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    Where are the UK’s most Instagrammable gyms?

    <p>Where are the UK’s most Instagrammable gyms?</p>

    Whether it’s for motivation, sharing health journeys or to engage with other fitness-focussed followers, we’re all used to seeing a #gymselfie on our feed. And, as of October 2022, the hashtag had 3.5 million posts, with that number growing every day.

    Beyond taking selfies, gyms across the UK are often filled with impressive state-of-the-art machines and offer fun and innovative fitness classes that are too good not to snap. If you feel good about walking into a space then you’re much more likely to keep up good habits and come back, especially if the aesthetics help to take that #gymselfie to the next level.

    With this in mind, we wanted to investigate which gyms across the UK are the most Insta-worthy.

    To do this, we identified the 5 most popular gyms across the 50 biggest cities in the UK, before analysing Instagram location data to learn which ones had the most tagged posts. More than 250 gyms were in the running to help us learn which gym was the most Instagrammable – and which city had a particular penchant for sharing these snaps.

    Which gyms are tagged the most online?

    Psycle (@psyclelondon) in Oxford Circus, London, was the most popular, with 14,200 posts tagged at its location. Offering cycling, barre, strength, yoga and reformer pilates, there are plenty of opportunities to share a post when visiting this hotspot. Another Psycle gym at Canary Wharf didn’t quite make the top 50 list, but did still have 2,854 posts tagged.

    Coming in second was UFit Fitness (@ufit_fitness) in Cardiff, with 12,800 posts, followed closely by another London gym, Equinox (@equinox), with 12,500 posts. BXR London (@bxrlondon), which runs group classes including Versaclimber and boxing, came sixth on the list and had more than 9,300 posts tagged.

    JD Gyms (@jdgyms) in Coventry was the fifth most popular gym with almost 9,600 tagged images. The JD Gyms chain appeared on the top 50 list 12 times, while another known chain, CrossFit, featured five times. CrossFit Connect (@crossfit_connect), in Brighton, was the most popular with 4,442 posts.

    The top 50 most Instagrammable gyms in the UK are:

    RankGymCityNumber of tagged posts
    1Psycle Oxford CircusLondon14,200
    2UFit FitnessCardiff12,800
    3Equinox KensingtonLondon12,500
    4Third Space CityLondon10,100
    5JD Gyms CoventryCoventry9,757
    6BXR London – Paddington StLondon9,301
    7JD Gyms – Liverpool Dale StLiverpool8,345
    8Form LeedsLeeds7,686
    9South Kensington ClubLondon7,607
    10Third Space Canary WharfLondon7,204
    11Buzz Gym ReadingReading6,761
    12Ministry of FitnessBristol6,186
    13BodyismLondon5,717
    14Physique Evolution Gym & FitnessDerby5,609
    15Third Space SOHOLondon5,322
    16Pump Gyms NorthamptonNorthampton5,299
    17Ware-House GymSwansea5,197
    18KXU LondonLondon5,172
    19Method TrainingNewcastle5,051
    20U7 Gym ExeterExeter4,878
    21Barry’s Worship St.London4,791
    22FeelFit Gym OxfordOxford4,552
    23JD Gyms – Leeds SouthLeeds4,464
    24CrossFit ConnectBrighton4,442
    25GymWorks PrestonPreston4,437
    26BXF GymsSheffield4,425
    27JD Gyms – Glasgow NorthGlasgow4,089
    28ESPA Life At CorinthiaLondon4,041
    29CrossFit GlasgowGlasgow3,896
    30Gym Co BelfastBelfast3,822
    31JD Gyms – DerbyDerby3,808
    32KX Private Members ClubLondon3,751
    33David Lloyd CambridgeCambridge3,599
    34JD Gyms – WolverhamptonWolverhampton3,595
    35JD Gyms NewcastleNewcastle3,371
    36CrossFit CardiffCardiff3,370
    37Whatever It Takes (WIT)London3,359
    38CrossFit BFG LeicesterLeicester3,339
    39JD Gyms – Liverpool Edge LaneLiverpool3,143
    40JD Gyms – Whitworth StreetManchester3,089
    41JD Gyms – NottinghamNottingham3,034
    42CrossFit AberdeenAberdeen3,033
    43BodyWorld PlymouthPlymouth3,018
    44UFC GymNottingham2,933
    45The Foundry VauxhallLondon2,873
    46Barry’s – Eccleston YardsLondon2,864
    47Psycle Canary WharfLondon2,854
    48CrossFit PutneyLondon2,729
    49H3 GymNottingham2,613
    50Everlast Fitness ClubsGlasgow2,577

     

    Which city makes the most gym posts?

    Unsurprisingly, the London gym scene features heavily in the top 50. In total, 15 gyms from the capital city made the list, amassing a combined total of 98,802 posts.

    Outside of London, gyms in Manchester were the second most popular, with members uploading 15,923 tagged images across three gyms. Three gyms from Nottingham also featured on the top 50 list, accumulating 9,684 posts.

    Ryan Kelford, operations manager at Versaclimber UK, commented on the research:

    “Many of us are guilty of a quick gym selfie, and when the gym looks as good as some of those featured on this list, it’s not surprising. Fitness is a passion for lots of people, which is why there’s such a big appetite to share their journey online

    “Now that summer is over, and people’s evenings and weekends are set to be less busy, it’s the perfect time for people to kick-start their fitness routines once more. This gives gyms the incentive to invest in making their in-person member experience better than ever.

    “Introducing joint exercise is a great way to do this, as people look to make their fitness experience more social. Many of our partner gyms are loving our Versaclimber Hi-Tri for this reason.

    “Ultimately, a gym isn’t just a place to exercise. It’s somewhere to unwind and socialise as well as work out. As more and more venues understand the importance of facilitating this rounded experience, we’re sure that they’ll see their social tags soar.”

    For more information on Versaclimber, visit www.versaclimber.co.uk.

    Methodology

    Versaclimber took the 50 biggest cities in the UK, according to WorldPopulationReview.com.

    We then used Google Reviews to find the 5 most popular gyms in each city and searched their location on Instagram. From here, we used Instagram’s location data to determine how many posts were tagged to each gym.

    Data is correct as of August 2022.

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