Dreaming of that summer holiday, and planning to keep fit in style at the same time? The opportunities are there for those with sufficiently deep pockets.
The Christmas turkey has barely cooled off when the tone of the commercials on the television suddenly changes. There are three main themes; holidays, diets and fitness. In the darkest depths of the winter, the holiday advertisements have an undoubted appeal – especially those for the luxury end of the market.
For those who are lucky enough to be booking a five star luxury holiday, there may be a minor concern about keeping up their fitness when there is temptation all around. While this is a problem that most of us would love to have, it is interesting to see what is on offer at the top of the holiday market.
Smart modern hotels now often include a fitness suite and a spa. These are the ultimate in pay as you go gyms, because they are usually complimentary to hotel guests. Hence they can be considered as a gym where you pay by the day and get a free hotel room! Guests can expect state of the art fitness equipment, immaculate décor and ventilation, and expert staff on hand to assist.
Because these gyms cater for those who are just passing through, they need extra staff to provide help with equipment – no time-pressed hotel guest is going to want to bother with an induction session. The gym will often be open late at night or early in the morning, and even if there is no spa there will be a luxurious shower section complete with high-end toiletries and free fluffy towels.
As hotels continue to try to compete, there are now ‘six-star’ properties. One of the ultimate hotels in the world is in the desert city of Dubai, where guests to the tall tower can also make use of dedicated fitness equipment, infinity pools that look out far above the city, and a luxurious spa. Every tap in the hotel is covered in 22 carat gold, and every suite (there are no rooms) covers two floors.
For those seeking a similar experience nearer to home, the same group is now planning a six-star hotel in the centre of Glasgow, with the same facilities. If this goes ahead, Scotland could soon be hosting the ultimate in pay as you go gyms. Let’s start saving up!

Whether five-star or budget, it is easy to find all that you need to know about pay as you go gyms – both at home and on holiday. For great deals on passes for gyms of all types, visit www.payasugym.com

Posted to Birmingham with work, but still wanting to stay fit? There are ways to find cheap gyms that will suit your needs, however busy your day.
With times tough and jobs unstable, workers are often expected to commute for several hours a day and to absorb this unpaid overtime without a murmur. Lengthy journeys also eat into free time, making it very difficult to have any life outside work, and also limiting opportunities to stay healthy by getting some exercise during the week. Birmingham is a good example of this for those living near London if you have work to do there you could easily find that you are spending four hours or more a day just travelling. There must be a better way.
While staying away from home can also be very disruptive, it may well be worth trying to negotiate for this with the boss. You can cite some good reasons, including that you will have more energy as you won't be travelling for hours each day and so will be more productive. With train fares and petrol costs always rising, it may be cheaper for your employer to pay for you to stay in a hotel if they can get good rates.
If you want to stay healthy, try to arrange in a hotel with a fitness centre. There will be no need for a contract or any commitment to use these venues. Many of the best pay as you go gyms in Birmingham are in the hotels, and you may be surprised to find out the extent of the available facilities. At least one hotel has a twenty metre swimming pool, and resistance equipment, running machines and free weights are usually standard in the gyms. The best news is that access is often free to hotel guests, and available twenty four hours a day. This is very useful if you are working shifts and find that your free time is at unusual hours in a city that is strange to you.
If the hotel does not have any fitness facilities, it is usually possible to find cheap gyms nearby if you are staying in a big city. Gyms in other hotels may also be open to non-residents, and you might even be able to get some free trial passes.
So don't despair if you are sent away you can turn it to your advantage.

Are you looking for good deals on www.payasugym.com/cheap-gyms-in-birmingham(especially pay as you go gyms) in Birmingham? For details, locations, user reviews and discounts on day passes, visit payasugym.com

It seems there is always some diet or fitness craze going on, some crazier than others. This latest one – the high intensity workout – might just work however.
Last year we saw Zumba top the list of the best way to fight the flab. Previous years have awarded the crown to diet crazes such as the Atkins diet or the maple syrup diet. This year is the year of the high intensity workout. It’s not new, the principle has been around for years and plenty of fitness professionals already subscribe, but its mass appeal is growing. Well, it certainly sounds exhausting but what exactly is a high intensity workout?
It’s all fairly self-explanatory, really. Essentially, the idea is that you exercise with (unsurprisingly) high intensity, the idea being that you burn more calories that way. This might not sound like news to anyone who has an ounce of common sense, but here’s the trick (and the best bit): you only work out for a very short period of time. And by short, we mean short. As in four or five minutes. Sounds good to me, surely most people can cope with just five minutes of exercise a day?
Well, it all depends on the exercise being done. High intensity training isn’t for the faint hearted. You are supposed to lift as much weight as you can before your muscles literally fail you. Or run as fast and hard as you can so that you can’t take in oxygen fast enough, which means your muscles, literally, fail you. In short, you push yourself to the point of collapse. Which doesn’t take longer than about four or five minutes to achieve.
The benefit of this type of exercise has to be, surely, the time saving it offers. No need to sit in one of the gyms in Sheffield for half the afternoon, working your way sedately through the various machines. Nope, you’ll spend longer in the changing room than you do in the gym itself. It also claims to get results, sculpting and toning as well as giving you a cardio vascular workout at the same time in Sheffield.
Sounds appealing? Make sure you have a reasonable level of fitness before you embark on a high intensity training programme. It can be a bit of a shock to the body so you need to be confident you can cope with it before you attempt it. The best place to start is at a gym, where you can be sure you have been given a decent programme suited to your individual needs by a trained professional. There are plenty of gyms in Sheffield that run high intensity training sessions and programmes, with different gyms offering varying options – if one doesn’t suit you, don’t be afraid to shop around until you find one that does.
Visit www.payasugym.com to buy a pass to one of the many gyms in Sheffield where you can try out a high intensity programme for yourself.