Update on London gyms?

I've been searching through the threads on gyms in London for some info, but it seems that all of the conversations are pretty old.  I guess my question is, have London gyms changed much in the last couple years?  Are they any more popular?

I'm a gymoholic - about 5 or 6 times a week - and I go to a YMCA here in the States.  I know that I won't find in London anything as cheap as I'm paying here ($27/month), but does anyone have any ideas how much memberships are these days?  Any suggestions on good gyms to go to?

I know people have said that it's just better to get a new pair of trainers and some workout dvds, but I that sort of thing doesn't work for me.  If I stay at home with the intention of working out, I'll sit on my butt all day and watch TV!   

I'm not in London- I'm in York.

But the average monthly gym fee here is 42 pounds so bit more expensive than the US.  Sad, but even the leisure centers which are partially publicly funded are expensive.

You may be getting that dvd after all.

I'm in London and currently a member of Fitness First.  They are pretty big, with many locations throughout London.  I get a student rate, and its still £35 per month.  I believe 'normal person' rate is about £50.  You can also check with Holmes Place (also expensive!) and Courtney's.  Just google them and check out their prices.

The gyms are expensive ($27/month is a great deal!) but if you like going, as I do, then you'll just have to fork over the ££--unfortunately.

My student membership at the leisure centre in Bath is around 30 quid.

I'm in North London, and I joined our local leisure centre. It costs approx 40/month. The nice thing about the membership is that there are no contracts, so I can quit whenever I need to. The facilities are perfectly decent (not amazing, but totally fine for my needs). There is a pool in this facility (which I have yet to use) and I also have use of the other leisure centres in the council which have tennis courts and a full range of classes which are free with my membership.

I really like my gym. It's a nice mix of people (all different ages and fitness levels). When I joined I was assigned a trainer (for free!) who designed a program for me, and met with me once a week for my first month or so. I can make free appointments with him whenever I feel I need a change to my program, or just need some motivation. I know in my gym in NYC any personal training was an extra (and large!) cost, so I feel that this is a pretty good deal.

At the end of the day, the leisure centre isn't that much cheaper than Fitness First, but I went with them because it was a much friendlier environment, without the pushy hard-sell sales reps that I encountered at FF.

I'm in North London, and I joined our local leisure centre. It costs approx 40/month. The nice thing about the membership is that there are no contracts, so I can quit whenever I need to. The facilities are perfectly decent (not amazing, but totally fine for my needs). There is a pool in this facility (which I have yet to use) and I also have use of the other leisure centres in the council which have tennis courts and a full range of classes which are free with my membership.

I really like my gym. It's a nice mix of people (all different ages and fitness levels). When I joined I was assigned a trainer (for free!) who designed a program for me, and met with me once a week for my first month or so. I can make free appointments with him whenever I feel I need a change to my program, or just need some motivation. I know in my gym in NYC any personal training was an extra (and large!) cost, so I feel that this is a pretty good deal.

At the end of the day, the leisure centre isn't that much cheaper than Fitness First, but I went with them because it was a much friendlier environment, without the pushy hard-sell sales reps that I encountered at FF.

I agree, I was a member of a local leisure center before FF, and I liked it a lot more.  The problem is that there wasn't one near enough to my new flat.  The classes were better in the local leisure center.  So if you can find one close enough for you............

I'm in North London, and I joined our local leisure centre. It costs approx 40/month. The nice thing about the membership is that there are no contracts, so I can quit whenever I need to. The facilities are perfectly decent (not amazing, but totally fine for my needs). There is a pool in this facility (which I have yet to use) and I also have use of the other leisure centres in the council which have tennis courts and a full range of classes which are free with my membership.

I really like my gym. It's a nice mix of people (all different ages and fitness levels). When I joined I was assigned a trainer (for free!) who designed a program for me, and met with me once a week for my first month or so. I can make free appointments with him whenever I feel I need a change to my program, or just need some motivation. I know in my gym in NYC any personal training was an extra (and large!) cost, so I feel that this is a pretty good deal.

At the end of the day, the leisure centre isn't that much cheaper than Fitness First, but I went with them because it was a much friendlier environment, without the pushy hard-sell sales reps that I encountered at FF.

I agree with all of this as well regarding my LC. I've used the pool at mine and it's perfectly fine. The big seller for me was definitely being able to cancel my membership at any time. I was able to put it on hold for the month of December and they only charged me 5 pounds that month.

The gyms are expensive ($27/month is a great deal!) but if you like going, as I do, then you'll just have to fork over the ££--unfortunately.

I know it's a fantastic deal, I would never expect it anywhere else (well, outside the US anyway).  I know I'm going to just end up paying at least 50 quid a month, but I was just holding on to the last little bit of hope I had for something cheaper.

Anyone a member of Soho Gyms?  There's a location across from the Earl's Court tube, which is right near my office.