maxsharp

Karter, We have space for 100 more members at the moment. And more when we open up the new pilates studio on the first floor. As for the steam / sauna which I know is dear to your heart, we have ascertained that it is structurally feasible and have drawn up plans. We now need to raise some more money before we can do it. The plan is to do the work in the autumn (all being well). Max

Post amended

snoozequeen, I don't think it's the size that counts with freezers. Small is just as good. Just might take a little longer to get through freezing your wardrobe. That sounds very fnar fnar somehow.

We have the little blighters too and just about keep on top of them by: 1. Squishing 2. Vacuum sealing clothes 3. Putting things like cashmere jumpers in bags in the freezer (it kills the eggs).Odd but it works. So the only solution is to invest in a chest freezer and tip your wardrobe into it.

We did a lot of work with the local residents before we submitted our planning application. We held an open day and showed them our plans and listened to their feedback. We're not really that noisy to be honest. We don't play much music, no tvs The only noise comes form the air handling unti and that has been positioned to extract onto the alley beside the building to minimise noise levels for residents. Do you live on Bassano St?

It's the capital outlay that is the issue with the steam / sauna Karter. It will cost circa ?40,000 to install sauna/ steam including the structural work required. Due to the problems with the contractor, we had to pay out a lot of money to fix various things that the contractor messed up so we have no spare capital at the moment. To answer your quesiton Nero, the ventalation will deal with the extraction of the steam and so it shouldn't heat up the rest of the building. It's very hard to predict the weather at the moment and alter the temperature of the bulding accordingly The tempareature is centrally controlled although we have had a few problems with the extract in the bathrooms, again due to the idiot builder we had.

Weekend membership is ?39 single or ?69 partner. You can use the gym and go to any of the classes at that rate.

Hello all, The current timetable is on line here http://www.esphysicalhealth.com/go/memberships. Karter steam room by mid summer I hope. It's depends on how we do in terms of income.

We (esph East Dulwich)are starting a creche after the half term holiday (Week beginning February 18th). Tuesday and Thursday 10-12 initially but we will extend it if there is the demand. Come down and have a look (membership discounts for forumites) - 116 Lordship Lane.

Come and join esph East Dulwich (116 Lordship Lane). Our gym is run by physios, we have lots of classes, brand new equipment and lovely showers. And forum members get 10% discount on all our membership prices (no squash courts sadly). Come and take a look.

Hi Edenial, Class timetable will be on the website by the weekend. Really sorry for the delays but we've had a bit of a nightmare with the site. The company we commissioned to do it went bust and screwed up the code and it's taken us ages to unravel. Thanks for your patience. Regards to all. Max

I completely agree with your comments about the visability / lack of it. We have had a few problems presuading the landlord and the local authority to allow us to put up signage, partly because the entrance to the building is in the side street (Bassano St). We think we have approval now (although we are still waiting for official consent from Southwark). And so the signage should be sorted soon. Thanks for the feedback.

We have a few offers on at the moment. The 10% offer for forum members is for all of 2008. The 50% is for the first month. So if you apply your discount to the full gym membership, it comes down to ?71.10 per month for the year which is a better deal than 50% off the first month's membership. I'm afraid you have to chose one of the offers. Hope that helps.

Hi Karter, Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. Standard daily rate is ?15. 10& discount for forumites. Come and have a look around and see if you like us. Best wishes, Max

Should have mentioned the discount myself really....Apologies crepe suzette. 10% discount for the whole year. If you wanted we could give you a trial one month membership which comes with the full screening with one of our physios and you could see if you like it and take it from there. Max ps love the user name by the way.

Hi Crepe Suzette, The gym is geared towards monthly membership but you can pay as you go if you want. We also have a weekend rate and will be happy to conisder a daily rate for you too. Why don't you pop in and tell us what you want and we'll see what rate we can do? Best wishes, Max

Big fan myself. Good food always. Wonderful staff - friendly, knowledgeable and pleased to see you whether you're in for a beer or the full dining experience. Great with kids too anytime we're taken ours in. Had one bad experience after crab soup but have had many many delicious ones.

