Deciding if a gym should be classified as good or not is always going to be completely subjective. Different people will have different requirements and expectations of a gym based on their training goals and preferences, so what one person may classify as a great gym, others may not be too keen on. However, regardless of personal preference, there are certain criteria a gym needs to meet and weigh up against in order to gauge its value and worth in a competitive market. Which leaves the question is PureGym a good gym to join?
Is PureGym A Good Gym To Join?
Gym Criteria:
- Equipment & Classes – does the gym of your choice have enough variety, quantity, and quality equipment to serve the needs of all its members?
- Atmosphere – how’s the music; are there too many people?
- Staff – are there competent and friendly staff around that are easy to identify if you need help?
- Opening hours & class schedules – is the gym open at convenient times and are the classes scheduled at times that are convenient?
- Location & accessibility – is there a gym near enough for you to get to?
- Cleanliness – especially the locker rooms and bathrooms, are they cleaned regularly?
- Cost – Is the gym affordable and value for money? Are there flexible options to suit your budget?
PureGym’s motto is “Everybody’s Welcome”, and they strive to make it a safe place where, regardless of size, ability, gender, age, or ethnicity, you can go and workout and leave feeling good. With that in mind, how do they measure up to the “good gym” criteria?
Equipment:
PureGym offers a good range of training equipment in all of their gym: Free weights (ranging from 2-50kgs), weights machines (from cable machines to seated shoulder press, to leg press), and cardio equipment (rowing machine, treadmills, bikes, stairmasters etc.) They also have studios and offer exercise classes led by experienced instructors (eg. Pilates, Kettlebell classes & Zumba) When it comes to equipment variety, PureGym has you covered.
Atmosphere:
Pure Gym has its own music channel which plays music and videos through its sound systems and TVs throughout the gym. The music provides an up-tempo and exciting vibe, while the music videos on the TVs provide extra entertainment.
Staff:
Their staff are leafy to identify in their branded uniforms but are not always the easiest to find as they do not tend to have much staff. They also do not tend to have a front reception desk as the gyms are “self-check-in” style, thus illuminating that 1st point of human/staff contact that other gyms offer.
Opening Hours & Class Schedule:
Most Pure Gyms are 24/7 with their class schedule tailored around general working hours. Classes tend to be 1st thing in the morning, around lunchtime and then in the evening for the after-work gym goers. Classes can also be booked through the app to avoid over-crowding.
Location & Accessibility:
Pure Gym has one of the largest networks of gyms in the UK with over 300 of them scattered around the country. Most of them are open 24/7 and can be accessed with contactless app entry, meaning you don’t need to rely on staff to let you into the building.
Cleanliness:
The gyms are cleaned on a regular basis with sanitizing and cleaning stations positioned throughout the gym for members to use should they want to.
Cost:
Pure Gym’s goal is to help as many people as possible to get and stay healthy and believe that by keeping their membership costs low, they become more accessible. They also offer a variety of membership options to cater to different requirements and budgets, and no contract means you can leave or freeze you’re membership when you need to and join again at a later date.
You are offered 2 different types of memberships, ongoing access to one gym of your choice, or access to multiple gyms. The latter comes at a slightly increased price, and based on the cost of your membership, will determine which other gyms you have access to. Monthly membership prices tend to range from £19.99 per month in more rural parts of the country, to £49.99 for your monthly membership at one of the inner-city gyms. These prices are very affordable when compared to some of their competitors such as Virgin Active, whose membership prices range from about £60 up to £250 per month, depending on the club, or F45 where you can expect to pay around £65 per month.
Keeping in mind that the low membership costs make the gyms highly accessible, the gyms do tend to get a bot crowded at peak times. The PureGym app, however, allows you to see when peak times are and how many people visit are at each gym location at a given time, this allows you to plan your visits around this.
Overall, if you are looking for a well-stocked gym, that is open whenever you need it and won’t cost you an arm and a leg, then Pure Gym is a great gym for you to join
