Swimming Pool and new Gym

[James Barber]

The new General Manager of the Dulwich Leisure Centre has been appointed - Kay Skelton.

Sounds very enthuisiatic.

They've told me that people leaving stuff in cubicles is quite common. That she will ensure signs are placed in cubicles and that when staff find unattended items they will remove them and place them in lost property.

She also told me that the preperations for the grand gym reopening 10am 25 June are progressing well.

Hope to see lots of you there.

[Julie Vindis]

Hello,

Kellygirl, you may want more than one straw(!) because I can inform you that the new 100-workstation gym at Dulwich Leisure Centre will officially open to the public on Saturday 25 June from 11am.

I'm just about to open a new thread regarding the exciting competition where three lucky winners can win 12 months, 6 months and 3 months membership. Follow that link or you can pop into the centre and pick up a flyer.

Jules

[maxxi]

*crouches in 'ready' position awaiting new competition thread*... this is hard on the old gastrocnemius and my hamstrings are quivering...

[checkingin]

Will there be more classes!?!? The ones available are so over subscribed it's really frustrating trying to get a place on one - I've tried loads and it's impossible, which makes getting a routine of fitness that you enjoy impossible - if there's no changes in the class situation I may have to give my membership a miss as it's so disappointing.. :(

[Julie Vindis]

Yes there will be more classes, certainly of the most popular ones. A new studio timetable is being worked on right now along with new classes for members to sample. Come along on the 25th June and we can show you what's on the schedule. :)

[James Barber]

Hi Julie,

It might be helpful if you used the auto signature so everyone can be clear you're speaking as a council official and 'in the know'.

[thomastillingthe3rd]

Nice face lift, but surely an absolute joke being made to pay ?4.30 or ?4.00 for an adult lane swim. And in a warm pool, with confused swimmers going in wrong directions creating waves like the beach. Not to mention the inability of some to work out the differences in Fast, medium and slow lane designation.

When the Olympic pool at crystal palace is ?2.20 off peak it just defies belief, is the water in ED organic now, or fed from a spring?

Bonkers

[James Barber]

Only one more day to enter the competition for year long leisure passes to Dulwioch Leisure Centre.

To enter visit - www.southwark.gov.uk/dulwich

Also, just 9 more days unti lthe Gym has its grand reopening 10am Saturday 25 June.

[adam85]

The new gym is open now!

[slims]

I would like to complain about the new gym at dulwich fusion. Apparently the head of fusion has made a decision to keep free weights to a minimum, the 30 kg dumbells was not enough in the first place, now the dumbells only go to 20 kg. Their is a rumour that the head of fusion, does not want a certain kind of clientele at dulwich, hence keeping the weight area to a minimum. This is just not good enough, as i pay taxes and have paid monthly for since 2004,like many others, i expect a lot better.

Im not the only one who has made a complaint,and im sure there will be many others, i feel that the gym in dulwich should not just cater for the "middle class stereotype".

[Frankito]

Is there an assumption that middle-class types can't lift heavier than 20kg?

[Frankito]

kellygirl Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> if that gym is open by july i'll drink the pool...

Kelza, would you like a straw with that?

[slims]

Basically ive been told by staff, that the boss feels by having heavy weights the gym will attract a certain type of crowd. The stereotype that people who lift heavy weights wont be doctors,teachers or middleclass, but likely to be the customers who tend to be the undesirables of the community. These people can use peckham gym,lol. you dont want to spoil the lovely dulwich. "The thought of dulwich gym being used by guys who have big muscles, may intimidate our target audience."

As daft as it sounds,its true.

When i mean boss, i dont mean the new manager at dulwich as she was very helpful.

[Frankito]

Have you complained to them in writing?

[slims]

Yeah, so did many when the gym was opened before.I just feel that a gym is for the community, not for a certain type of person. To be honest a gym without proper free weights is not really a gym, take a look at fitness first, and many top quality gyms.Do you see a swimming pool without water? lol

[Hackblade]

Thanks Slims... that's saved me the bother of a visit to check it out.

