Overview

Set aside in a business park, round many small roundabouts is the blocky building of David Lloyd Oxford, about 20 minutes drive with traffic from the town center of 10 minutes from the nearest park and ride.  Set up with a clean and fresh open feel with ample parking and a 6am opening time week days I went and had a morning look around.

The layout is quite similar to some of the other large business park unit based David Lloyds, you come in and walk through the café to get to the changing rooms on the ground floor with then the gym itself being on the first floor and all other facilities really appeared to be on the ground (excluding spin studio). The gym area is laid out quite nicely with a central synergy as we often see, surrounded by a sea of cardio equipment of quite varying age and then with the main weights area to one long side.
The downstairs of the gym boasts quite a good range of the standard David Lloyd facilities with café, swimming pool and if you have paid the extra squash and tennis courts. All up quite a standard and strong DL offering in this location.

Moving onto the metal, the weights area is spread out with a long mirror and about 4 free benches with dumbells behind them, moving down into the far end of the long area there are 3 squat racks with deadlift platforms which was nice to see as they were busy I was still able to get one!
The weights area at the end nearer the stairs has a  very standard selection of plat loading machines, these are the older ones for David Lloyd prior to the 2016 refurb, hammer strength brand these are still great bits of kit but the range here wasn’t great lacking an incline chest press only having a standard I have seen better.
That said in between all of these pieces there were the benches and with 2 flat benches they get a big tick for me for international chest day and all of the kit I used felt well cared for and clean which was quite nice.

Along with this there is a second small free weights area as I have started to see which houses some lighter dumbells, a second set of fixed barbells, a couple of free benches and some miscellaneous bits of cable kit. These areas are set out to be used for functional users or away from the big heavy lifters and I really like this idea as it spreads people out and for people who aren't keen on being near those dumping the weights gives them their own area away from me !

Between these two areas is a small area housing the cable equipment which was appropriate but not extensive, with one of each machine and nothing particularly new or exciting it certainly did the job but again this isn't new since the refurb of most DL's in 2016. But a leg extension, curl, chest press etc are all present and accounted for which is more than enough.

The rest of the space around the synergy in the center is taken up with a mishmash of cardio equipment from over the years, I started on an older life fitness treadmill to warm up with the worlds smallest touch screen and ended on one of the brand new ones you can log into using your phone. This seemed a little odd but given that they had so much I can't really complain as it meant there was more than enough to go around. Though that said there were not TVs for most of the kit so you would be limited to the on screen apps which I am not such a fan of hunching over using.
With a stretching area to one side upstairs along with a couple of studios the gym itself is large and with good spacing between kit.

One final point is that the whole upstairs of the gym felt incredibly light, with huge windows and a good selection of mirrors training in the morning in summer as I did it really woke me up and got me going. The fresh clean feeling in the gym added to this to really energise me for my workout which I loved during my trip here.

Overall a very standard David Lloyd offering set in a reasonable location which I will certainly use if I am passing through the area again, nice staff and felt very fresh!


How busy?
Not too bad first thing on a Wednesday. Given the range of equipment and breaking up of areas along with sensible spacing between kit I think even when busy you wouldn’t have too hard a time here. By the time I left there were a few more people but even then plenty of room to get on with what I wanted to do.



Equipment
Free weights area
3 squat racks (3  with deadlift platforms)
2 flat bench, 1 incline, 1 decline
6 free benches
Dumbells up to 50kg
Set of plate machines including
Chest
Row
Shoulder press
Cable machines including
Low row
Cable cross over


Facilities
Indoor Tennis courts
Outdoor Tennis courts
Badminton courts
Squash courts
Indoor Pool
Café
Steam room/sauna
Changing/showers
Studios (inc spin)
Free weights area
Weights machines
Cable machines
Cardio area
Synergy 360


Pricing
As ever David Lloyd can vary by location on where your base is, recently talking to a friend they got a starting rate of
£90 for standard
£70 per person for couples
I have as other reviews had between £60-90 as the range and worth a haggle
Remember there is a premium over this for tennis/squash etc

Other bits
I loved how bright it felt in there
Loads of parking with a barrier which meant that getting a space near the door was easy, petty I know but made me happy
There is good wifi throughout which as ever makes me a happy chap
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https://www.facebook.com/DavidLloydOxford/
https://www.davidlloyd.co.uk/clubs/oxford

Overview
In the heart of the city (well near enough) not far from the train station and in the middle of the University campus sits the University Gym for Exeter Uni Sports park, not an exclusive  for students but giving access to public this set of fantastic facilities is not to be overlooked.

