Why members stay · Tower Junction
We could lead with the equipment depth, and we do on other pages. But read the reviews and a different word keeps coming up: welcoming. Relaxed. Somewhere people actually belong. That is not an accident of a good week. It is what a five-star profile at this depth is built on, and it is the reason first-timers who dreaded walking in end up training here for years.
Member voices · beginners and returners
Every quote below is a real Google review from a real Inception member in Christchurch. We do not write these and we do not edit them. This is what it actually feels like to walk in for the first time.
Your first visit · step by step
Most of the nerves come from not knowing what to expect. Here is the whole thing, start to finish, so nothing is a surprise.
One form, no card, no obligation. You pick the day. We are staffed for questions Monday to Thursday and on Friday and Saturday mornings, and the floor itself is accessible to members 24 hours a day.
No hard sell at the desk, no follow-up calls chasing you afterwards. Bring ID, bring a mate if it helps. You are here to look around, not to commit.
A quick orientation of the 800m2 floor so nothing is a mystery: where the pin-loaded machines sit, how the racks work, where to warm up. Ask anything. Every question is one we have heard before.
A body composition scan clinics charge up to $80 for, included from your first visit. It gives you a starting point in numbers rather than a guess in the mirror.
Start on the machines that guide the movement for you, at whatever pace suits. No one is watching, no one is waiting. You leave knowing you can come back on your own.
Easy to start · easy to ask
Pin-loaded machines guide the movement for you and change weight with the pull of a pin, so they are the easiest place to build confidence before you touch a barbell. We hold a large bank of them across the 92-piece floor. See the full inventory and pick where to start.
Browse the equipmentIf you would rather not improvise, our programming approach gives beginners a clear first block to follow, and the free body scan you take here is the same data Inception Nutrition coaches against from the same building. Same owners, same data, real results.
How we train beginnersMore member voices · staff and first sessions
Excellent equipment with great staff that helps out and actually know there stuff!! Not cramped like other gyms and the place is always clean and tidy. Alot of nice friendly people, great rules in place to keep everyone in the gym happy and wanting to come back.
I joined inception a little while ago looking for somewhere that was 24/7, has a wide range of equipment as well as a supportive community - I have found it here and am loving it. Clean tidy and organised which makes it so easy to move through sets without running around too much. Staff are super friendly & helpful, always smiling and encouraging. I look forward to continue training at Inception:)
Love going to this gym, such a comfortable and supportive community and amazing trainers (I see Sarah) highly recommend
Still reading up rather than booking? That is fine. Work through overcoming gym anxiety or, if it is relevant to you, starting strength training as a woman. When you are ready, the trial is waiting.
First-visit questions
It is the detail members mention most across 1,078 Google reviews: the gym feels welcoming, not intimidating. Plenty of our Addington members joined as complete beginners or after years away from training. You are not the only new face on the floor, and no one is measuring you against anyone else.
The floor is 800m2 with 92 machines across 71 variants, so even in the after-work rush there is room to move without hovering over someone waiting for a rack. If a machine is busy there is almost always a comparable one free, which is a large part of why the peak-hour crowding that puts people off other Christchurch gyms is rare here.
No. A good share of our 92 machines are pin-loaded, which means the movement is guided and the weight changes with the pull of a pin, so they are simple to start on and hard to get wrong. On your first visit we walk you through the floor and show you how anything works. You can also browse the full equipment list before you arrive.
Yes. Book the free trial and we give you a walk-through of the floor, set up your complimentary body composition scan, and answer whatever you want to ask, with no card required and no follow-up calls afterwards. Staffed hours run Monday to Thursday and on Friday and Saturday mornings, and members keep 24-hour access every day once they join.
More on our full FAQ, or see whether we are on your side of town from Riccarton and Addington.
The free trial is a full day on the Addington floor: the machines, the supplement store, a body scan. No card, no pressure, no follow-up calls. The nerves rarely survive the first session.
Weighing it up first? Compare every tier on the memberships page.