The classic mistake. Lord knows how much they have spent on this refurb but in one foolish decision they have alienated the majority of the male population (and a good few women) who want to include serious strength training in their fitness programmes.

I certainly won't consider joining if the heaviest dumbbell is 20kg.

I have heard this so often, particularly from chain gyms... we don't want to attract 'the grunters' or 'we're worried about health and safety'. But ultimately they have to decide whether they are serious about helping people get fit or only making money. And it seems they have chosen the latter.

[slims]

Best thing to do is to go, and voice your concerns. Then they may change their ideas.

[Frankito]

I will do. It was the main reason I left last time and to be honest, not interested in joining up again if they can't even get that bit right..

[Rook]

Heavy weights issues aside, I think there is a huge improvement. I went this morning and all of the old (and very tired) machines have been replaced. They have installed alot more of the latest equipment, with more variation.

Generally, I think they have used the far bigger space really well, so it feels and looks alot more like a proper gym now. Not sure about some machines needing to face each other, but I guess it depends on who's opposite!

I think its blatantly going to be packed for a while following the official opening, but Im hoping it wont be too hard to use the equipment having waited this long!

I must say that overall I think the Membership fee at Fusion now feels much more like value for money- even more so for somewhere local and if you compare to the prices in major chains.

[nashoi]

The heavy weights issue has nothing to do with class, but is about intimidation. For many years I used the Flaxman in Camberwell, which Lambeth had designated as their heavy weights gym, not because I was a heavy weights user I just happened to live around the corner. Very, very few women used it and not many smaller men, despite there being plenty of CV equipment and to my mind a friendly atmosphere. The 'grunters', as a previous poster referred to them, make up a small minority of the population, but successfully put off most others.

[adam85]

There are two new benches, one free weight, the other a smith machine. Both have a considerable amount of weight to use. So I doubt the lack of free weights will deter the 'grunters' . Besides what's the problem, I've trained with such characters, they not only motivate, but are friendly people, and women who think they solely go to these gyms to ogle them, are pretty self absorbed really. Just stand up for yourself and use the stuff God dammit. You can?t bubble wrap society.

[adam85]

Oh James, is the dulwich gym planning to increase opening times at the weekend? 6pm closure is rather early! Oh any news on camberwell gym?

Adam

[Hackblade]

Nashoi - most men on a decent strength programme should be able to dumbbell press more than 20kg a side in 3 to 6 months. I know quite a few women who can do that much.

It's just regular, serious trainers who won't be able to derive much benefit from Fusion - and all for the sake of a few more quid on some decent dumbbells.

Iy won't just be a few intimidating grunters (who are actually usually just decent guys who train hard) kept away.

[nashoi]

I don't disagree with most of that Hackblade. I've even been known to press more than 20kg a side myself on the odd occasion and a maximum dumbbell weight of 20kg does seem a little light. However I think you are over egging the pudding a little to suggest you won't be able to derive much benefit from the gym when there are other options available in there which go much higher.

I haven't seen the new equipment yet, but the old chest press went upto 100kg and if you need much more than that you are going to need a more specialist heavy weights gym, such as the one at the Flaxman, rather than general fitness centres such as this.

[Hackblade]

Nashoi - fair point but I don't think a Smith machine alone is enough to do a proper workout, even for most serious trainers. You can do so many more exercises with dumbbells and free weights and derive greater benefits.

I was hoping against hope that Fusion would buck the trend of most chains and be a serious gym but by the sounds of things it isn't.

These kind of gyms-lites are more money-making ventures designed to appeal to people who don't want to push themselves. I suspect they contribute to health problems as much as solving them by encouraging a kind of 'let's just turn up and go through the motions' mentality rather than providing a facility aimed at helping people take their training to the next level.