Anytime Fitness OR another gym???

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Lisseth03
Lisseth03 Posts: 518 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
where do you guys workout? what are the pros and cons?
I've put away my P90X videos for something different and stared using Bodybuilding.com workouts and i'm finding I need a gym membership because I don't have all the accessible machines needed.

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  • Lisseth03
    Lisseth03 Posts: 518 Member
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    not all at once...
  • halleymw
    halleymw Posts: 246 Member
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    I go to anytime. They have all the requisite fitness gear, weight machines, free weights, squat cage, ellipticals, bikes, treadmills, etc. The fact they are open 24 hrs is great for me due to my irregular work schedule. It is always clean, they have individual showers as ooposed to a locker room. No complaints.
    Mike
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    I belonged to an anytime fitness for a blink of an eye, after the Golds gym I used to go to closed down unexpectedly and before the new LA Fitness was built, which is where i belong, now.. It was like working out in someons glorified basement. But served its purpose in the interim.
    The Pros, however, is it is open,well, anytime! So no excuses for not going to the gym. Its also great if youre relatively new to a gym and might be intimidated by a bigger gym feel. You won't likely get heavy duty body builder types, mostly people just wanting to get in a decent workout and maintain overall general health. Most anytimes dont have any type of aerobics classes. But that may or may not be a draw back.
    My suggestion, ask for a free pass for a few days to check it out. See what is out there and where you feel most comfortable and find a place you wont "outgrow" once your fitness level increases.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    ...The fact they are open 24 hrs is great for me due to my irregular work schedule...

    I WISH I had a 24 hr. gym nearby. I'm a night owl, so going after midnight would be my dream. I'm not willing to take an hour-long round trip to get to one, though, so I just go to a small, inexpensive no-frills gym near my home.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    I go to a 24 hour fitness place also, not so much for the odd hours but for the cheaper prices. They have everything I need for general free weights workouts and I can go to a number of locations near home/work. The only things missing for me would be bumper plates for olympic lifting.

    The only reason I'd splash out for a traditional gym is if I wanted to do the classes which don't really interest me anymore
  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
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    I took advantage of their free trial, I think it was 2 weeks. I hated it. I probably went for the first few days and just stopped going. For one, I was often the only woman in there and I felt very uncomfortable because of that. Also for the price (it was 29.99/mo at this time) I thought it was very little bang for my buck. No fitness classes, no pool, nothing and very few machines too. This particular anytime was also within a mile from my house. I could literally walk to the gym! I really wanted to love it, just for the location alone, but I just hated it.

    I ended up finding another local gym for the same price with fitness classes galore, pool, sauna etc. so I jumped on it. It's a good 10 min drive but I don't regret my decision at all.

    I'd check to see if you can get a free trial and see if you like it. Everyone wants different things out of a gym so while I hated it, you may love it.


    Edited to fix all my typos
  • MsEndomorph
    MsEndomorph Posts: 604 Member
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    I go to Gold's. Great location for me, all the equipment I need, and 24 hours M-F. Works for me.
    There's an Anytime Fitness nearby, but they don't have childcare, so I wasn't interested.
  • Lisseth03
    Lisseth03 Posts: 518 Member
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    thanks everyone,
    I have a free week pass, i'm gonna go check it out Monday!
  • SkinnyMsFitness
    SkinnyMsFitness Posts: 389 Member
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    There's so many gyms b/c not all are for everyone. You can typically get a free one week trial to try anytime fitness. I know a lot of ppl that like it there. You may find that you need to try several b/4 you find one you like. Do you know anyone with a gym membership? Tag along for a day.
  • peggymas
    peggymas Posts: 17
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    LA Fitness and I love it there :smile:
  • Lisseth03
    Lisseth03 Posts: 518 Member
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    LA Fitness and I love it there :smile:

    we don't have one in Canada, lol
  • cdougherty01
    cdougherty01 Posts: 12
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    Anytime around here (MN) have nice equipment for what they are.

    Pros:
    Open any time of the day (good if you work shift work like me)
    Not very busy usually (around here)
    Quality equipment

    Cons:
    No free weights for squats/bench/deadlifts
    Dumbbells only go up to 85lbs (the two I've been to)
    Way too much cardio equipment taking up 2/3 of the place
  • theatkgirls
    theatkgirls Posts: 9
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    I joined the local gym because doing it at home was not working. I found that I actually liked the classes better than just working alone on the machines, there is more support and it is way more fun. I discovered that the classes made it fun to work out and now I'm addicted. I go to any class I can that fits my schedule. Since I have been going to the gym, I have added three more days workouts and now I'm up to 6 days a week. You just have to tour the gym and determine what is right for you.
  • toronto81
    toronto81 Posts: 17 Member
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    Anytime Fitness. The one I go to is excellent.
  • Olectra
    Olectra Posts: 21 Member
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    Good luck at Anytime. I have never been there so i cannot give an opinion.

    I use Gold's... It's closest to my house and they have everything.
    Open 24 hours M-F. closed from midnight to 5am on the weekends (I think).
    Membership is $17 every two weeks.
    Free passes available

    free classes (cardio, strength, dance and yoga)
    pool
    cardio cinema (it's dark and plays movies YAY!)
    HUGE variety of free weights, weight machines and cardio machines
    access to trainers (for a price)
    childcare
    basketball court
    ab room
    Ladies only room
    Smoothie bar

    I have use absolutely everything except for the childcare (kids are grown) and the trainers (cost).

    Good luck :)
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
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    Any gym with a bench and power rack is good enough (Not a smith machine). Unfortunately a lot of gyms are far too cardio centric, they have tiny free weights areas and 100 treadmills.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    I go to Snap, but it's basically because I joined due to needing access to a gym in two different location. I'm still there because I'm too lazy to check out the gym 2 blocks from my house and do the paperwork to cancel at snap 2 miles from my house....

    I should check out the other place though....for the fun of it.

    Gawd I miss Gold's though.
  • shunggie
    shunggie Posts: 1,036 Member
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    I go to Planet Fitness, they have free weights and machines. They do not have classes or a pool but the cost is $10 a month. Perfect if all you want to do is cardio and weights. I used to go to 24 Hour Fitness, but it was 3 times the price and often there were no cardio machines available after work. I have not had that issue at PF. Plus, I think the LUNK alarm is hilarious.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    I go to Retro Fitness... I love it so hard.
  • bcf7683
    bcf7683 Posts: 1,653 Member
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    I go to an Anytime near Pittsburgh, PA. There's nothing that I really don't like about it. They're all independently owned/operated though, so it's not a cookie-cutter gym that will have the same stuff in all of them.

    My particular gym has a cardio area in the front with 1 row of treadmills (6, I think), 1 row of ellipticals (7) and a row of bikes. Behind that are all of the machines, and behind those is the lat pulldown, a free weight area and the cable machine. There are two other attached rooms, one is where the benches, cages, smith and olympic weights/activity area are and the other room is an aerobics room with a drop down screen attached to a kiosk that you can play whatever class you want and workout by yourself. They've recently been adding a few scheduled classes in the aerobics room as well.

    By the sounds of it, not many Anytime's are as equipped as mine... But I'd definitely check it out, you have nothing to lose!
    [I also get a discount through my work, you should check and see if they offer anything at yours if you join]

    Also, not sure how other gyms work, but if you join Anytime, you can use ANY location in the country (maybe even world? lol) after your first month... I like that. There's one right by my house and one right by my work place. So I can pick which one I want to go to.

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