First-class fitness

An international gym "club" chain opens in a Gurgaon mall.

First things first. I am not a fitness freak. So the idea of going to fitness centre, even if it was the world renowned Fitness First, did not appeal too much. The fact, that it was in a mall, didn't do good to my already receding interest in the visit.

But I must admit that as soon as I entered the centre I was pleasantly surprised and kind of enjoyed the whole experience.

Fitness First comes in with a lot of brand equity and by the looks of it, doesn't disappoint. It's spread over a huge area with all kinds of fitness equipment one can think of.

The man at the reception was friendly enough and handed me all the pamphlets which had the various fitness packages on offer. On my request of seeing the centre, I was ushered in by a lady who took her time in getting a few forms filled and quizzed me on why I was interested in joining Fitness First. Of course some of the questions (like, "Are you lazy?") didn't make too much sense!

The fitness centre has great facilities including a cafe, a nice waiting lounge and an option of taking DVDs home for a few days. I told her that I had a back problem and asked whether they had any special packages for people who might suffer from such aches and pains.

The lady seemed to have all the answers and politely told me that if I wanted a personal trainer, I could even get that, of course at a premium though. Trainers come in three categories at Fitness First "" silver, gold and platinum "" and depending on my requirements I could pick one.

I was shown around the entire centre and though I did ask to try one of the equipment, the treadmill to be precise, it was politely yet firmly denied. I tried to speak to one of the personal trainers but was told that it could only be done after I had joined.

So I came back quite impressed with the facilities and the centre overall. The only dampener being the location. Somehow the idea of going to a mall everyday just doesn't go down too well, at least with me. Can you imagine dealing with the parking madness and chaos at the mall every day?

Rating 8/10. Excellent facilities and attractive packages can probably make the laziest of people join this fitness centre.

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