What gym do you use?

Retro Fitness.

Pros- I can use it anywhere in the country.
Price point is great
Every location I have been to has been clean and fully stocked.

Cons- No real amenities.
No pool.
No sauna.

A local 'chain'.

Pros

It's close to my house
BABYSITTING
Hours are alright (5am/11pm week, 7am/7pm week end)
Family swim times on week ends
Lots of classes
Nice trendy treadmills that have games on them
Lots of machines
Free sessions with trainer every 6 weeks
Free nurse evaluation every 8 weeks
Nice and clean facilities

Cons

Pricey
Not much focus on free weights
The nurse evaluation are a joke and the body fat % numbers they give you are not accurate (there's no way I'm 22% body fat)
Closed on major Holidays (at least in the afternoon)
Music too loud sometimes (been better lately though)


I could go to Planet Fitness... but it's farther, and I really need babysitting during school break. Plus my kids love family swim (when we actually go).

Everybody Fitness

Pros:
-$15/month (been part of the chain they bought out in January since 2011)
-1.5 miles from my house
-open 24 hours a day during the week
-lots of amenities
-can visit other locations
-section just for women (the previous chain started as women's only until they bought an abandoned Ballys building)

Cons:
-much of the equipment is left from the Ballys days
-limited weight selection on the women's side (machines, dumbbells up to 50 pounds, one barbell and bench, Smith machine, leg press)
-if you go during a peak time the only cardio available is the recumbent bike

University gym
Pros cheap, can go to the one close to work or the one clise to home
Generally open at times that suit
Good selection of cardio machines

Cons no classes

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

Jax2120 wrote: »

Remember guys I said for people with gym memberships. Not home gyms.

Pretty sure it didn't say that before

Maybe you start your own thread that doesn't discriminate based on where a gym was born, next thing you know there'll be a wall

LA Fitness
(weight training 3 sessions/week)

Pros:
(1) 1-3 minute drive from work
(2) cheap for me. (boyfriend picked it, and I am on his plan. negotiated them down since I (very clearly) didn't consider their default price worth it. (there are 2 more gyms on that block - and I know what a barbell/plate set and rack cost).
(3) nice locker room & no kids (unlike the YMCA, where they ran around like animals getting puddle of pool water everywhere). (though honestly, I don't really care that much - I'm used to changing at my car after running/hiking/cycling anyway, but changing in A/C in the summer and heat in the winter those 3 days is nice).
-
(4) If you enjoy hampster wheels, they have like a ton of those. Personally, I'd rather run around the building a bunch of times to warm up before stretching and lifting than one of those things. blech.
(5) If you enjoy classes, they also have like a bunch of those. (which can mean having to tiptoe into the class room if prime hours in order to grab a mat for abs during rests or a step for box jumps).

Cons:
(1) Have to wait for equipment (squat rack & bench press at the least) if I go after work. I typically take a late lunch break at 2 or 3 pm twice a week or go at 9pm after dancing now (mostly empty with no wait at these times).
(2) Generally pricy. I would not have been willing to pay their default price.

-Personally, I'm considering setting up a gym at the office to take care of Con #1.

Machka9 wrote: »

The Great Outdoors

Pros
Open 24/7
Great price
Wide variety of locations
Wide variety of activity options

Cons
The climate control is a little questionable sometimes

bwahaha. Love this.

For me, I would, unfortunately, have to add the commute time to the Cons list for my favoured activities and locations. (35 minutes minimum each way to any of the orienteering parks and the good cycling hills). So weekday cardio for me is usually running the city pavement.

I go to Orange Theory a few times a week and belong to the YMCA. I also buy passes to CycleBar and another gym in my area with a great spin studio.

