The Lifestyle Gym is a part of the SLTA building (Sri Lanka Tennis Association) and has been one of Colombo’s more popular gyms for more than two decades. It also happens to be one of the smallest gyms in Colombo, but over the years Lifestyle has evolved from a gym to a comprehensive centre for fitness and health.
The gym is really quite small in terms of space with the gym equipment leaving you almost no room to wander around. They’ve got all the equipment you’d expect at a good gym and the machines are in pretty decent condition too, although probably not as good as Body Bar. The only downside is the lack of space, which also made taking photos a bit of a task.
But Lifestyle is more than just a gym, it’s a health institution. Although non-members also have access to the facilities like sports therapy, dietary consultations, assessments of body physiology and body therapy (massage), members get a special discount. They also have group spin classes and the best health bar in Colombo (according to my fitness freak of a friend). Check out their website, they have some useful information there.
Lifestyle/SLTA is also home to Entertrainers, a fitness organization that offer a huge range of group fitness classes and various workshops like Zumba. They don’t seem to have any real connection with the gym though, apart from sharing the same floor space. So if the gym really isn’t your thing maybe Entertrainers can help spice up your workout.
The personal trainers at Lifestyle are supposedly quite good. The charges range from between Rs. 600 and 900 depending on the trainer and your fitness level, this is cheaper than what you would get at Body Bar or Fitness First (~Rs. 1000), and possibly most gyms in Colombo.
All of this comes at a price though – Rs. 72,000 for an annual membership, it’s pretty darn expensive. For so much it really doesn’t seem worth it, you could pay a little extra for a membership at Waters Edge which also offers you a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and access to the bottle bank (you can BYOB). Expect a review soon.
With so many new gyms everywhere, I can’t see how they can keep the prices so high and get away with it. Was there something that I missed or are they simply overpriced?
