Penrhyn Road’s new campus gym is finally open for students looking to get a sweat on between studies. The new facilities are ready just in time for those of us looking to lock in with TikTok’s latest craze, the ‘winter arc’.
If you don’t have an average screentime of 12 hours a day, the ‘winter arc’ is essentially a three month window during the colder months, where you find yourself in the gym, eating clean and “locking in” to become disciplined and work on self-improve before the new year. What better way to participate than by joining the newly refurbished gym?
Having partnered with Lifestyle Fitness, the refurbed space is fitted with a dedicated glute zone, new strength and resistance areas, a brand-new studio, upgraded free weights section and unlimited classes, all for just £24.99 a month; a bargain price for students looking to get into shape.
In addition to its low cost, a great benefit to the club is a referral scheme which could bring your prices down even further.
“Part of the membership on the online account shows a referral scheme, when people you refer sign up through that link and then stay for at least three months, the original member will get a month free off their membership,” explains gym manager Alex Larson. “At a maximum, you can refer six friends, and if they join and stay for three months, you can get basically half a year for free.”
Compared to your average commercial gym, Lifestyle Fitness offers more flexibility and convenience for students to fit in training around the university lifestyle. Open from 6am-10pm on weekdays – and quiet during the lunch period – you can find yourself being in and out of the gym in about 45 minutes, freshen up in the changing rooms and then make it back in time for your afternoon lectures.
For newcomers to the world of fitness, a range of classes are offered for free with your membership – whether you’re interested in Pilates, yoga, body pump or conditioning classes, you can book as many as you want, up to a week in advance, and with the new studio, there will be a lot of space for plenty of people to take part.
“We also do a lot of quick gym floor classes, like quick 30 minute get-in-get-out classes as well.” Larson explains, which are perfect for those early mornings where you haven’t got much time during the day to get a workout in before classes.
The gym may be newly opened, but already Larson is keen to develop Lifestyle Fitness’s offerings to punters.
“As the gym continues to grow and word spreads in the Kingston area, should we need to get more kit, we’ll get more kit,” he tells The River. “If we need to upgrade things, we’ll upgrade things. We’re not limited to what we can do at this.”
