If you’ve visited Highfield Campus this freshers season, you’ll have seen the Jubilee Sports Centres’ stylish remodel. The new facility has been erected after the University made a 40 million pound investment in sports and wellbeing facilities.
Inside the building is an expansive fitness suite, doubled in size and flooded with natural light. The gym is equipped with a complete set of TechnoGym machines. These are a categorical improvement from the centre’s old machines, which were typically unserviced and overstretched.
TechnoGym weight machines are interactive, including a game that incentivises the user to complete full reps by keeping a ball between two lines on the machines’ touch-screen.
Additionally, new cardio machines are attentive to personal goals, allowing the user to input their age, weight, and fitness target, and be subsequently presented with their ideal workout. This was particularly interesting on the stairmasters, which offer interval training for weight loss, or a glute targeted workout for muscle toning.
While the previous compass sports centre offered minimal focus to calisthenics, the new gym provides multiple state of the art machines, as well as a room-sized climbing frame with multiple pull-up bars, monkey bars and balance frames.
The new monthly and monthly plus memberships are vastly more expensive than their precursors and competitors, but the university is banking on their high class facilities and the addition of a climbing wall, premium pilates, and yoga classes.
Included pilates classes are well managed, personal equipment was provided, and the instructor was welcoming and encouraging. The modern studios are light and spacious. I felt perfectly comfortable attending solo upon arrival. Classes are extremely diverse, with around a third of the class being students and the majority local members.
There were people of all ages, genders and levels of fitness who could cater the session to their own ability. The fitness pilates is only thirty minutes, making it perfect for a beginner, or to squeeze into a busy day to feel refreshed and agile. Whereas the hour long premium pilates session aims to push its attendees a little harder.
In terms of value, Portswood’s popular GymGroup location remains the cheaper option, and perhaps better for proximity for some in student housing. It is an adequate gym with 24 hour opening times and good equipment. However, the Jubilee Sports Centre presents a proportional value for money in the sense that for £15 a month more, members have access to quality guided classes, the 25m swimming pool, state-of-the-art machinery, and the option to fit in a workout between lectures. If there is space in your budget for this renovation I would highly recommend it.
The new sports centre is an absolute triumph of an investment in student welfare facilites.
