Working out the best gym in Christchurch

UPDATE 21 August 2011: With the earthquakes around here it’s changed a few things but in my opinion the best gym in Christchurch is still the council gyms – best value, best availability (a lot of other gyms closed after the quake) and best facilities. The council gyms at Centennial and QE2 are still closed and have an uncertain future but a council gym has just opened in Parklands (to temporarily replace QE2) and one is soon to be opening in Papanui (Graham Condon).

The real 'house of pain' ...

What’s the best gym in Christchurch? Well I guess that depends who you ask and where in Christchurch you live. Obviously if you live in Rolleston the best gym in Christchurch isn’t at the far end of Rangiora. And if you’re not keen on the inner-city park hunt (hunting unicorns is easier) then Les Mills on Cashel St probably won’t suit. So, sure it’s a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question but I’ve gymed in Christchurch for the last few years at a few different gyms, so I’ve got a qualified opinion I can share.

There’s a lot of gyms in Christchurch. I don’t know exactly how many that is per capita (a quick Yellow Pages search shows up 51 including Rangiora, so that’s roughly one gym per 9,000 people. Now I think about it I should be glad that not everyone feels the need to hit the gym – particularly all at once. I don’t like having to queue to use a swiss ball or a pair of 6kg hand weights (yep get out of town Arnie I’m pumping 6kg and I can do it without hardly breaking a sweat!).

Speaking of numbers, the other thing that the gym has going for it is that of those 9,000 people, only about 500 might actually join a gym, and then of those 500 only about 100 use the gym regularly. Which means you really don’t need to worry about queuing up to use equipment at most gyms, particularly if you stay away from peak hours (usually Mondays around 7.30pm). Those numbers are not based on any scientific data but it’s a good theory and I’m sticking to it.

I’m currently with the CCC gyms (which includes a number of Christchurch gyms including Pioneer Leisure Centre, QE2, Jellie Park and Centennial Leisure Centre). Their multi membership allows full access to not only the gym but also the pools, saunas, spas and running track at QE2. A 12 month multi will set you back $595, which represents pretty good value especially compared with other gyms such as Les Mills which will charge you around $160 a month for a 6-month contract (plus a $99 joining fee, although there are often $1 joining specials). The longer your contract is the cheaper it is, up to a 36-month contract but obviously there’s the risk you’ll only go for a few weeks and then decide the cheesecake factory is more your thing (yes, Moata I’m talking to you – do you know there are 523 search results for “moata cheesecake”?) then obviously it can be costly to break or transfer your passing fancy with fitness to the next hopeful, which is generally a win for the gym and often what they bank on a percentage of members doing – otherwise there gyms would have to be a whole lot bigger!

Another a gym I spent a few months at last year was the Clarendon Health Club, and, at about $1,000 a year, I was glad it was complimentary courtesy of my boss. Nothing wrong with it, good facilities and a bunch of very friendly people who remembered your name and organised free drinkies every now and then. Brilliant. The gym itself was relatively small and some of the equipment a little old, and there wasn’t the biggest range of free weights. The showers were brilliant, not to mention the warm towels and toiletries provided but I couldn’t help feeling that it was more a destination for the ‘suits’ to network, which is fine if that’s what you’re after but not for me mostly because I didn’t have any success networking with Theresa G when she came in for her morning cross-training session.

The CCC gyms are fine for me, and seem to be improving all the time with more floor space, extra classes (if you’ve got the Zumba itch) and they’ve just bought a whole lot of new equipment so it gets two thumbs up from me. The atmosphere is relaxed, there’s no posers (except for me of course, sometimes there just aren’t enough mirrors [jokes]) and the hours are good (except sometimes it would be nice if they were open a bit later than the 6 o’clock closing times on the weekend). Having all the other facilities there like the pools works out pretty well too.

If you do join a gym I’d recommend getting the 12 month multi – not only does it give you access to everything on offer but if you’re like me you’ll want to get your money’s worth and so a 12 month membership will keep you motivated. Remember the first 6 weeks are the hardest – after that you won’t be able to go more than a few days without getting your gym fix. Endorphins anyone?