Built as part of a much larger sports complex for the university the campus itself for those looking to use it as a gym has a rather higgledy piggldey layout, going in and then upstairs to the main gym area. This area posts the cardio equipment a selection of cable equipment and then some free weights. Moving on and down round some more stairs cunningly hidden, you can then find your way down to the weight room. Boasting a second set of free weights, plate machines, a powerlifting area and more this section can feel a bit more oppressive for a casual gym goer but given the large physical split this is quite a good layout.

Starting with the equipment in the weights room, there are a full set of dumbells with two of each weight going up to 50kg and some going a bit higher which is rare! There are then 2 large deadlift pads with a chalk bowl for all to use which made me very happy, multiple flat benches, plate press machines,  4 squat racks with further deadlift pads and more! As a weights area it really was well equipped with lots of toys to play with and ample mirrors to use and despite the volume of equipment the room itself was niece and large which meant it didn’t feel too cramped up or people on top of you.

Clearly the weights room is setup to support the higher level sporting excellence that the uni has with rugby players and other sports. As I went out of term time this wasn't so bad but as a caution I imagine this could get a bit hectic and loud.

Upstairs for weights you have a selection of cable machines setup around the edge of the floor and then a second dumbell set not going as high but still going up past the normal 10kg of the small stacks, with more free benches up here doing certain volume exercises or super sets if the weights work for you was pretty good. But if you want to super set something between kit in the weights room or a cable machine and a heavy dumbell you are out of luck with moving things around a lot.

The cable kit is pretty standard and includes one of the most expected machines with chest press, cable cross over (another downstairs again which is a nice touch) and in the middle of the room is a synergy 360  with boxes.

The cardio equipment  is pretty new bits, with plenty of apps for those doing cardio including netflix which I found impossible to log into which wasn't ideal. But with wifi available and a good selection those looking to get their cardio done here should be pretty happy.

Other bits of note are the synergy which I hadn't seen in a university gym before along with ample other facilities in the building including pools, squash courts, tennis courts, a cricket centre and general sports halls for other classes.


As far as university gyms goes it is clear that Exeter takes is sports seriously, with plenty of equipment, lots of space and some serious kit for heavy lifters to get their teeth into you can have a really good session here and given the location I really do think this gym is worth a look!


How busy?
I went out of term time and it was pretty dead which was nice.
I can well imagine that given the equipment and the appeal this could be incredibly busy with students, though feedback from friends would be that the mornings are still pretty good with evenings being almost unusable in term times.


Equipment
Free weights area
3 squat racks (3with deadlift platforms)
4 deadlift platforms with chalk
2 flat bench, 1 incline, 1 decline
8 free benches
Dumbells up to 60kg
Set of plate machines including
Chest
Row
Shoulder press
Cable machines including
Low row
Cable cross over  x3



Facilities
Indoor Tennis courts
Outdoor Tennis courts
Badminton courts
Squash courts
Indoor Pool
Heated Outdoor Pool
Changing/showers
Studios (inc spin)
Free weights area
Weights machines
Cable machines
Cardio area
Synergy 360


Pricing
Students rejoice! £24 a month! What a steal for this kit totally worth it!


For the public a bit more, coming in at £32 a month or a single month pay as you go for £66 which is worth while.
If you want everything again a bit more at £37 but given the extra cost for something like a David Lloyd tennis membership this is an amazing price.


The downside here is I wasn’t able to find a good guest pass process for the place or a price for it!


Other bits
Wifi is incredibly slow and tricky
You are not going to want to be driving/trying to park here particularly as the roads/traffic can be a bit narly
There is a staff membership as well!
Doesn’t open until 7am! Which I appreciate as its mainly students….. We were all young once..


http://sport.exeter.ac.uk/facilities/virtualtour/
http://sport.exeter.ac.uk/healthandfitness/russellseal/
http://sport.exeter.ac.uk/join/membership/