Sport & Fitness

Alan Herdman Studio
Best for Pilates
A former dancer and teacher with the London School of Contemporary Dance, in the late 1960s Herdman was invited to New York to learn about the Joseph Pilates Method from two instructors who had been trained by Pilates himself. He returned to the UK, where Pilates was unknown, and in 1970 set up Britain’s first-ever studio. Herdman has been one of the key figures in the development of the discipline ever since, as Pilates spread beyond actors, dancers and singers to people struggling with chronic injuries.
Alan Herdman Studio, 17 Homer Row, W1H 4AP (7723 9953/www.alanherdmanpilates.co.uk). Edgware Rd tube. 7.30am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat, 10am-2pm Sun. Feature continues

Bodywise
Created in 1986 by a team of Buddhist women, Bodywise is part of the Bethnal Green Buddhist Mandala. It’s a charity dedicated to providing high-quality, affordable yoga, Pilates and tai chi classes and workshops, plus a range of holistic therapies – all informed by Buddhist values. Back in 1989, researchers for the Time Out ‘Guide to Sport, Health and Fitness in London’ found ‘a rather inscrutable atmosphere’. The warren of treatment rooms and a large studio were refurbished in 2006 and the place now lives up to its claim of being ‘an oasis in the city’.
Bodywise, 119 Roman Rd, E2 0QN (8981 6938/www.bodywisehealth.org). Bethnal Green tube. 9am-8.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-2.30pm Sat, varies Sun.

Budokwai
Best for martial arts
The Budokwai was founded in 1918 by a Japanese immigrant who thought ju-jitsu and ken-jutsu (sword fighting) might help his adopted country during the First World War. It’s the oldest and most famous Japanese martial arts club in Europe, playing a lead in the creation of the International Judo Federation and hosting many Olympic medallists. Although solely a judo club during its early days, The Budokwai now also offers karate, aikido, jiu-jitsu, kick boxing, yoga and Pilates.
Budokwai, 4 Gilston Rd, SW10 9SL (7370 1000/www.budokwai.co.uk). South Kensington tube. 9.30am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6.30pm Sat.

Central YMCA
Best for classes
Anyone who has attended a safe and inspiring fitness class should give thanks to this place, the world’s founding YMCA. When the aerobics revolution hit Britain in the early 1980s, it was here that the first qualifications for teachers were devised. Since 1984, more than 64,000 instructors have qualified through YMCA Fitness Industry Training. Not surprisingly, the standard of teaching at the club’s 90 classes each week is impeccably high. A refurbishment has added a mezzanine floor to the main gym, a new cycling studio and improved changing rooms, but the friendly, welcoming vibe remains intact.
Central YMCA, 112 Great Russell St, WC1B 3NQ (7343 1700/www.ymcaclub.co.uk). Tottenham Court Rd tube. 6.30am-10pm Mon-Fri, 10am-8pm Sat, 10am-6.30pm Sun.

Danceworks
‘At peak times the place is buzzing with bodies,’ claimed the 1989 Time Out ‘Guide to Sport, Health and Fitness in London’. Two decades on, nothing has changed. This listed Victorian building has offered Europe’s widest selection of classes since 1982. You can choose from almost 170 dance, fitness, martial arts and yoga workouts each week, held in six well-appointed studios. New trends are quickly reflected on the timetable: anyone for Verse-Bebop Jazz: a ‘hardcore underground freestyle form repackaged with the latest breakbeats and hip hop dubs’?
Danceworks, 16 Balderton St, W1 6TN (7629 6183/www.danceworks.net). Bond St tube. 8.30am-10pm Mon-Fri, Sat; 9am-6.30pm Sun

Iyengar Yoga Institute
Best for first-timers
Iyengar is a precise and very structured form of yoga with a strong remedial element. Set up in 1979, the Institute devoted to its practice moved to its present location in Maida Vale in 1983. Minimalist architecture (glass bricks, French windows and skylights) characterises the two large studios. About 50 classes are on the weekly timetable, including six-week starter courses and taster sessions, all taught with care and typical thoroughness. The centre has close links with the parent Iyengar Institute in Pune, India, as well as the patronage of 90-year-old BKS Iyengar himself.
Iyengar Yoga Institute, 223A Randolph Avenue, W9 1NL (7624 3080/www.iyi.org.uk). Maida Vale tube. 9am-8.30pm Mon-Thur, 9am-6.45pm Fri, 8am-2.30pm Sat, 9.30-6.30pm Sun.

Jubilee Hall
Best gym
This place was set up in 1978 by a charitable trust as a sports centre for local people, housed on the first floor of Jubilee Hall Market. The building was originally built in 1897 and used for fruit and vegetable retailing until the 1970s, when Covent Garden Market moved to Vauxhall. There’s no pool; instead, the airy, ornately pillared space is devoted to a huge gym, cardio theatre and impressive dance studio. As befits its origins, this is a club with an impressive community atmosphere.
Jubilee Hall, 30 Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 8BE (7836 4007/www.jubileehallclubs.co.uk). Covent Garden tube. 6.45am-10pm Mon-Fri, 9am-9pm Sat, 10am-5pm Sun.

Pineapple Dance Studios
Debbie Moore founded this famous centre in 1979, in an old pineapple warehouse. Her aim was to break down elitist barriers and make dance accessible to everyone because, as she put it, ‘to dance is to live’. Moore was the first female chairman to walk the floor of the Stock Exchange when Pineapple became a public company in 1982. The place hasn’t lost its ‘Fame’-era appeal, remaining a warren of studios offering about 40 dance styles at all levels and more than 200 classes every week.
Pineapple Dance Studios, 7 Langley St, WC2H 9JA (7836 4004/www.pineapple.uk.com). Covent Garden tube. 10.30am-9.30pm Mon-Fri; 10.30am-6pm Sat, Sun.

Seymour Leisure Centre
The main hall at this landmark 1930s centre used to house one of the most attractive pools in London which measured, bizarrely, 44 yards. Back in the 1980s, Boy George and Kim Wilde were often to be seen ploughing up and down; now, a floor seems destined to cover it permanently, giving over the space to racquet sports and five-a-side football. Swimmers are still catered for in a bright but narrow 30-metre pool. There’s a large Courtneys gym and, as if in homage to ‘Move It’, the 1980s aerobics programme that was among the hottest in town, a busy schedule of classes across three studios.
Seymour Leisure Centre, Seymour Place, W1H 5TJ (7723 8019/www.courtneys.co.uk). Edgware Rd tube. Fitness centre: 6.30am-10pm Mon-Fri, 7am-8pm Sat, 8am-8pm Sun. Pool: 6.30am-8pm Mon, Tue, Fri, 6.30am-9pm Wed, Thur and Sat 7am-8pm, Sun 8am-8pm.

Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre
Best for yogis
The Sivananda Centre has been teaching yoga in London since 1972 and moved to Putney in 1991. Set up by Swami Vishnu-Devananda, this is an ashram – a spiritual community run as a charity, with staff working as unpaid volunteers. However, it’s not too solemn to have its own ‘online boutique’. Teaching is high standard in a top-lit studio, with workshops on nutrition, meditation, Ayurveda and cooking complementing the drop-in yoga classes – at least four most days, plus courses and workshops.
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, 51 Felsham Rd, SW15 1AZ (8780 0160/www.sivananda.org/london). Putney Bridge tube. 10am-9.30pm Mon-Thur; 10am-6pm Fri, Sat; 3pm-6pm Sun.