YMCA Gym, London, UK

Submitted By: Methuselah
Location: 112 Great Russell Street London, UK WC1B 3NQ (map)
Website: http://www.ymcaclub.co.uk/index.html
Workouts: from workout diary

This gym is associated with the St Giles Hotel in Central London, which is where I was staying when I used it. As a hotel guest, it cost me £4 to use it, but the normal daily rate is £15. It is also a private members gym.

This was honestly the best gym I have ever trained in. It was huge - a James Bond villain-esque underground set up, located on 3 floors (-1, -2 and -3 in the lift!) A huge central atrium with balconies housing various machines, stretching mats, Swiss balls, weights room, studios and more. Using the full height of the atrium, a climbing wall with ropes and badminton and basketball courts. Off to one side, a pool. Of no interest to me, but nevertheless impressive - row after row of just about every cardio machine you can imagine. Okay, I might use the rower or runner for tabatas.

Needless to say, there was a wide selection of fixed weight dumbbells and barbells, although I do not recall seeing a full set of barbell plates and Olympic bars.