Overall, I really like this PureGym. It’s well-equipped, well-lit and a good size with a Cycle room, exercise studio and plenty of floor space for doing free weights and stretches. There’s a good mix of clientele; as a woman in her 50s, I don’t feel intimidated or unsafe. All the staff are friendly and approachable, they remember you and are always happy to offer help and advice.

I only have one small gripe. At the start of 2025 a new Class Timetable was introduced (presumably by the Bods at Head Office) and some of the scheduling is simply bizarre.

For example, on Monday one Cycle class finishes at 7pm and the next Cycle class starts at 7pm in the same room using the same bikes. This doesn’t allow time for the first group to clean the bikes and get out before the second group comes in. Not terribly hygienic and rather chaotic for the instructors and participants, and both classes are being cut short as a result. We’re all puzzled as to why they’ve changed the later class from its original start time of 7:15pm.

Similarly, on Sunday a Circuits class finishes at 10am and is followed immediately at 10am by a Bodytone class. Same instructor (who is excellent by the way), same room, but different equipment. There’s no time to clear away the Circuits gear before the Bodytone crowd enter. In fact, to accommodate the change-over, the first round of Circuits has been cut from 45 seconds to 30 seconds per exercise. On top of that, the 30 minute Bodytone class has replaced a 45 minute Pump class even though there’s nothing else scheduled in that room for over an hour. I do both classes and quite frankly I feel like I’m being cheated out of 15 minutes of what used to be a premium workout.

I’m not the only one who doesn’t understand the logic behind this new 2025 schedule. It’s not like they’ve crammed in loads of extra classes every day and every minute counts. Some of the classes feel rushed and I sense the instructors feel rushed too! Some have literally no time at all between their classes.

Other than that I think my £30 a month membership is worth it. I’ve taken various classes with most of the instructors and they’re all lovely, they work you hard while making the classes fun. If they could sort out the class scheduling, I’d give them 5 stars!