Health and fitness journalist Lisa Buckingham gives us the lowdown on the newly opened luxury Third Space Tower Bridge gym in London.
“If gyms are your thing, this one you’re going to love. Third Space already has high-end gyms in Soho, and Marylebone, and the £3.5 million refit they’ve just given this stunning new location within view of Tower Bridge is something to behold.
It is HUGE. And swanky – all muted colours and modern art. And (I loved this) it has Cowshed products and GHD straighteners in the beautiful new changing rooms and showers. It has a pool, with the kind of lighting that makes you want to live there, plus a juniper-log sauna to ease away your cares.
The gym area is vast and contains enough treadmills to ensure that you’re never going to need to give someone the ‘you’ve been on there for over 30 minutes’ death stare at peak time, along with new, state-of-the-art weights machines, and a swathe of free weights.
My favourite bit, though, was the rig. Comprising monkey bars, cargo net, ropes and pull-up bars, you can have your own little adventure race. Or go to a Rig Fit class, where you’ll combine treadmill running with functional-fitness work on the rig. Way more fun than your average class.
The studios also offer a wide range of classes, from Hot Yoga (from Feb 2016) to Barre Body. I tried Bells and Bars, where I was put through a series of lifts, squats and press-ups accompanied by a barbell and dumbells. A lot of women shy away from heavy lifting and this class was the perfect way to get into it and discover its toning and honing benefits.
I also did a fabulous Total Cycle class with sickeningly fit instructor, SJ. She powered along to the thumping music barely breaking a sweat, while I was glad that the clubby lights were masking my heavy breathing.
I forgave her, though, while I finished my evening with a lovely hot shower amid the aroma of Cowshed aromatics, re-energised with a selection of healthy goodness and organic juice from Natural Fitness Food in the foyer and emerged to the view of a lit-up Tower Bridge.”
Lisa Buckingham is a health and fitness journalist for national newspapers and magazines @lisabuckingham1