What did they charge for your day pass? Did they either provide or allow chalk? Did they tell you to look up when you squatted? Bumper plates? Decent bars?
Member
Shout-out to City Athletic Club in London
I want to give a shout-out to the City Athletic Club in London. I was in town for two weeks and looking for a place to train. I don’t have to tell anyone here that it's impossible to strength train in a hotel gym. There are very few black iron gyms in London (at least that I could find) but this one was near where I was staying and was excellent.
The staff was super helpful and the other patrons were as well. The place has a really pleasant vibe. They were very friendly to all levels of skill and knowledge. There were a number of guys my age (60) and a fair number of women, some of whom were also older. All were interested in getting strong. No pink dumbbells here. Several staff members knew about Starting Strength in general terms and were very interested in what I was doing.
One staff member wanted to look into it in more detail and was surprised when I found (through the SSC roster) that there was a coach in London named Carl Raghavan and I gave him his contact information. The only idiosyncrasy of the place seemed to be that the staff insists that plates all be clipped in including during bench press. However, they also insisted on making themselves available for spotting during my work sets.
They’re open at 6:30 AM on weekdays and 7 AM on Saturdays. I worked out the whole two weeks I was there. Ask for the manager Ann (who’s currently training for a Strong Woman’s Competition). She’ll set you up.
6 Trump St
London, EC2V 8AF
+44 20 7710 9231
I hear Donald works out there as well.
TMPHBITEU
What did they charge for your day pass? Did they either provide or allow chalk? Did they tell you to look up when you squatted? Bumper plates? Decent bars?
Member
They do allow chalk but get mighty upset if you don't wipe it all off the bench when finished bench pressing. There are bumper plates and two squat racks but bars are generally banana shaped.Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
There is also broad range of PTs to suit everyone, from good (Greg Smith) to the crowd that will show you how to quarter squat, hip thrust or just flex the right way.
All in seriousness though, it's not a bad spot in central London, go off peak and it is light traffic in there. If you are out west, try the gym where Carl R is based: Physical Culture Gymnasium - The Putney Powerlifting Gym in London.
Member
I paid a daily rate of 25 pounds (everything's expensive in London). In retrospect, if I'd known I'd be going there so many times, I'd have cut a deal with them on price which I didn't do.
They provided LIQUID chalk which I'd never used before and which I really liked. Now I want to buy some and use it for my DLs.
They were impressed by my squatting technique in that I went below horizontal and maintained a 45 degree back angle. No one commented that I kept my eyes down but I think they considered it as contributing to a relatively low back angle.
Yes they had bumper plates but I used the round, standard 20 Kg plates instead.
I'm not a connoisseur of olympic bars but they seemed fine to me. The sleeves rotated smoothly and the bars didn't seem to be bent. Truthfully though, the most weight I put on them was only 117.25 Kg.
Their rule for DLs was no dropping bars (the gym is above an office). You also have to squat in the squat racks so you're on the surface they have under them.
At my gym at home (a big commercial gym) I'm fortunate in that they have FOUR good squat stations (and two smith stations that I never use). They don't get nearly the use that all the glistening machines get. The biggest thing you would have had a problem with was their bench press routine. At the gym I use in Los Angeles, when I bench I don't use a spotter because everyone wants to pull the bar up as soon as they see my bar speed slow. Therefore, I have it set up with bars so if I fail, I just lower the barbell to the bars and scoot out under it. At City Athletic, I used one of the staff as a spotter and educated him or her on what I wanted which they did. It WAS disconcerting that they made me clip the weights on but like I say, I always had a spotter for work sets.
They did rib me with the difficulties I had mentally converting from pounds to kilos for loading bars. Rapid, mental math isn't my strong suit. The staff and other patrons were very engaged and were interested in my routine and technique and the SS model in general. All in all, it was a great experience and I made friends there.
Member
Sorry Mark. In my reply to your questions, I meant to say:
Sorry, this should be “Their rule for DLs was no dropping bars (the gym is above an office). You also have to deadlift in the squat racks so you're on the surface they have under them.”
(I said deadlift when I meant squat)
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