The Barre www.the-barre.com

I go regularly to the Harpers Fitness gym and also use the pool. It's good value for money; equipment is reliable & I have a challenging fitness programme to work to. It's too busy from about 5.45-7.00pm, but most of the time machines are available and there's a good choice of different things to do + group activities. Machines are quickly repaired. At times the gym is too hot, though. Gym showers are poor. I wish the pool was available for general swimming more often,but I've used both pools and usually the baby pool is almost too warm.

I love the Barre Studio because it's very different from what other fitness clubs normally offer. Instead of traditional fitness exercises it offers workout which combines dance and pilates with resistance training. The workout was devised by a professional dancer who used to teach at a prestigious Pilates studios in Los Angeles. This is how the workout is explained on The Barre website:

'The Barre takes the most effective dance training moves and strips them down to the base mechanics of the movement (removing all the "fluffy" stuff), these muscle mechanics make up the Barre routine.' (www.the-barre.com/about-us/ )

All classes are run by professional dancers; the classes are pretty intense and the first few sessions left me really tired but it all payed off! The Barre routine is probably the only workout which gave results after just a few sessions which really encouraged me to continue training and gave me a confidence boost.

Classes last up to 60min and target all the important areas of your body - bottom, tights, belly etc. There's a wide range of classes available - from regular begginers/advanced to post and pre-natal sessions - there are even classes for brides-to-be!