Sport & Fitness

1-10 | 11-20 | 21-30 | 31-40 | 41-50

31 Fitrooms
Every aspect of this open-plan gym is inspirational and cutting-edge, from the smart Life Fitness cardiovascular machines and well-equipped weights area, to the clean metal lines and pumping dance music. New courses include Absolution – 30 minutes of intense abs training with a Swiss ball (ouch!), Rowing Challenge – where you row on computerised machines and can compete against others and a Versa-Climb class. There’s also a new beauty salon upstairs, featuring three treatment rooms.
Fitrooms, 254-258 North End Rd, SW6 (020 7610 1410/www.fitrooms.com) West Kensington/Fulham Broadway tube. Membership £31-£59 per month.

32 Portobello Green Fitness Club
The Westway Development Trust owns this friendly, bustling place, which has retained a strong community-focused feel in the face of the bland corporate image of the chains. Capoeira and Thai boxing are popular, along with courses (which cost extra) ranging from burlesque to belly dancing. If you just want to use the gym, a recent refurbishment has brought in new Cybex equipment – and there’s a decent free weights room as well.
Portobello Green Fitness Club, 3-5 Thorpe Close, W10 (020 8960 2221/ www.pgfc.org.uk) Ladbroke Grove tube. Membership from £44/month.
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33 John Ding Academy
Ding is a genuine master who can trace his lineage back six generations to Yang Lu Chan, founder of the Yang style. Classes for all standards run five days a week at this attractive centre, which also offers Pilates, yoga and complementary therapies. Instructors also teach in Stratford, Wanstead and South Woodford.
John Ding Academy, Unit 5, Limehouse Basin, 5 Branch Rd, E14 (020 7780 1818/www.johndingacademy.com) Limehouse DLR/rail. From £10 per class.

34 Karmaa
Former British and European kick-boxing champion Rafael Nieto founded this stylish centre in a beautifully renovated old stables building, with an approach designed to boost both physical and spiritual well-being. His ‘zen-do’ (‘all paths’) workout consists of kick-boxing combined with moves from other martial arts, including karate and Western-style boxing. Afterwards, ease your tired body and mind with a holistic treatment.
Karmaa, 101 The Stables Market, Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 (020 7485 7474/ www.karmaa.co.uk) Camden Town tube. Cost from £10 per class.

35 Shala Yoga Centre
Formerly the Sangam Yoga Centre, the Shala was renamed after relocation to this tranquil two-storey mews house. Therapies including craniosacral therapy and reiki take place in rooms upstairs, while the downstairs studios offer traditional Mysore self-practice alongside new classes like kids’ yoga.
Shala Yoga Centre, 80 Caistor Mews, SW12 (0208 670 0925/ www.theshala.co.uk) Balham tube or Clapham South tube.

36 King’s Cross Studios
Headed up by Tisha Harrington, a Pilates Foundation certified teacher, this centre offers private sessions and classes with a maximum of four people. Gyrotonic is also available.
King’s Cross Studios, 154 Caledonian Road, N1 (020 7837 7111/ www.kingscrossstudios.co.uk) King’s Cross tube/rail. Classes £18-£30 for group sessions, £55 for private lessons.

37 Sunstone
Set in a former church, this stunning women-only gym is well equipped with a pool, sauna, steam room and a gym spread out over three floors. Cardiovascular equipment and resistance machines are tucked in under the roof’s arches and a large studio space in the centre offering everything from salsa aerobics and capoeira to spinning classes. The club also has a small lounge area-cum-café at reception, crèche and children’s activities, and two treatment rooms offering beauty maintenance and complementary therapies. The attentive and friendly staff will devise a specific training programme for each new member.
Sunstone, 6 Northwold Rd, N16 (020 7923 1991/www.sunstonewomen.com) Stoke Newington rail. Membership from £48-£59 per month.

38 Special Yoga Centre
Alongside classes for adults, this centre operates as a charity providing yoga therapy for children with special needs. This can have a hugely positive effect on respiratory patterning, physiology and muscle tension among other things. The centre offers a wide range of classes including hatha, dynamic flow, Iyengar, ashtanga, therapeutic, gentle and pregnancy yoga plus the widest range of classes for children in London.
Special Yoga Centre, The Tay Building, 2A Wrentham Avenue, NW10 (020 8968 1900/www.specialyoga.org.uk) Kensal Rise rail. Drop-in classes £10.

39 Redbridge Sports & Leisure Centre
Developed over nine phases since 1972 by a charitable trust, this extensive centre caters for fitness fans and sports players of all ages and ambitions – right up to international standard. The gym (with Technogym equipment) is light and spacious, the dance studio operates a wide-ranging timetable, there’s an outdoor sports arena and the tennis centre is among the best in the country.
Redbridge Sports & Leisure Centre, Forest Rd, Barkingside IG6 (020 8498 1010/www.rslonline.co.uk) Fairlop tube. Membership from £40 per month.

40 Pilates Art
At this centre, as in Australia, Pilates is taught mainly as a rehabilitative tech-nique rather than a form of exercise – an approach embraced by the specialists here.
Pilates Art, 2B Heath Hurst Road, NW3 (020 7794 6560/www.pilatesart.com) Belsize Park tube. One-on-one sessions £52 per class or £250 for five, £470 for ten; group sessions, £160 for five, £300 for ten.