Gym Memberships

emilyandbrady

Do you have one?
Where do you belong?
How much do you pay?

We belong to Premier @ Sawmill, but after last night, and their sweet customer service this am, they are about to be on my list. 

TIA!!

OHFallBride06

I belong to Lifestyles. Although it's not my top choice of gyms to belong to, I only pay $16/month (I signed up during a promotion where if I paid for a year in advance every month after that would be $16/month). It's a great deal that I really can't pass up. I think DH is going to get a membership downtown so I can meet him at the gym after work. Do you mind me asking what went wrong at Premier? We were keeping that an option as well.?

Jody81

I used to belong to Lifestyle fitness about 2 years ago, it was $34/mo, but when I added my Dh they wanted $86/mo and $149 enrollment fee......um NO! They don't even have a pool, it seemed outragious! When I joined they promised it would only be $9.99/mo more to add Dh, they lied! 

So, we joined the YMCA a year ago and LOVE it. My Dh loves that they have basketball courts and I love the indoor and outdoor pools and I don't have to wait for machines. They are just so much more family oriented, which we like with or without kids. It is $64/mo for the whole family (2+) and we can go to any Y in Columbus. (And no enrollment fees, you just start paying by month).

emilyandbrady

there are a couple of issues.  1) There is always a problem parking.  If it is 10 am on a weekday or 6 pm or a Saturday afternoon their parking lot is like a real life Frogger game and/or a race for the one open parking spot.  2) The classes are always full.  They only allow 30 ppl./class and have a "policy" that you can only get a class pass 30 minutes before a class begins.  Yesterday I got there almost an hour before and the passes were already gone.  3) When you do get into a class there is almost always some random group of high school girls that come in w/out a pass and get in the way.  I have literally been steped on and pushed into a wall during a class b/c some girl, w/o a class pass, wanted to be in the spot I was in.  4)  MOre often than not you have to wait for 15-30 minutes for a cardio machine to open up.  5) The people @ the front desk are ZERO help.  I was trying to pay for a PT session yesterday and check the balance of my account.  They had jackedup my accout before so I was paying an "adjusted" amount to make it work.  I paid for one session and the kid starts printing out receipts---printing a receipt means that you have used the class/training credit.  I explain that I am not using a PT session today.  Just keep the stuff he says.  (p.s. by this time I want to smack him)  Fine.  Do I still have another class credit on my file? I ask.  No, he says.  If there is something I cannot see it.  Blah blah blah.  I try to understand WTF is going on.  Why did I pay more for something???  I explain that I am concerned and frustrated that this is so discorganized.  He basicly says too bad.  (again, I want to slap him)  I walk away to go work out.  Well, not only is the class full but all of the ellipitcals & treadmills are full too--sweet.  This am I get a call from the front desk mgr. asking what the issue was--she got a note that my "transaction did not go well".  I explain and tell her that I am frustrated re: the disorganization and that this whole thing has taken more than a week to work out.  When I tell her it is disorganized she says, No it's not.  Sweet customer service lady.  If I tell you the moon is purple, you agree with me.  I am the customer.  The customer who pays $77/month for the pleasure of your overcrowded, full class, no open cardio machine, p!$$ poor customer service  gym.  arghhh!!!  I told DH last night, I get harrassed @ work and do not want the same at the gym. 

Well, this turned out to be way longer than I anticipated.  sorry! 

Temp655608750006792

We are in Atlanta but we joined the YMCA and it's $76 per month.  There is a pool, lots and lots of classes, DVD/TV machines at each treadmill/precor, etc.  Free childcare after they are 6 weeks old.  And they do a weekly "Parents Night Out" when you can drop the kids off for a night if you need a night out.  Hopefully all this will come in handy very soon!

ASwank

Emily -

I joined Premier before the rennovation (Dec 03) and recently quit (Dec 07) because I was having all sorts of crazy issues like you.  Two of my favorite stories:

(1) Its 8pm or so and the day care is closed so some dad leaves his two kids (ages 4 and 18 months or so) next to him in the treadmill area while he works out for 45 minutes.  It was so sad and terrible.  The 4 year old was trying to take care of the 18 month old and they were both tired and still had their winter coats on even though they were inside.  I reported it to the front desk (and they told me that they would tell the manager but he wouldn't do anything).

(2) Another day I was in the hot tub and these two women are fighting -- not physically but verbally -- and get in the hot tub with me and they are both n*ked and still fighting.  I got out because it was terrible but as I was changing I could still hear them.  I think they must have yelled at each other for 15 minutes. 

I'm at Corazon now and I *LOVE* it.  Its a bit pricey but TOTALLY worth it (and I'm cheap).  No kids allowed (even high schoolers) and that makes a HUGE difference.  (although they do have day care if you need it).  We love the gym equipment and all of the classes.  Anyway, they emailed us some one week passes so I'll email you one over on the BL board.  You should definitely try it out. 

Jody81

Oh, Emily, I'm sorry! That sounds horrible!

