Shopping for a gym - lots of choices but the best costs $$$$
 

They're either a meat market, just plain nasty or real expensive.

24Hour Fitness is the cheapest at $50/mo for myself, wife and son. The closest 24 is nasty, dirty and there was a bunch of weird old dudes hanging out in the locker room and pool area. I get the feeling it's sorta like the song YMCA there.

There are two neighborhood gyms that are just too small and confining. They packed in, I think, 20 SPINNING bikes in these little rooms. The price is right though for use of free weights, machines and classes.

The last one is the gym I'm leaning towards but it's the priciest. It's brand new, the owners are real nice as are the members I spoke to. They all seemed happy to have moved from the two smaller gyms in town.

The older I get, the pickier I am. I remember when all I cared about was cheap membership, the use of free weights and a locker/shower area. Now it's gotta be clean too.

What are your requirements for a gym?

What is in your avatar, would be a start.

The 24Hour Fitness gym in Vallejo was nasty so I checked out the one at the Sun Valley Mall in Concord. Quite a few girls there that resemble my avatar, maybe not as busty, still would be a distraction though.

I actually prefer my home gym. It takes more dedication to work out, but I manage.

Dave

More money = less riff-raff, better conversation

I pay out my ass but have views of the ocean and TV sets on the aerobic equipment...$50 for the whole family?...Double that for one person.

Free weights, decent machines, Steriod freak free, plastic woman free, not too crowded and somewhat clean but not sterile. I pay $800 a year for a family plan at a gym run by the local hospital.

I hate Golds Gym in town here and would never join its a see and be seen gym too crowded and too full of a-holes. If I want to socialize I'll go to a bar.

a gym is a gym. they are all what you put into it. you can belong to the best friggen gym in the world where hot ladies hand you minty smelling towels, naked. doesnt mean crap if you dont go.

i pay for the cheap one, just in case i quit going. i havent quit. i used to go to gold's loved it. next door to my office, clean, equipped nicely...only down side, it was 90% alternative lifestyle. oh, well. some of those guys looked like superheros.

I've been going to 24 hour fitness for a few years now and some suck and some don't. In the end it really doesn't matter who is there what matters is can you get in the workout you want. If the equipment you want is available and you can get the workout you want - that is the important part. Crowded gyms suck for me; small gyms are always crowded. We did a small local gym for about 2 years but ended up back at 24 hour because the small gym simply didn't have the room to handle anything more than a couple of folks and they didn't have the equipment needed (not even enough free weights) to get a decent workout.

I frequent three different 24 hour fitness locations, Manhattan Beach, Ocean Park (Santa Monica) and the new Hermosa Beach gym. The Hermosa Beach gym is freakin awesome but it's brand new and a "sport" facility. The other two are small "fitness" facilities but I can certainly get the workout I want there.

My only advice is don't sign a contract. A gym has no reason to keep you happy once you've signed. My gym costs 1k/yr for wife and I, and does not offer contracts. So, the minute I'm not getting my money's worth, I can walk.

Never understood the whole "gym" thing. Situps, pushups, chin ups (or curls) in the comfort of your own home and jogging around the block always seemed sufficient to me. The thought of "paying" anything to simply work out a little, is just senseless to me. (maybe my old Army PT experience with no "equipment" influenced my view on this subject?)

I go to the gym at the local university from where I graduated. It is open to the general public, but with two "big box" gyms in town, it's pretty much just college students and professors. They buy completely new equipment every four years and are constantly making upgrades (I spoke to the director--they want to keep their budget dollars so they make sure to spend every penny every year.)

The plusses? It's the cheapest gym in town. I'm not constantly running into people I know and getting distracted from my workout. The eye candy is unbelievable. It's pretty dead most of the year.

The minuses? It's ungodly busy beteween New Year's and Spring Break. There's always at least one creapy naked old guy hanging out in the lockerroom.

For me, it's more about motivation. If I tried to work out at home, I would get distracted. If I go to a gym, I have devoted undivided time to my workout.

Don't worry, as long as you keep paying, they probably won't kick you out...

ROFL Thom!

I'm only 27, so I don't techinically qualify as a "creapy naked old guy" just yet.

I love going to the University gym. Though, ours is very busy no matter what time of the day (or year), but the eye candy is unbelievable so I don't care...It has everything you could possibly ask for! New machines, free weights, 4 basketball courts, 4 racquetball courts, and an indoor pool. And the best thing about it is that I don't pay a dime!!! (of course, I pay out my ass for tuition)!

I don't they'll allow me back in once I graduate... :-(

You should check out a Fitness 19 if there is one near you.

http://ww2.fitness19.com/index.aspx

i am fitness 19! cheap!

The wifey and I go to Planet Fitness. Cheap. $25 per month for the both of us. No frills. I am in and out in 45 mins. I like the cute girls at the gym. It makes my workout more pleasent. There aren't enough of them sometimes.

Plenty of gyms around here as well. Places you may want to check into as alternatives are tennis clubs and nicer hotels. Lucky for me there are two gyms at the office.

i did fitness 19 for a couple years in sunnyvale. it was clean when new but got to be gross, although the one in san ramon was always nice.

i quit, the gym made me tired.