A letter to Virgin Active UK

For those who don’t know, I have recently been enjoying the glorious sunshine and lifestyle that is South African white man living.

Virgin Active Solihull

Part of this lifestyle involves going to the gym on a regular basis, doing the following routine:

  • Squash- 40mins - 1hour
  • Bike - 15-20mins
  • Rowing- 10-15mins (personal best is: 2510m in 10mins, averaging 1:55.5/500m)
  • Mixed weights- 1 hour.

So, once i got back to the UK, keen to stay on track with my fitness regieme, i looked into the opening times for the local VA gym (using the SA pass, pretending i’m a member gets me in free for a limited period (which can be extended if there is a different person on reception ) ).

After seeing the opening time was 6:30am, i was most disapointed as this isn’t early enough to go before work, so i wrote a letter to the UK VA website, ranting about my frustration.

Below is a copy of the email sent

I’m actually a member of the VA club in La Lucia in Durban, SA and come to the UK regularly.I find it disappointing that the VA gym in Solihull, UK does not open until 6:30. As most people have to be in work between 8am-9pm this means it doesn’t open early enough for me to workout in the morning.

The VA club in La Lucia, Durban, SA opens at 5:00am.

I know the UK is grey and miserable, but surely this ‘laid back’ attitude to opening times only feeds the problem of this ‘fat-state’ the country is becoming.

Lets be honest, no one fancy’s much of a workout at 6pm at night after a long day of work.

Also, the VA gym in Solihull has a outdoor pool instead of squash courts, which in my opinion is a huge mistake. The costs of heating an outdoor pool, and use of it given the UK weather conditions, surely someone should be sacked for making this disastrously wrong decision instead of building squash courts.

The general feel i have is that the VA in La Lucia, Durban, SA has a more gym, pro-active feel, and the Solihull Gym has a more ’spa’ feel, quite fitting the fat miserable middle age women reading books in their over sized t-shirts on the bike machines.

Kind regards,

Tom Taylor