Overview
Having eventually abandoned my car on the industrial park, I wandered through past the other units of varying use to the one I had passed earlier. It's black roller door with white spray paint and distinctive style standing out amongst the standard grey units, as I started to get closer I could start to hear the rumble of bass music. Walking up to the door I could hear the crash of steel on steel slamming down and as I open the door I was greeted with X Gon' Give it to Ya, booming in my face as I entered a little metal moving mecha just south of London.

Let's be clear to start this review, this is not a fitness centre, this is a gym, I mean the sort of gym that has a Peugeot 206 in the corner for people to deadlift. This is a gym for people who want to move a lot of metal and grow big in the process. And this is the view I will be taking in the review.

The facility is spread out over one floor in a warehouse, with a reception a small pair of changing rooms that do the job and phone lockers (not big enough for bags but racks are provided for these to be left on in the changing room). The main weights area is spread out with the cardio equipment to the far right and a dynamic/AstroTurf area to the far left.
There is a free weights area to the front right and then the rest of the floor space is a mix of cable and weight machines, with most of the cable being at the back but with plate loading or plate assisted cable machines spread throughout, the area is really just used for "weights".

The free weights area has dumbbells up to… I think 50 or 60? They are a mix of age, shape and style which made it hard to check total weights to be honest, but there are plenty of them but only 3 free benches so there was a bit of competition. With only 1 flat, 1 incline and 1 decline bench as well the functional free weights area was probably the busiest bit but the rest of the gym has so much to offer its not too much of a challenge.
The plate loading machines had a huge range, 2 chest press, 3 shoulder I think? 3 hack squat, 2 leg press, 3 different calf raise. And more, there was such a range of this kit it was amazing to just walk around and at one point I ended up like a kid in a candy shop doing laps planning how to train my calves!
The cable machines are also equally varied with some nice variants you don't often see in commercial gyms like side raise, standing calf raise, peck deck with angled handles.
Again there was even more of this than the plate load so there was no contention to get onto any of this and with 2 smith machines as well, they really do have a huge range of equipment to isolate here.

Outside of this the other areas of the gym as expected in this style are marginalised, with a few pieces of cardio equipment to one side mainly treadmills and cross  trainers, these weren't too busy so not an issue. A functional area had a sled which was a nice touch along with  a few pieces of other kit like parallel bars which were good to use. All up these areas are not the focus here but they are presented and usable.

Other facilities are pretty sparse though there is a car that you can deadlift if you feel so inclined! There is a changing room with showers which not all gyms of this style offer and a front desk to buy various protein rich snacks which I loved.

Overall the equipment has been hard used, as you would expect. If you are a neat freak this place is not for you, it felt a little on the grubby side but that again to me built the atmosphere, it’s a "spit n sawdust" gym, if having a bench repaired with ductape isn't for you this gym really isn't. That all said there were a couple of bits of kit where new pads wouldn’t have gone a miss and a couple of wobbly bits.
Any other points would be that the mirrors are on point all around the gym, the lighting was fantastic and I felt amazing, this is the sort of gym you could do a photo shoot or film yourself and not feel out of place. I just loved it here, it is the sort of gym as someone who lifts heavy that you dream of finding to grind the work out at every day.

The atmosphere though… if you are training somewhere like this, it's because you aren't going to a gym to use a steam room after, you are coming here to develop yourself and the focus, the people, the atmosphere with the music and the metal clanking was just amazing.

In summary.. I am in love with this gym, for someone looking for a gym where you and everyone there are trying to train hard and improve yourself. This is the gym to go to, it’s a little metal moving mecha in the middle of Croydon that stands out from the clean cut chain gyms with a real personality and I cannot wait to come back and train here again.

How busy?
Given the price and the kit, as busy as you would expect. But given the opening time during the week of 5:30 it was pretty empty by about 7am. It was never too busy to not get on kit given the range but I did have to change training order a few times to work around people.

