used to be happy to pay the £85 a months for a peaceful work out but if things continue this way,im not sure how you are going to justify these pricew for much longer.

I was hoping for the price point and facilities available to have a better experience on my trial day here. The facilities seem good and there is everything you need despite being very overcrowded and a little run down in some areas. However the clientele in the gym really let the place down and have put me off getting a full membership. The pool area, sauna and steam room were chaos to put it lightly. The men in the gym are extremely rowdy and disrespectful of the fact that it’s a space for everyone to use, it almost felt like a kids club but with grown men. They were in and out of the sauna and steam room non stop, talking extremely loudly, shouting at times, taking phone calls and just generally treating the place like their own social club. It’s really disappointing that the culture within the gym hasn’t been set up to be a place where people can come and work out and enjoy the facilities in peace. Not worth the membership price I’d sooner go back to a budget gym where people respect the space and the people around them. Unfortunately some of the staff only seemed to egg the behaviour on and multiple people left the area visibly frustrated while I was there too.

It has the bones of a good gym but equipment is out of order and selections are limited. For example, there is only one flat bench for an entire gym, and the leg extension machine was broken for many weeks on end. The pool is lovely and recently refurbished, but it hardly makes up for the inability to get on specific pieces of equipment. For £70 a month I would expect better.