Visiting Virgin Active - Notting Hill

As mentioned in a previous blog I have come by a few passes for Virgin Active gyms and rather than just use them all at my local gym I have decided to check out a few Virgin Actives across London. However, that said, the first is my local Virgin Active near Ladbroke Grove underground station also known as the Notting Hill gym.

Gym Address - 119-131 Lancaster Road, Notting Hill W11 1QT

Gym Website - https://www.virginactive.co.uk/clubs/notting-hill

Cost: 12 month contact is £92/month + £30 joining fee

Opening Times - Mon - Thurs 6.30am-10.30pm - Fri 6.30am-10pm Sat - Sun 8.30am-9pm

Below is the Google analysis of when the gym is most busy:

What does the gym have that you might to get in a normal gym:

Swimming Pool, Jacuzzi, Sauna & Steam room (in changing rooms), Wattbikes, VIPR, Plyo Box, Classes (inc Ashtanga yoga, Zumba, RPM), BodiTrax, Personal Trainers, Cafe, WiFi

What are my thoughts:

I am a real fan of the Notting Hill gym. It gym floor is full of light thanks to the great windows that surround it. The machines are clean, modern and there are lots of them. They also have the TV streamed directly to them so you can enjoy some sport or music while working out. Nice clean, white, towels are provided in the spacious entrance.

Due to the shape of the building the set-up is very long and thin which means you can end up walking around a lot trying to find what you need.

During the day it is a great place to work out however in the evenings it can get a little chaotic and sometimes the open gym floor is taken over by a class.

The changing rooms are spacious and clean with a great sauna and steam room.

The swimming pool is 20m long and has three lanes. If you catch it at the right time and there are not too many people, then it can be great. I particularly love how it is made from metal rather than tiles.

What I did:

Running - 10km run on the treadmill. Start at 10 km/h and then move up 0.5km/h every km. Important to have gradient between 1 - 2. This is one of a few variations I use when I am training. It keeps each workout different and less monotonous

Cross trainer - 20 minutes. Start level 10 and work to level 15. Due to the amount of running I do I use the cross trainer to continue my cardio but save my knees.

Rowing machine - 10 minutes on level 8 trying to keep to 2 mins per 500m. I row to give my upper body some work out due to so much of my training being about endurance

Press ups - 3 x 20

Sit-ups - 3 x 20

Pull ups - 3 x 7 * coming back from shoulder injury

Steam and Sauna...