The newer locations, according to the readers who shared their experiences, are great places to lift. I’d guess that the increasingly competitive market has weeded out the substandard franchises. Gold’s Gym has ranked highest in customer satisfaction in two consecutive J.D. It might be the nicest gym in town, or an embarrassment, or anything in between. Because most Gold’s locations are franchises, and many franchisees own more than one gym, what you get for your membership will be very different from one area to the next. One I used a few years back was a complete dump-broken plumbing in the locker room, filthy carpets in the warmup area-but even there I could get a good workout, as long as I skipped the floor exercises.
The local one had dumbbells up to 140 pounds, kettlebells up to 40 pounds, a heavy bag, and even a couple of tires to flip. They’re all different (especially the one in Venice), but they all share one important trait: In my experience, they’re designed to accommodate serious lifting. I’ve been to the flagship Gold’s in Venice, California, and I’ve been to several others over the years, including a local one that’s newly remodeled. But that’s true of almost any commercial gym. You’d have a tough time doing a program that requires alternating between two or more exercises. The only complaint I heard was about how crowded it is at peak hours.
(Here’s a guide to TRX suspension training.) The locations are typically quite large, too, averaging 115,000 square feet. Readers who train there generally rave about it, especially the amount and range of equipment it offers, like Olympic lifting platforms and bumper plates, kettlebells up to 50 pounds, and TRX suspension trainers. As of press time, there are 141 locations in 28 states.īut if you are near one, and you can afford it, chances are you’ll be happy you joined. Life Time Fitness goes the opposite direction, with members paying an average of $105 a month, according to a company spokesperson. But that’s not a typical membership fee.Ībout two-thirds of us pay less than $50 a month, and those gyms are the fastest growing part of the health-club industry.
Let’s start with a quick note about money: The average monthly fee for a gym membership is $55, according to Club Intel, an industry report. These are the best places to snag a membership in 2019. We did sprinkle in some variety though, including one recommendation that might get you out of your comfort zone-if you're bold enough to try something new. (Although you can still get a decent workout at a gym like that. So a chain like Planet Fitness, which discourages heavy lifting and in most locations doesn’t allow barbell squats or deadlifts, is out.
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But we don’t care about any of that.įor the most part, we focused on the free weights they tuck into the far corners of the workout floor, and the space they allocate for the kind of training you see in Men’s Health: heavy lifts with barbells and dumbbells, challenging exercises with kettlebells and suspension systems, and multi-directional bodyweight exercises for mobility, core strength, and metabolic fitness. Most gyms these days, big and small, are filled with similar cardio and weight machines.
We looked into the national gym chains, soliciting opinions from readers and knowledgeable friends while visiting local branches when we could. My last bad gym, no kidding, made me write a formal letter of resignation, and then forced me to schedule an “exit interview,” all to chisel me out of an extra month’s dues.īut getting out of a bad gym membership is only half the battle. Next thing you know, you’re fighting to cancel your membership. It doesn’t take much to make a bad gym, or for a good place to morph into a bad one-a new owner, neglected maintenance, disgruntled or poorly trained employees. Goals are great-we all want gains and the positives that come along with them-but making sure that the gym you frequent is up to par is just as important as choosing your plan. A bad training environment can quickly ruin a good workout, matter how committed you are to your training routine.
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