Thank you all for the recent good luck posts. The entrance is on Bassano Street (so people don't have to fight their way past the bus queue on LL) and all the windows will have vinyl screens on them around the theme of our logo. Max esph

At the risk of being shot at again and in particular response to Spangles30 we very much are offering a unique service. There are no other health and fitness facilities around where the gym staff are all physios (all of whom have a first degree in sports science or exercise physiology). And we know this because we have done extensive market research both in the UK but also in Australia, and the US. I know that several of you have said so what to this but this is the main point of difference. The MOT you get when you join is completely different to what you would get at a traditional gym. We are offering a diagnostic screening by a physio who will examine you from head to toe, paying particular attention to foot biomechanics, your flexibility, grip strength, neck & back range of motion etc all of which are very relevant to the type of exercise you should and shouldn't be doing. We will also look at your resting heart rate, VO2 max, hip to waist ratio and blood pressure in order to guage fully your state of health. We will then listen to your goals and tailor a fitness programme to help you achieve them and lastly but most importantly we will offer you all the help and supervision you require to achieve your goals. All rolled into the monthly cost. I appreciate that the cost is high compared to Fusion and the other local gyms but we are offering a much more bespoke service than you would get from them. As a local business who have been in the area for almost 30 years we are delighted to be offering this unique service in East Dulwich. The proof with all things is always in the testing so why not come and have a look for yourself when we open (last weekend in September). Best to all. Max esph

Just to re-iterate, the gym membership price includes all the exercise classes (yoga, circuit training, mattwork pilates etc). The only thing it doesn't include is the pilates equipment studio. Full membership also entitles you to discounts on all other services including treatments. Max Sharp esph

Yoga types will be iyengar, hatha and rehab yoga with possibly some ashtanga. A full timetable of classes will be posted on our website soon. You don't have to be a member to come to the classes but as stated previously gym membership entitles you to all the classes you want.

www.esphysicalhealth.com

At the risk of being shot down in flames, I'd like to add a few comments to the debate. I'm one of the owners of esph and have been following the recent debate. First things first: price The cost of joining the gym is ?79 per month for peak membership and ?59 for off-peak. For this price you get a full musculoskeletal sreening by a physio (basically an MOT)and a fitness test (heart rate, blood pressure, hip-waist ratio etc), access to all the exercise classes except the pilates equipment studio and an exercise programme tailored to you. Classes are limited to a maximum of 8 and include yoga, circuit training, mattwork pilates amongst others. The gym is staffed by physios who will offer you all the supervision and help you want to achieve your goals. In most gyms you have to pay extra for this on top of the cost of your membership. There is no fee to sign up and no 12 month contract. Membership There are 2 types of membership - gym (details above) and Pilates. The pilates equipment studio runs at a maximum ratio of 3 members to 1 instructor and classes last an hour. Membership costs ?99 per month for one class per week and ?139 per month for unlimited classes. That is the maximum equivalent of ?25 per hour class which is below the industry standard. As with all classes the empahsis is on supervision, and tailored programmes for each member. Creche We don't have a creche yet but have allocated space for one if there is the demand from members. There will be classes for kids (circus classes, martial arts etc). Bathrooms The bathrooms will be quite plush. There are egyptian cotton towels and products by Korres. Cafe There is a cafe which will be run by Trinity Stores. They have a deli in Balham and sell well-sourced, mostly organic produce. Treatments Will include physiotherapy, osteopathy, podiatry, massage, acupuncture, diet clinics, sports medicine amongst others. Full members are entitled to 10% discount on all treatments. Pool There isn't a pool to start with. But one has been planned for the second phase. Opening Hours We will be open from 7-10 weekdays and 8-8 at weekends. Business model Membership will be limited to 550 in the first phase (combined pilates and gym). In addition we are relocating our Camberwell physio practice which has been trading since 1979. Happy to field any specific questions you have. Best wishes, Max Max Sharp esph

The family Natural Health centre is part of a shop that offers stuff that we won't do. Push offer pilates and I freely admit that we will be in direct competition with them.

I'll bow out now. Please feel free to contact me directly with any more queries. Best to all. Max