Everything for Every Body

Since our move to Edinburgh, we created a To-Do list that includes, somewhere near the top after all the address changes, “Decide on a health club.” So last week, we began the selection process by putting together a list of clubs that were within five miles of our house and setting aside a couple of afternoons to visit them, with the expectation of joining the one that met our minimum requirements and offered the best value for money.

On the first afternoon, we set out to tour the Next Generation Club, conveniently located just down the street from us, Virgin Active and Bannatyne in the City Center. Next Gen and Virgin went way beyond my expectations, offering an onsite spa and beauty salon, as well as a restaurant, bar, children’s workout facilities and tennis courts, none of which I’d ever seen in a health club before. Next Generation’s amenities also included a heated outdoor swimming pool with a view of the ocean, while Virgin gave members access to computer work stations with free internet. I can’t say much about Bannatyne, however, because on our arrival, we were told that there was no designated parking, which was one of our minimum requirements, so we left without a tour.

Of course, all these resort-style facilities come with hefty price tags. Next Gen charges £52.50 per month EACH for a standard membership (racquet sports not included). I did my best to keep a straight face during the pricing portion of the tour, wondering how the average Scot could justify paying that kind of money for exercise. Virgin’s off peak membership was a little more reasonable at £43 per month (though still much more than we had expected), but it was just inside our travel radius and we decided the 20-minute drive back and forth would quickly get old.

We arrived home in a state of sticker shock, having paid a measly $53 per month couples membership at L.A. Fitness, a club in Ventura that, by U.S. standards, is considered at the upper end of clubs that cater to the general public.

We left the flat for our second round of health club-hunting with less enthusiasm. We started with a club called Holmes Place, which was even more luxurious and expensive than the first two. The next three clubs on our list had gone out of business. Then we visited two Leisure Centres* in the hopes that they would be less expensive. They were, but only marginally so, and the basic workout facilities were rundown and depressing. That left the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Sport and Exercise. Minus the nonessentials, the Centre had everything we could possibly want in a health club, and at a very reasonable £19 per month (annual rate). Now for the deal breaker – paid street parking only except after 5 pm, and we both work out in the mornings. Acknowledging defeat, we reluctantly signed up with Next Gen – and all those luxury amenities we’ll never use.

It’ll be interesting to see how the health club scene evolves here in the next few years. Unless Brits have far more disposable income than I think they do, the market that is willing/able to pay £50 a month or more is only a fraction of potential gym-goers. There is definitely a place for the U.S. health club model: focus on fitness at an affordable price.

*Similar to YMCAs. Instead of being run by a nonprofit organization, Leisure Centres are government-subsidized.