Municipal gyms

A question about : Municipal gyms

Hello! My mental health service has offered to pay my subscription to a municipal leisure centre/gym. It's the Donald Dewar (lol) Leisure Centre. I think it was built for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. It has three swimming pools, a cardio room, a weights room, and sports courts. Thing is, I've never been beyond the lobby. I've been to a municipal gym before, and it was grotty. How is this one? Should I pay for a real gym instead?

Best answers:

• It is a real gym. If it was built for the games it will be brand new. Im a member of nl leisure in Lanarkshire, council run gym, some of the centres are better than others, but not grotty and great value for money. Nothing wrong with council run gyms in my view, they can often be great value.
• It will depend on the gym, go in and ask to take a look around. I used a council gym in Oxford and it was really lovely. Years ago I looked at a council gym in London and it was vile.
• If you're getting the fees paid for, why would you think twice about not going. If you didn't think it was up to much that's the time to decide whether to look for a different place.
• My local council run gym, although smaller, is otherwise as good if not better than an "LA Fitness" gym I tried the other day - so don't discount it until you've tried it!
• Depends on what you mean by "grotty" - most people would call a dusty warehouse full of barbells, dumbbells and racks grotty - I would call it heaven!
  However, if it's the general cleanliness of the changing rooms and stuff...yeah.
  HBS x
• Not been into that centre, but most of the 'council' gyms in Glasgow are pretty good, as I only use them when I'm up in Glasgow working.
  Since the council set up a company to run leisure services the standard has defiantly improved, the only problem I sometimes find is that they are so good that they are often overcrowded particularly at peak times, but I guess that's an illustration that they are good value.
  I would say that unless you are looking for something specific that Virgin/DL or the other Ј50 plus a month gyms offer, the council gym should suit your needs.
• Surely there's no harm in checking! Our local council-run gym, in Westminster, is lovely.
• It might be worth speaking to them to get an intro session with one of the instructors. I have found that the massive blokes who are OD'ing on steroids tend to stay away from the council ones which make them more appealing so I don't get intimidated in the weights room