Could be very busy in the evenings so I would check this out

Equipment
This list doesn’t do this gyms kit justice
Free weights area
3 squat racks (3 with deadlift platforms)
1 flat bench, 1 incline, 1 decline
3 free benches
Dumbells up to 50kg
Set of plate machines including  
Chest x2
Legs x5
Shoulder press x3
Cable machines including
Standard isolation/chest etc
Cable cross over x2
Calf raise
One car to be lifted by the brave


Facilities
Changing/showers
Free weights area
Weights machines
Cable machines
Cardio area
Functional area


Pricing
Really reasonable! A guest pass was £5
At £30 a month I think that with a 5:30 opening time this place really is a bargain
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Other bits
Parking first thing really was a fuss, I ended up parked a minor narnia distance down the road next to a terrifying large road for lorries. I would suggest early doors or later as during both the parking was totally empty on the road

This is an amazing gym for a specific type of person, if you are a nervous gym goer still try it, the atmosphere and support network you can build in a place like this can be life changing


No wifi! Not a big deal and not the style of gym for it but my cardio was dull and given how cheap this is I think it could be a nice touch for them to add


https://www.facebook.com/kingsgymcroydon/
http://www.kingsgyms.com/

Overview
Set just south of London between busy roads and housing areas I found a building which from the outside I wasn't sure if I had accidentally found DLs office or a gym. It's red brick exterior almost putting me off I decided instead to go and have a bit of a session in Kidbrooke Village.

As with a lot of David Lloyd's this facility is set out over 2 floors, with the downstairs containing the bulk of studios, the indoor pool, café and changing rooms. With a section of the upstairs housing the main gym area, this gym suffers from the same challenge I am finding with a few David Lloyds which is a minor complaint, navigation. I had a good wander around the café and had to guess that the gym was upstairs, it’s a small ask but for the simple minds out there could we please have some more signs…

Once my poor addled 5am start brain had navigated me upstairs I found a rather odd layout but one I am seeing more, with a synergy to one side surrounded by cardio equipment, a main cardio area with a stretching section and then the weights area up some stairs including the free weights and cable machines.
That said this DL does mix this up a bit,  there is a second free weights area which houses a couple of benches (also seen at DL Reading and Oxford so far), but the other minor oddity here was that the benches (flat, incline, decline) were all down a set of steps where the rest of the free weights were up the stairs. This isn't the end of the world but in a plat hogging situation this could be a bit of a pain.

The rest of the free weights area was set out with a good set of dumbbells up to 50kg set out in front of a large and well-lit mirror (great lighting!), with the plate lifting equipment to one side. I was a little disappointed to only see 1 cage and 1 squat rack in here where other David Lloyds have had a bit more.
This appears to have missed some of the weight kit refurb that other places have seen, though the synergy is new the plate lift kit is the older hammer strength and the cable kit is a bit older.

The cable equipment is functional and there is a good range but with nothing new or random, a good solid set is present and a surprising number and variety of different handles and grips for the cable machines! I found about 5 variants to use for my lat pull down, I was not complaining.

The cardio equipment was a good selection of quiet new kit with a few unique pieces of ski trainers which I haven't seen in many places and a huge number of rowing machines. The stretching area was quite large for a David Lloyd, in fact probably the largest I have seen which I think could be why the weights area felt a bit smaller. All this kit was clean and fresh and the wifi for cardio was strong as ever, being new these almost all had screens built in so there aren't many TVs about which I prefer.

All in this gym was a small David Lloyd as they go for a weights area, it felt like some of the space could have been recycled from the stretching into cable kit to free up room for more free weights of plate kit. That said the gym wasn't too busy, I got my work done and there are a huge number of mirrors in every direction which always makes me a happy Ben. 

In summary you can get your work done here, but if this places gets busy you might feel the pinch with a smaller weights area if that’s your poison. The other facilities at the David Lloyd may make up the difference for you as ever depending on what you are after !


How busy?
Training from around 6-8 it was pretty quiet, there were a few other people training in pairs but not anything to interrupt what I was doing.
​
Equipment
Free weights area
2 squat racks (1  with deadlift platforms)
1 flat bench, 1 incline, 1 decline
4 free benches
Dumbells up to 50kg
Set of plate machines including
Chest
Row
Shoulder press
Cable machines including
Low row
Cable cross over


Facilities
Outdoor Tennis courts
Indoor Pool
Heated Outdoor 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
Parking was ample and not busy at all
I got lost in reception again and scared people looking like a weirdo
It’s a small DL as they go compared to something like Oxford


https://www.davidlloyd.co.uk/clubs/kidbrooke-village
https://www.facebook.com/DavidLloydKidbrooke/