Why We Love David Lloyd
In January of this year we started working with David Lloyd Clubs. Prior to this point when I thought about gym memberships, I would have always associated it with individual memberships. Where it’s adults only and you go to the gym around the kids being at school or you go straight from work before you’ve picked them up.
Scheduling time in at the gym does seem to be a problem for some, especially those with child care to consider. Do you set off for work early and squeeze in a gym session before you start work? Do you leave work on time and fit in a gym session before you have to head home? Can one of you go to the gym while the other one does tea time and bedtime with the kids? It just all seems a little bit complicated and while a bit of ‘me’ time is never a bad thing, maybe gym sessions don’t always have to be just about you.
Before teaming up with David Lloyd Clubs, I genuinely had no idea you could get family gym memberships. Did you know that? Now before you get images of our five year old and eight year old running on a treadmill or lifting weights, it doesn’t quite work like that! Or at least not until they are 14 plus. David Lloyd is a former professional English tennis player. During the 1970s and 1980s he and his younger brother John, were two of the most successful British tennis players. It’s not hard to see how important tennis is to David Lloyd when you set foot inside his clubs. They are really focussed around racket sports with an array of tennis courts, both indoor and outdoor as well as different surfaces to choose from.
At our club, there’s a corridor full of squash courts and a dedicated badminton area too. When we had the tour, the kids were literally gasping at all of the people playing tennis. The atmosphere was amazing and the age range of the people playing was vast. I’m talking young kids who could belt a ball right up to grannies who wouldn’t look out of place knitting in front of a fire. Absolutely brilliant!
Even the changing rooms are set up for families. Male changing area, female changing area and family changing rooms. Perfect when the whole family are going for a swim. Speaking of which, the pool is awesome and I was really pleased to see that unlike, local council pools, the swim schedule is not restrictive and complicated. I was used to looking on a timetable and looking for ‘public swim’ then trying to make sure we could fit it in on the right day and time. We’re yet to go to the clubs and find that it’s not an open to all swim session. If lessons are on they simply section off a couple of lanes and if there’s an aqua class on there are still other lanes that can be swam in.
If you’re brave enough there’s an outdoor pool! So far we’ve only watched the steam rise off the heated pool but haven’t ventured out yet. I did get as far as opening the door to outside once but it was 2 degrees outside and when the cold hit me I chickened out. I think the trick is to go out before we’re wet. I’m determined for us to all go in on our next visit. There’s no shallow end or deep end to the pool so it’s perfect for teaching your kids to swim. There’s always plenty of floats for kids to use and play with too. From mine and the hubby’s side it is the perfect depth pool for practising Kun-Aqua. Of course, I’d by lying if I said we never go to the club on our own.
So as a family we can play tennis together and we can go swimming together. The kids had a shaky start with tennis but after a few sessions they have come on leaps and bounds. We can use the app to book our court so it’s really hassle free. The clubs are somewhere that you could literally plan to spend all day in. Spot of tennis, a swim, bite to eat in the cafe and kids can play in the soft play area or on the iPads dotted around. With the adults in mind too, the Clubs have matched a kids activity programme, called DL Kids to coincide with the popular group exercise classes. You can take part in a class, play squash or go into the club gym while the kids go off to do multi sports and make new friends. There’s also kids coaching programmes, referred to as All Stars for swimming, lawn tennis and gymnastics.
If you want to keep your whole family active, maybe it’s time to ditch the individual gym memberships and think about a family membership. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing tennis as a family and visiting the club is an exciting part of the week for the kids. The school holidays are a great opportunity for us to try out new activities and we’re looking forward to trying the outdoor courts and outdoor pool over the summer months.