The Y always has machines open and lots of parking. And I LOVE the group classes. I go to Kickboxing, Pilates and they have a Hip Hop Dance class that's really fun (the only classes that you have to pay extra for are Yoga classes and Pool classes, I really liked my Aqua Areorbics class). And I'm not as intimidated as I was at Lifestyle, which sounds VERY similar to your gym. Everyone looks awesome and so buff at Lifestyle and at the Y they are all people that look like me so I'm a little more comfortable going.

OHFallBride06

I belonged to Sawmill about 5 years ago before all of the big changes and I remember having problems then as well. I would wait and wait and wait for a cardio machine, which is usually the only thing that I would use. I have never taken a class there, but my MIL used to teach Yoga there and she said that it was so disorganized that the free membership wasn't worth it to her so she quit and started teaching at Move Your MInd in UA. With such a great facility you would think that they would have their sh*t together...that sucks! I've heard the Lifestyles at Mill Run is awesome, but I haven't been there yet.?

LittleHowell

We used to go to World Gym in Westerville and liked it there.  It was really cheap through DH's work and hardly ever crowded.  Most classes were free with our membership.  It needs renovated, but the machines were all really nice and that's what's really important.

 We moved into a Lifestyle Condo Community, so now we just go to the gym at our clubhouse.
 

AmberOH

We belong to LifeTime and have had a great experience with them.  We pay about $95/mo. for the two of us.  The parking lot always seems crowded, but we never have problems getting on the machines that we want! 

Rett*s_bride

omg, it definitely doesn't sound like Premier is worth the hassle! We have a free membership since we rent from Triangle/ Ardent apartments, but I've gone just because of the parking issues. Doesn't sound like I've been missing much :-(

buckeyechik

Yup

Victory Fitness

Nothing, this year.  I signed up to buy 2 years, get the 3rd free, so I was paying about $30/mo (just me--added DH for $15/mo) and now we just pay for DH.

The gym is nothing spectacular, but it's got a pool, aerobics, cardio and weight machines and that's all I really need.

Mrs.SabrinaM

I used to belong to lifestyle by my house for awhile.  It wasn't bad just go to the point that something needed to give in our budget and that happened to be it especially since DH pretty much got to the point he wouldn't go at all.

JuliaJ

DH, and I belong to Lifestyles.  We both have memberships held over from when it was CA Fitness, so our rates are super cheap ($36 / month for both of us).  It is clean, and has all the machines that we could want, and it never seems to be too crowded when we go.  I do like that there are several locations around town, so it is convenient from work or home.

stephpalmerface

We belong to the Groveport Rec Center and I highly recommend it.  We pay $520 a year to belong - the only bad thing is that you have to pay it all at once.  It is definitely family oriented and have never had a bad experience there.  The only thing I don't like is that they do host intramural basketball games, so sometimes the parking does get a little crazy and there are sometimes some suspect characters that come to play/watch - definitely not the "regulars".  But all in all, it's a great place and very convenient for where we live.

hippohat

We've been at Lifestyles at Mill Run for about a year, and we're really happy with it. Even when it's really busy after work I've never had to wait for a machine, but we normally go a little later in the evening, so you pretty much have the place to yourself.

We both felt very comfortable from the start, which is a big reason why we joined. Nearly everyone is there to just to work out, and are pretty normal/average.??

Aaaand it's about 3 steps away from Chipotle, and with my dearest hubby trying to GAIN weight we usually go straight over there to fill him up with calories.

I'd probably consider the Y again (Hilliard) - when I looked last it was $50/mo just for me, all the classes were extra, and they hadn't built the pool yet. It seemed super family friendly, which is great, unless you don't have kids

angiesue_234

I belong to World Gym.  They just changed their name to Metro Fitness, or something like that.  I pay about $30/mo just for me.  No pool.  They have some classes, but none that really fit into my schedule, at least at the location I go.

I&R_4_23_06

We belonged to Lifetime Fitness at Easton until the end of March.  We never had a problem getting on machines, and it was never to crowded.  Then again with our work schedules we would go mid day.  Between 11am-2pm.  I'm not sure exactly how much we paid a month, because DH paid for it.  I think it was about $100/month for both of us.  But this is the membership that lets you go to any Lifetime in the country.  We really enjoyed our membership, the only reason we canceled it is because we are in the process of saving to purchase a house, and this is one of the things we gave up. HTH

kristylynn

I recently joined Urban Active in Powell.  It is just north of Powell rd.  So far, I like it.  It is huge and tons of machines.  I have never had to wait and the classes, in my experience have been half full.  It is 29 a month, month-to-month. 

I can't imagine what you went through.  That is truly CRAP.

jane2007

We go to the Worthington Community Center.  I work in Worthington so I get the Resident rate.  We pay once a year and I think it was $350 or so for two.  Classes are seperate though.  I like the Rec center although it is busy at times.  There are times that kids are on the track and mom's and dad's bring their kids in strollers.  Good luck finding a  new gym.

 

Jane

YourSong

I belong to the "Y", we pay around $70 for a family membership.  I like the variety of places where I can go and the extra classes.  (Swim lessons anyone?)