Plan backwards from the door
Most rushed visits go wrong at the end, not the start. Begin with the time you must leave the building and work back through each stop, using your own numbers. RPM's recovery suite page describes the three rooms. This guide is about fitting them between a session and the rest of your evening. For a suite visit squeezed into a working day, see short recovery-suite visits.
| Stop, working backwards | What decides how long it takes | How to shorten it |
|---|---|---|
| Leaving the building | The lift and the walk to your car | Pack your bag before you reach the vanity |
| Getting ready at the vanity | Hair length, a headscarf, make-up or shaving | Keep a small kit that lives in your bag |
| Dressing | Whether you have stopped sweating | Bring clothes on a hanger so nothing needs smoothing |
| Cooling down after the suite | How warm or cold the room left you | Choose the room that suits your next stop |
| The suite itself | The guidance posted in the suite | Use one room, once, or skip it today |
| Cooling down after training | How hard the session was | Finish with easy movement, not a hard finisher |
| Training | Your plan for the day | Trim accessories before you trim the main work |
The order that works, and why
- Train. The session is the reason for the visit, so it gets your freshest minutes.
- Cool down with easy movement until your breathing settles.
- Visit one suite room, if you planned to and you feel well.
- Rinse off as the suite's posted rules ask. Ask the team where to do this.
- Dress in the changing area. Keypad lockers keep your clothes and phone secure in the meantime.
- Finish at the vanity. Anything you do there before the suite or the changing room, you will do twice.
Match the suite to where you are going next
| Next stop | Suite choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The office or a meeting | Usually none, unless there is plenty of time to cool down | Heat keeps many people sweating after they dress |
| Dinner, or a family visit | One room, early enough to cool down and dry your hair | You want to arrive settled, not flushed |
| School pick-up | Only with a clear margin | Running late out of a heat room is the wrong way to end a visit |
| Home to bed | Whichever room leaves you sleeping as usual | Some people find a late visit keeps them awake |
| Friday prayers | Usually none on a short Friday | Friday hours are shorter, and time before Jumu'ah is tight |
Heat and cold rooms are a poor fit for some people. Speak to your doctor before using the sauna, steam room or ice bath if you have a heart or blood-pressure condition, are pregnant or take regular medication. What you read here is general information rather than medical advice.
Getting ready after heat or cold
- Wait until you have stopped sweating before make-up or hair products, or they will not stay put.
- After the steam room, dry your hair fully before styling it. Damp hair and humidity work against most styles.
- If you wear a headscarf, dry your hair and neck completely first, so the fabric stays comfortable for the evening.
- Shave at the vanity rather than in the wet rooms, and wipe the basin afterwards.
- Fragrance goes on last, once you are dressed and away from the shared rooms.
How to judge any gym's grooming area, from lighting to dryers, is covered in choosing a gym with grooming facilities.
What to pack for a one-visit evening
- Sandals for the suite and the changing area.
- A water bottle, refilled before any heat room.
- A waterproof bag for sweaty kit and wet swimwear.
- Evening clothes on a hanger or in a garment bag.
- A small kit of your own products. Ask which products the grooming hub stocks, so you only pack what is missing.
- A towel of your own, until the team tells you whether towels are provided.
Worked example: a sales manager with a client dinner
Take a sales manager who trains after work on a Wednesday and has a client dinner that evening. He calls the time he must leave the building L and works backwards from it.
- He packs his shirt on a hanger and his own wash kit in the morning, so the end of the visit holds no surprises.
- He trims the session to the main lifts and skips the hard finisher, which buys back the cooling-down time.
- He chooses the sauna rather than the ice bath, because he enjoys it, and leaves it with time to cool down before dressing.
- He reaches the vanity with a margin before L. On a night the session overruns, the sauna is the first thing he drops.
He arrives at dinner on time, dry and settled. The visit worked because he planned the last stop first.
Recovery and getting ready at RPM
RPM's single club sits on Level 4 of AD HUB Sports Complex in Al Manhal, with free on-site parking at AD HUB and a lift up to it. Its recovery suite holds a Finnish sauna, an aroma steam room and an ice bath. The grooming hub has a vanity area with hairdryers and products, and keypad lockers are in the changing area.
- Ask which tier or pass includes the recovery suite.
- Ask how the suite and the grooming hub are arranged for your section. Men train in the Mixed section, and the Ladies section is women-only.
- Ask whether showers are available and whether towels are provided.
- Ask to see the suite and the grooming hub at the hour you would use them, on a free guided tour.
The club opens early and closes late, with shorter hours on Friday. Check the current times before planning an evening around them:
| Days | Opening hours |
|---|---|
| Saturday to Thursday | 06:00–23:00 |
| Friday | 09:00–22:00 |
Hours can change, for example during Ramadan. Confirm with the team before a late or early visit.
Questions, answered.
Are showers available after the suite?
RPM has not published this, so ask the team before you plan a visit that depends on one, and ask about towels at the same time.
Is it worth choosing a tier with the suite if I mainly want to get ready after training?
Ask what each tier includes before you decide. If the suite is not something you would use most weeks, what matters more is that the vanity area and lockers suit your routine.
How long should I allow for the whole visit?
Use the backwards plan with your own numbers. On a first visit, allow more than you think, and leave the suite out if the margin disappears.
Can I use the suite before training to save time later?
Most coaches would rather you warmed up by moving. Heat beforehand can leave you flat or light-headed for the session, so keep the suite for afterwards.