What are your New Years’ resolutions? Exercise is good for the brain. If the terrible weather is your excuse for not exercising, we’ve got bad news. There are gyms and fitness centres all across the city – some with student discounts and others with affordable packages.
There's a variety of fitness equipment available at Vital Fitness Centre. (Photo: Marcel Krijger)
Sports & Culture
The TU Delft Sports Centre on campus offers fitness facilities. S&C can devise a special training program based on your individual needs and skill level. Therey also offer a 15-minute abdominal workout group lesson in which an instructor takes you through exercises. To make use of the fitness facilities you need to have a valid sports card including a supplentary fitness subscription. A monthly membership costs from €19 plus €15 fitness supscription for students and from €39 for employees.
Where: Mekelweg 8-10
Vital Fitness Centre
For those living closer to Buitenhof, Vital Fitness is a good option. They have extensive cardio and strength equipment and there are always trainers to help out. The best part, you don’t have to sign on for an annual membership. “We make members sign a monthly contract so they can get a membership card. After that, they can renew it each month if they like or stop altogether,” said Rick Kassels, the manager. A monthly membership is €37,90 while an annual contract works out to €24,90 per month.
Where: Beethovenlaan 230
Koster Ladies Club and Koster Fitness Centre
The Koster Fitness Centre has two branches, one of which is for women only. “At the ladies centre we also have trainers and training routines that focus on problem areas for women. It’s located in a neighbourhood with a lot of different nationalities, so women from all backgrounds will feel comfortable here,” said Bob Koster, the co-owner of the centre. Their other fitness centre is next to the TU library and has facilities from cardio machines to weights and strength equipment. They have a student discount. To use the facility from 7:00 to 22:00 for a month costs €24,95 in a long-term membership (1 year).
Where:
Fitness Centre (Simonsstraat 109)
Ladies Only (Aart v/d Leeuwlaan 790)
Personal Fitness Delft
This is a smaller fitness centre with more focus on personalised training and physiotherapy: Personal Fitness Delft. A typical training session would either be one-onone or have up to four people at a time. “We usually set goals, for most people it’s weight loss or related to an injury. In the course of training we also focus a lot on correct posture, especially for someone with a hunch. In the long term, good posture presents future injuries,” said Evert Vrijhof. A one-hour long group training session for four people costs €15. The fitness instructors also conduct training sessions at home, but the prices for that are more.
Where: Ezelveldlaan152
CrossFit Delft
A fitness regimen that started in 2000, CrossFit incorporates multiple training styles – from high intensity interval training and gymnastics to powerlifting and weightlifting. At CrossFit Delft, a one hour fitness routine starts with a 10-15 high intensity warm up session that sets the pace for the more intense work out of the day. This can range from mobility training, flexibility and anything from gymnastics to weights. “It’s ideal for PhDs who don’t necessarily have a lot of time but want a workout regimen. We work with small groups of about 14 people and two instructors. The idea is for people to learn the proper way of doing these exercises and that needs attention,” said Ron Fiolet, the owner. Students are given a 10% discount and if you’re not sure you want to make a long term commitment, you can sign up for a 4-part course for €52.
Where: Rotterdamsweg 402 A2
Basic Fit
Basic Fit, a popular budget fitness centre, has two locations in Delft, one in the city centre and another near Gamma. While they have annual membership plans for €19,99, they also have a monthly package for €26.99. Besides fitness machines such as treadmills, cycles etc, they also have virtual group exercises – a pre-recorded lesson plays on a big screen for a group to follow. Membership at BasicFit is transferrable among family members.
Where: Breestraat 37 and Leeuwenstein 8-10
This is an updated version of a previous Survival Guide article.
- Going to the gym not your thing? Read our Survival Guide article Surviving fitness classes
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