Are you sitting down? Good. Because what I'm about to tell you may cause your legs to buckle and…read moreyour heart to palpitate with excitement. The Fitzroy Bowls Club is: * Very Cheap Beer * Greasy burgers and sandwiches that are oh-so-delicious * Barbecues and BYO beef if you prefer that instead * Sunny afternoons * Absolute hilarity with your besties. Bowls is not just for old people, you guys! In recent years Barefoot bowling has become increasingly popular with the twentysomething and thirtysomething crowd. On any given weekend you will find a truly bizarre gathering of people all brought together by their love of the game (or of the beer.) Bowls is not a difficult game to understand, however it is a difficult game to master, and I assure you that the cheap jugs of beer will not help. Hanging out at the Fitzroy Bowls club is an original and fun way to spend your lazy summer weekends, having a birthday with a difference or even a quirky bucks or hens party. So grab your mates together, dress in your whites and hit up the bowls club, you won't regret it.

Three words, barefoot bowls and beer. During the summer Fitzroy Bowls Club plays host to barefoot…read morebowls on Tuesdays. For $15 you get a beer, all you can eat barbeque and of course a bowls competition. What more could you ask? Well, upon second thought, you could probably ask for some more beer. But then I will have to tell you that Fitzroy bowls has this covered too, with cheap beer aplenty. In fact, just so you can understand that THEY understand where the priorities lie, I will tell you about the time I went up to one of the staff and asked for a jack (the small ball in bowls that everyone tries to bowl their balls close to). Instead of getting me the 'jack' the guy started pouring me a jug of beer. It turns out he had misunderstood my New Zealand accent and thought I was asking for a jug. My team didn't complain that I returned with more than I was sent to get it must be said. These guys expect you to drink beer and they expect you to have fun. And with astro-turf lawns there isn't the same stress of drunken buffoons destroying the venue like other clubs that have grass turf. Fitzroy bowls is a great place to hang out on a sunny afternoon to play bowls and drink beer. The only thing I have against this concept is the fact that everyone seems to agree with me - this place can get packed.

Goodlife Fitzroy disappoints with unclean facilities and relentless, intrusive cold calls.read more

Do you remember Average Joe's Gym in the film Dodge Ball? Goodlife is all the great things about…read morethat gym, and none of the crap stuff. a. Everyone is welcome b. Everyone is encouraged c. No one is intimidating d. It caters for any fitness level e. It caters for all walks of life. With 'Designer Gym's' popping up all over the city, I am glad there is still a place like Good Life in our midst. The equipment at Good Life is the latest and the very best. Flat screen TV's adorn the walls and the latest music (and some classics) are always blasting in the background. If group fitness classes are your thing, Good Life does them all; Zumba, Spin, Pump, Yoga and many more. I highly recommend you take a class under Teresa's guidance, she will have you giggling the whole way through so you won't even realise how hard you're working!

I have to have a trainer that can push me and I'm confident they know what they are doing. Chris is…read morea fantastic adaptable trainer that can train a team with variable fitness levels. He leads by example and makes your feel comfortable (whilst in pain lol).

From the owner: - Personal and or Group Training - Boxing Classes (Pads and…read moreBag work) - Fat loss training - Strength and Conditioning - Massage and Remedial Therapy - Cardio and Endurance Training - Sports Specific Training - High Performance Fitness Training - Strength, flexibility and resistance training - Swiss ball training - Core and lower back conditioning - Tailored fitness programs

Great club, top line equipment, friendly social interactions, recommend if you are local or passing…read morethrough.

Full disclosure: I'm approaching 40 years old and haven't been a member of a gym in my life…read more That's a lie. I was a member of a rival gym a couple of years ago. When I joined up I was given an introductory personal training session in which I was reminded how unfit I was and sent packing with a detailed report on my woeful state of health. Or that's how it felt. Totally demoralising and I never went back. That was the background to my contact with Virgin Active (Bourke St.), following a new determination to get fit. It loomed in the background as I perused their site and filled in the contact form. So much so that I shared it with them when they called me back the same day. And again when I had a tour. But my experience with Virgin was nothing like what I experienced elsewhere. It was positive, inclusive, accommodating. They looked to take their cues from me and support my goals rather than impose their own standards. I could talk about the equipment (loads of it), the space (masses of it), or the range of activities (pool/spa/sauna? Check. Indoor rock climbing? Check.) I could mention the cleanliness of the venue or friendliness of the staff. But what it comes down to here is care. Is this a warehouse full of keep fit stuff or does it house a culture of care? It's the latter. Virgin Active have my ongoing business because at each stage they have proven themselves to care about who I am, where I'm at and what I'm aiming for. And that's valuable.

Great Social Soccer Club in the Heart of Melbourne - 13 Men's Teams and 5 Women's with a variety of…read morestandards

A few months ago my gal pals and I decided to ignore the boys in our friendship squad and head out…read moreon what was affectionately referred to as Ladies Day. Where did we go, you ask? Why the Princes Park Bowls Club! We run around the Princes Park track every weekend as it is so had always seen it in the distance, a beautiful bowling mirage, right next to the extravagant fountain. Nothing had prepared us for the awesomeness that lays inside though. Firstly, it's a bowls club and they are often renowned for having the cheapest drinks around. We elegantly devoured several bottles of sparkling there over the day and didn't reach the $100 mark. Winner. Secondly, we were introduced to a lovely lady bowls member who kindly took the time out of her day to teach us not only how to play, but how to WIN. She knew all the tricks of the bowling trade and generously gave them up to us. Finally, the Princes Park Bowls club would make an ideal, albeit slightly quirky location for the next big event in your life - birthday, anniversary, or maybe even a wedding? It's gorgeous, with a vintage feel and an absolutely heart-warming atmosphere. We spent at least a few hours there, laughing, chatting and bowling and had nothing but smiles from the more serious bowlers next to us. So. Much. Fun.