PureGym London Canary Wharf — Attraction in London

PureGym Canary Wharf: Big Space, Big Questions 🤔

Ventured into the financial jungle of Canary Wharf for a session at this PureGym branch. First impressions? Whoa, this place looks massive! 🤩 Like, you could probably land a small aircraft in the machine area upstairs. But here's the tea... ☕

Despite the square footage, there are only FOUR spots to squat (you know, the proper ones with safety bars). Four! In a gym this size? Felt a bit like finding a single biscuit left in a giant tin. The machines are spread out, using space like it's going out of fashion, rather than packing in more glorious equipment. Makes you wonder... 🤔

Hit it up on a Saturday morning and it was RAMMED. Felt like rush hour on the Jubilee line, but with more sweat. 🥵 Speaking of sweat, hope you brought your own hydration pack, because PLOT TWIST: THERE IS NO WATER FOUNTAIN. None. Nada. Zip. By the end, I was drier than my DMs. Seriously PureGym, water is kinda essential? 💧🚫

On the plus side, the staff seemed friendly! 👋 But navigating the freeweight area was like playing 'The Floor is Lava' mixed with an obstacle course. Had to hurdle benches just to get to the dumbbells. And watch your step in the functional area – spotted a broken floor plate taped up like a crime scene. ⚠️ Safety first, people!

The lads' toilets were apparently brewing up their own special scent today 👃, and the overall vibe was just... a bit messy. Needs a tidy-up!

And the million-dollar question: Was there a belt squat machine? Drumroll... 🥁 NOPE. STILL NO BELT SQUAT. My quest across London continues. The dream is fading, folks. 😭 Those 25kg plates felt particularly judgemental today, probably mocking my dehydration and lack of belt-squat-induced glute gains.

Verdict: It's big, it's in Canary Wharf, and the staff are nice. But the low squat rack count, lack of water, general chaos, and still no belt squat knock it down a few pegs. Manageable, but maybe avoid peak times and BYOW (Bring...

Was looking to change from my regular pure gym to this branch. Unfortunately I had a shockingly horrible experience with the male tall trainer that works here. He is extremely aggressive and rude. The first day I attended he consistently stared at me whilst training another person. The next day I approached him to ask for help on adjusting the leg extension machine as he was the only staff member on the floor. He acted very weirdly and told me that he didn’t understand my problem and that the equipment I use at my usual gym isn’t “real gym equipment” (even though it is another Pure Gym). He aggressively spoke over me and when I asked that he let me talk, he rudely demanded “Speak then” and stormed away from me. He obviously has some serious issues and has problems with speaking to women. After the encounter I went to the women’s changing rooms and was shocked about the experience. Another female regular gym goer approached me and told that he is consistently rude to women - he had laughed at a girl who was struggling to keep up in his spin class. I can see that she has also left a review and said that his name is Fares Mahieddine. When I asked this trainer to show me where the manager was, he pointed to the managers door then shouted across the gym “you’re welcome” at me. The manager said that he would contact me about my experience but didn’t. They clearly don’t care about this staff member making women uncomfortable. Overall the gym is fine, there is a good variety of equipment. But I wouldn’t go back again based on the abusive staff member and the carelessness of the manager. If you are a woman, I would stay far away from here and go to the Limehouse or Bow wharf branch instead. As for the trainer, maybe he should look into anger management sessions to control his attitude towards women. Or find another job that doesn’t involve people asking for advice on gym equipment … aka a basic role of a...

I recently went to a spin class with my housemate. I honestly wanted to say that wasn't appreactive of Fares Mahieddine attitude to the class. The layout of his session was poorly made. It was a 30mins session. But I felt as if he was picking on me most of the time as I was pushed to my limits. I had to rest but was still cycling to keep my momentum. The fact that he kept coming up to me and being quite disingenuous about it. He also spent barely any time on the bike himself making it quite hard as a beginner to find my feet. I left the class feeling deflated and discouraged, Fares lowered my confidence. I've recently quit smoking so my lungs weren't up to par as I wanted to build on that. The fact I left the class and laughed about it was very disrespectful. Tbh I don't think he is in the right job. If you are a personal trainer you need to know how to work with people at different abilities.

Be mindful. I'm not shocked that two other girls commented on their experiences with him.

Compared to the other instructors. I was recommended to go to Sara Verna as her classes is actually planned, not forced on. Actually a sustainable session.

UPDATE:

I went to Sara Verna Cycle session, I actually lasted the whole session with her for 30mins with an actual plan to high and low intense workouts on the bike. To be fair it’s quite funny that I lasted 10 mins faris session as is his session was designed poorly there wasn’t any moment of rest. Shows how much can be done in a session. Many thanks...