I miss the YMCA! I liked having my choice of where to go. I liked the family atmosphere. I liked the fact that when you pay for a gym membership at a large chain, the gym tends to hold up its end of the bargain with a sufficient amount of working equipment. It's just the military gym for me nowadays though. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the free-ness of the thing, but I don't appreciate the very limited amount of equipment that breaks regularly and that doesn't even work properly when it's not what they consider broken. Or the lack of ventilation. Man, it gets hot in there.

reichardtjessica wrote: »

Holly City Family Center


Cons: not very flexible with hours, limited staff, no trainers or people to show you how to use the equipment (new gym member so I was hoping for some help on how to use certain machiens), separate weight room so I can't see how other people use the equipment (too intimidated to step foot in the room with the weights because idk what I would be doing and I don't want to stand there like a weirdo watching random people)

There are some good books out there on lifting programs if you are interested in learning.. Starting Strength, Stronglifts,...

East Coast Fitness:
Pro's - Only $10 a month for use of all equipment and classes, no contract, good hours.
Cons - Old school barbell gym... not pretty, dirty and smelly but great for heavy lifting!

Phoenix Fitness and Performance - MMA School:
Pro's - Everything about it is amazing. Strong caring community of members. Excellent programs - Kickboxing, Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Kids Krav, Bootcamps, Fitness Challenges. Beautiful space, great equipment and trainers.
Cons - A little expensive, but worth every penny!

Fit Factory:
Pro's - Brand new facility, huge clean industrial space, great equipment and services (shower/steam/sauna/tanning/towels/trainers). Inexpensive and an excellent variety of classes.
Con's - Gets super crowded at times!

I also have a fitness center at my work but it's not open to the public

I have three gym memberships...

Anytime Fitness Pros:

Closest to son's boxing gym, so I can go during his practices
Multiple locations
Fairly cheap
Open 24/7

Anytime Fitness Cons:

Pretty busy
Only one squat rack at the one I mainly use

Mecca Pros:

My trainer is here
Multiple squat rack and benches
Specialized equipment
Fairly cheap
Open 24/7
Some massive lifters

Mecca Cons:

Bit of a commute
Some massive lifters

Local Rec Center Pros:

Pool/Rock climbing/running track/etc
Fairly cheap

Rec Center Cons:

Limited hours
Weight room is busy
People in the weight room have less gym etiquette

I have a local, small gym I joined, which I have loved.

Pros:
-Great price
-Less than 5 minutes from my house
-Good class schedule and mix of classes
-Fun and motivating instructors
-Good community

Cons:
-Limited equipment
-Space can be cramped (but they are expanding, so I don't expect this will be a problem long term)


I used to belong to Planet Fitness for a while but negative experience made me cancel my membership.

Pros:
- Cheap and no-contract membership option
- Easy to get to from home
- Relatively new, so everything was shiny and not gross
- Lots of amenities

Cons:
-Free trainer I received was a sexist *kitten* that told me women don't "stick" to working out or lifting weights (complaint lodged with management- no response unfortunately, so I ended my membership)
-Hate the monthly food thing


I also belonged to a YMCA through a work discount (I moved unfortunately)- loved the gym options and trainers, hated that so many of the class times did not fit with my workday.

Before I had to move into a crappy ancient school for an office, I used to go to our police/fireman gym at lunch, and then to my regular gym at night. Now I am too far for the work gym, and just use my regular gym.

One Life ( a local chain that bought out the local Golds franchises)

Pros:
Multiple locations near me, are all included.
Membership includes the IHRSA Passport Program for when I am out of town.
LOTS of cardio equipment, always new stuff every year.
Plenty of weights and machines.
Most locations are large and well-designed.
Child care available at all locations (I don't need anymore, but I used to take my son when he was little.)
Trainers available (I don't use them but many people love that service).
Large clean locker rooms and showers/dressing areas.
Saunas. Swimming pools at few locations (though I have never used them - no time!)
TONS of classes, no extra cost. I have only done a few but they are excellent.
Open until 11pm.
Affordable.

Cons:
The one nearest me that I use the most, is the smallest, with no area to expand. It is extremely crowded after work, so much that I don't even bother going on Mondays now as it is the worst night. Parking is awful as it is in a crowded strip mall area.
Closes at 8pm on the weekends.