Club will add Reformer Pilates, hot Yoga and gym capacity for Canary Wharf members to explore
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Third Space Canary Wharf is vast.
Its facilities, spread over three floors above Waitrose in Canada Square, include an expansive Crossfit-themed training area, a combat zone with a full-size boxing ring, a climbing wall, a swimming pool, fitness studios, a dedicated mind and body space and that’s before you even get to the weights and cardio machines.
Billed as Europe’s largest luxury health club, it boasts an unrivalled selection of classes featuring everything from treadmills and Olympic weightlifting to bodyweight HIIT, kettlebells and callisthenics.
Pick pretty much any exercise trend and, if it promises serious benefits, the Third Space’s Canary Wharf facility will pretty much have it covered.
Like Barry’s? then Third Space has Sweat X. Prefer spinning? Choose Hardcore Cycle or Just Ride. Enjoy Crossfit? There’s Yard WOD and so on.
It’s not unusual to have more than 45 classes timetabled on a given weekday for members to choose from – all included in the monthly fee.
Soon, however, that won’t be all they’re getting.
Third Space is set to open a new branch on the estate, with access for Canary Wharf members at no extra cost.
Located at 15 Water Street above Dishoom and Tribe Canary Wharf, Third Space Wood Wharf will be spread over two floors.
The club is essentially an extension on a second site to the facilities already on offer in Canada Square. It will have its own fully-stocked gym floor and swimming pool, but also a series of new classes..
“We have a great offering already, but the idea is that if a member can think of a type of class they’d like to do, then it should be available across the two sites,” said Gillian Reeves, head of group exercise at Third Space.
“There are a couple of things Canary Wharf doesn’t offer that Wood Wharf will, completing our full suite of facilities.
“We’ll have dedicated studios for hot Yoga and Reformer Pilates.
“They will be great spaces and we can’t wait to welcome our members into them.”
The Wood Wharf branch is expected to open in early summer, with preparations well underway.
“It’s massive for Canary Wharf,” said Alex Barsby, the new facility’s dedicated general manager.
“With both sites taken into consideration, it’s such a fantastic offering.
“The idea is to deliver extra facilities to what we already have at the existing site without duplicating too much of what’s already there.
“There will be more capacity – there’s a fully equipped gym with Eleiko free weights, a sled track, professional lifting racks, Pulse pin-loading machines with digital screens and cardio machines.
“Upstairs, there will be beautiful changing rooms where members can relax, unwind and get ready before venturing out into the city.
“There’s a 20m pool with a hydro pool and unisex sauna and steam room facilities, which is something new for the club on the estate and will be ideal for couples.
“There will also be poolside loungers and an experience shower that people can use after coming out of the sauna or steam room.
“Being above ground, there’s lots of natural light with windows all round the club, which is really fantastic and gives it a lovely feel.”
While the extra capacity will be of obvious benefit – especially to Tribe hotel guests, who can use the facilities – the chief attractions are perhaps the two new studios and the possibilities they bring.
While Third Space Canary Wharf offers a programme of mat based Pilates classes and Yin, Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga at ambient temperatures, Wood Wharf will expand significantly on these.
“We’ll continue with all those classes,” said Gillian.
“But these new spaces allow us to offer more.
“The hot Yoga studio will be heated to between 32ºC and 35ºC – a really lovely temperature.
“We know from our other clubs that some people really want to escape to a warm place where they can feel that they’re sweating a bit.
“It can feel a bit more challenging because you have the heat to contend with and that puts your body under greater stress.
“The fact it’s hot and that you have to move and breathe, means you need to work with your mind – to use all the tools that your practice has taught you to focus on the positions.
“To keep things straightforward we’ll be programming the same forms as in the ambient studios but there are variations because we don’t dictate to our teachers the approach they should take.
“Everyone who teaches at Third Space has years of experience and the classes differ based on the way that they have been trained in Yoga.”
Perhaps the most significant addition to Third Space’s offering, however, is its decision to include a Reformer Pilates studio at Wood Wharf.
“This equipment is commonly used in smaller groups or one-on-one, but we’ve found there’s growing demand for bigger classes with lots of Reformers,” said Gillian.
“The challenge was to keep the authenticity of Pilates when creating these larger classes.
“To do that, we needed an expert and we found that in James Shaw who has been teaching for more than 10 years.
“He has a wealth of knowledge and experience and he’s really passionate about Pilates – he’s devoted his life to it.
“He’s developed our signature classes and we’ll be running Fundamental Reformer Pilates, Traditional Reformer Pilates and Dynamic Reformer sessions.
“We’ve dropped the word ‘Pilates’ from the last one, because it’s really movement exercises on the equipment and looks quite different from the traditional system, but members love it.
“We’ll also be offering Tower Pilates classes, where participants will work with the structure at the end of the equipment.
“It’s a really nice addition, as it’s a different way of working with the resistance springs.”
Alex added: “Third Space is an investment in yourself – the return you get can be life-changing.
“We really pride ourselves on the fact everything we do is member-assessed.
“We love this feedback and use it to constantly improve what we do and to provide what our members want.”
Membership at Third Space Canary Wharf, which will include the new Wood Wharf club currently costs £212 per month.
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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
