So… 10 days of solid sun, sea, sand, booze and food is officially over.  However, the end of my holiday marks the start of phase 2 in gym-land and as part of phase two I’m upping my game and treating myself to a sparkly new gym membership at what I believe to be the best gym in Harrogate – Nuffield!

It’s Getting Serious

Part one of what I now deem “phase 1″ of Violet Shrinking was all about getting back on the bandwagon and staying on it.  This involved an initial gym program of simply just getting the basics back on track.  The basics being getting back to running both outside and on the treadmill and some basic arm and ab exercises just to get my lethargic,  anti-exercise self back into the mindset of someone who gives a damn about themselves!

Initially this worked and I’m happy with the fact that I’ve stayed “on it” for a good while now.  However, now that I’ve had 10 days of luxury it’s time to get back to reality and get serious about phase 2 of Violet Shrinking…The Serious Phase!

Goodbye Old Faithful, Hello Sparkly New Gym

When I started phase one back in March I did it the sensible way and signed up to one of the least expensive gyms in Harrogate just to get myself back into the swing of things without forking out a small fortune.  Ashville was my gym of choice and has absolutely done the trick.  However, now is the time for me to make the switch to somewhere bigger and that has more on offer to help me achieve my fitness goals!  I am a big fan of classes, especially spin and body pump both of which are not on offer at Ashville.  I am by no means knocking Ashville as you get what you pay for and the access to the other facilities such as their pool and tennis courts is a massive selling point.  However, I want to up my game big time which is where the sparkly new gym comes into play!

Nuffield Gym – The Key To My Fitness Success!

The week before I headed off to play in the desert I ventured down the Nuffield for the day with a friend for free.  Anyone can get a free day pass by simply filling in your details on line, booking in your day and hey ho, you’re in!  The first thing we noticed about Nuffield was the fact that we weren’t met with the “hard sell” when we arrived.  The staff were really nice, gave us the initial tour and said if you need anything at all just shout, otherwise crack on.  There’s nothing worse than being hit by a pushy sales person so it was refreshing to just be left alone.

More Classes Than You Can Shake A Yoga Mat At

I don’t know about you but I find that when I want to step up my gym efforts I always try and introduce a couple of classes, my favourites being spin and body pump, however it’s often difficult to find a gym that has enough classes pre or post work to make it worth your while signing on the membership dotted line.  Nuffield is the polar opposite.  They have enough classes 7 days a week to meet the needs of the busiest of people.  You can see the Harrogate timetable here so you can see for yourself just how much is on offer.

Jacuzzi Down Time – Yes Please! 

There’s no denying that the facitilies at Nuffield are second to none.  Everything is clean and sparkly new and there is absolutely no air of being tired or run down which is so often the case with large health clubs.  Seeing as our passes were day passes we wanted to make the post of everything so after our workout we hit the pool area.  Nuffield is equipped with a pool, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna and we felt it rude not to try all four.  As we reclined in the jacuzzi we felt we fully deserved our downtime after sweating it out and there and then decided that Nuffield was for us.

The Juice Bar Is The Icing On The (Low Cal) Cake

As our day at Nuffield came to an end we decided a juice in the newly refurbished juice bar come café was the way forward.  As we sipped our drinks a member of staff talked us through our pricing options and showed  us some great additional features that members of Nuffield receive.  I particularly liked the health MOT side of things which entails you having a health check when you first sign up then another one 3 months later and if your health stats have improved overall then you receive a boat load of great prizes including a free months membership!

Tracking Your Progress Is Super Easy Too

Tracking your progress is not only a great way to see what a difference fitness makes to your life but for me it is also a really powerful motivator to make sure you stay on track.  Nuffield make it really easy for you to do this with they new app.  By logging your exercise activity both in and out of the gym they will then use that information to map the perfect workout to you.  For instance, if you naturally do more cardio outside of the gym on dog walks etc then they will make your workout plan more strength orientated and vice versa to make sure you see the best results you can.

Sold!

All in all, Nuffield is the way forward now for me.  Ashville has been fantastic in helping me re-find focus but I need a bigger beast to get me to the finish line and that comes in the form of Nuffield.

*You can get a free day pass to Nuffield here…try it…I dare you but be warned, the jacuzzi down time makes it very difficult to say no*