Ok not a direct consultant question but none the less very important. I am about to join a consultancy firm and as im a guy who likes nothing better to sweat out the day's stresses with a good gym session, does anyone recommend a good gym to join? Obviously bearing in mind that I will be away alot to various areas of the country, it has to be a nationwide gym chain i.e. fitness first? I like weight training as well as cardo so I need somewhere to cater for both of these requirements? Ps. Do alot of you get time to go to the gym later in the evenings after working on client sites?

I'm not sure if they're as 'nationwide' as some but I'm a member at Greens and visited a couple of their different ones.(sweeping generalisation to come) I chose Greens because I found the atmosphere to be much less pretentious i.e. people I meet tend to have a membership because they actually want to use the facilities rather than just to say 'I go to the gym'...and then spend all their time in the juice bar!I guess it really depends on location but I'm very happy with Greens.P.S. I also tend to get less angry/bizarre looks if I happen to make some kind of cry of agony while lifting weights!

Cheers dan I will look into Greens then, my sort of place where like you said people go to train not to socialise. Is Greens in london?

There are no Greens in London, there are nearly 60 fitness firsts in London.....say no more

the majority of companies have links or deals with gyms so it may be worth taking a quick look at your benefits to see if anything is includedi pay £36 a month for david lloyd in reading (its about £80 regular) but use my membership at one of the larger london ones which is way more expensive so its a great deal

how on earth did you get such cheap DL membership? can you really just join one of the cheap DLs even if you never go there, and then just always use another one (e.g. join in Fife and only ever use canary wharf)?

the david lloyd in reading isnt as big as the others and is really only a glorified gym with a pool - but its still great value with oracle discountim not sure if actually "allowed" but i never have any problems

ah, ok, you get a company discount.... i phoned them and they were only about £5 cheaper than i currently pay in london

What are the fitness firsts like? I'm moving to Canada Water on Monday and I think thats the nearest one.

Fitness first is pretty good, they're inexpensive, have good classes and decent equipment. Free drinks and DVD library. The one in canada water i imagine will be pretty good. Maybe if you're new to the area we could be gym buddies?

"Maybe if you're new to the area we could be gym buddies?"Well, I'll certainly consider your application. You'll need a 1st from Oxbridge, a top 5 MBA and top-notch extra-curricular activities. Tick all those boxes, and you stand a chance.