Pure Gym Granton

I’m not generally a gym sort of person. Don’t get me wrong — it’s not that I don’t enjoy exercise, but I’ve never really seen the attraction of paying £80 a month for communal sweating and the opportunity to compare my bony bod to those around me.
But Edinburgh’s cold during the winter and, besides, I’ve reached the conclusion that there’s only so much that running and cycling can achieve.
So I reluctantly started researching the options again, starting with the usual suspects — David Lloyds and Virgin Active. Aside from the high monthly fee, one typically faces a hefty joining charge and minimum 12-​month contract. Being both fickle and financially challenged, neither of these options particularly appealed.
Next up was Westfield. While adequate as a compromise — it’s certainly a lot cheaper than the Globo Gym-​alikes — it falls well short in terms of the facilities, essentially being a quasi-​public add-​on to the sports facilities of Fettes College. I never enjoyed PE at school, so moved swiftly on.
In desperation, I turned to Pure Gym, which I’d always viewed as the EasyJet of the fitness world. Their newest Edinburgh Gym in Granton (there are a couple of others scattered across the city) is just superb. I booked in for a tour and was instantly impressed by the sheer number and variety of their machines — three floors of running machines, cross trainers, bikes, and weights (free and fixed). There’s just no hanging around waiting for equipment to become available.
More importantly for me (I’ve always been a bit intimidated by gyms and the folk who frequent them) the staff are amazing. While I was waiting to be shown round, one of the personal trainers (a chap called Kevin) just stopped to chat to me about what I was hoping to achieve, what sport I do etc. Even more impressive, he’s remembered me on subsequent visits and offered his advice. All the PTs really seem enthusiastic and approachable.
Because it’s a brand new gym, I got in on a ridiculously low introductory price. There’s a minimal joining fee (which really just covers admin) and no contract, so you’re not committing to 12 months. This gives you full access to the brilliant facilities, as well as a jam-​packed schedule of free classes — basically, the only things you have to pay for are classes with an external instructor, like yoga.
It may not have a swimming pool, steam room, massage etc like some of the premium gyms, but who needs that anyway? At a fraction of the price and with much more flexibility, PurGym suits me down to the ground.