[Jetlagged]

Lol for posting this on a game forum, but if you're serious about working out, and you should be, a meathead gym in the place to be even though there will be little to no girls. Cheap, no BS, let's you drop weights, and has experienced lifters to tell you stop being a little bitch and do your last set.

Best choice I ever made. 10/mo workoutworld POS gym but I can deadlift there they have huge dumbbells and loud lifters.

[Sonoma]

Ive used Spectrum (70/mo, very posh, but came with free classes and excellent networking) and Planet Fitness (20/mo), but works when traveling. I also use my apartments gym and my school gym, as well as another super upscale one because it's cheaper to add a person than do it solo and my girlfriend wanted to sign up.

Most important though is just having the location be convenient

[rcraig33hb]

York University! Great workout & access to the pool! Bonus? Great looking young students!!!

[Mike0060]

I joined a local barbell club in my area. See if you can find one in your area. Mine cost $90 per month but the owner designs my workout every session 3 times a week and I've gone from not knowing how to lift to DL 325 Squat 225 and Bench 165 in 6 weeks with proper form. Good guidance will make a world of difference.

[tallandblonde]

Blink fitness in NYC. Often crowded and they need more weightlifting racks, since they only have 2 at each location that have barbells. But at $35 a month its hard to beat.

[Nevsky]

Go to the YMCA where I live, unfortunately it's always packed making working out a lot more time consuming than it should be.

The price is pretty good though for roughly $60 a month and its got everything one would need for a proper workout so can't complain there.

[Aer]

World Gym. It's full of jacked older guys, and it has such a community feel.

I love it.

[Gmac]

(04-01-2015 12:46 PM)kaotic Wrote:  

24 Hour Fitness

This ones isn't near a main freeway, so it's empty always older guys, no teens like when I was at LA Fitness.

I'd go to the UFC gym near my house but fighting the traffic isn't worth it.

UFC shits on pretty much any gym I've seen out there.

I've got a UFC membership. A buddy of mine and I started boxing classes a while back and it's helping me get back to where I want to be. Open 24/7 and more of an old school gym feel. Best investment in a long time.

[ShawnDom]

Got a 2 year 24hr Fitness membership for $369 at Costco. Comes out to about $15 a month.

[Dr. Howard]

(04-21-2015 08:52 AM)Avon Barksdale Wrote:  

A Golds Gym right next to my job. It cost 50 dollars a month.

holy shit, we pay $29/month for Golds where I am.

My favorite gyms previous to that were a boxing gym that was 24/7 keycard access looked like they bought their workout equipment from the set of pumping iron in 1970 and a power lifting gym that a strip club owner opened up for his employees/as a writeoff for himself.

A little more on the strip club/powerlifting. So, if a business provides a workout facility primarily for the benefit of its employees, then the business can expense that and provide access to employees for free. the front 1/4 of the gym were treadmills and beaver squeezer machines for the strippers and the back 3/4 was power lifting equipment used by the owner and his maniac friends. It was in a warehouse space that the guy owned already, he made it a huge hassle for anyone to get a membership/key card but it was $25/month, was empty most of the time, had badass equipment and the only chicks were fake titted strippers that would just stay up front. The owner was a vet that had some serious burn scars on his face , he looked like the kind of guy you'd cast as "evil henchman #1" in an action movie.

[shanefalco]

For any member that has health insurance and is thinking about joining a gym, you should check with your health insurance company if they offer any discounts towards gym memberships.

Blue Cross/Blue Shield offers a program called healthways fitness your way. The standard pricing is $25/month, and you have access to over 9,000 gyms across the country. The YMCA, Golds Gym, LA Fitness, and many independent gyms participate in the program. If you join the program, you are eligible for any gym that participates in the program, so if you're traveling, you can go on the website, type in the zip code and find a local gym that you can use.

The $25/month price is just the standard price. Depending on your actual insurance, you can get an additional discount to "encourage" you to have healthy behavior. For instance, I chose the HSA option of insurance at work, and my company's plan gave an additional discount on the membership. They figure if you use the gym, they will eventually spend less money on health insurance.

I only have to pay $5/month, and I didn't have to pay any enrollment fees.

I noticed that some members are paying >$50/month, which is a lot of money you might not have to spend. An independent gym near me participates in the program, and it normally costs $75/month. I've walked in and used the same facility for $5/month, and I still had access to the personal trainers.

Also, for anyone that has a HSA, there are a lot of articles written about getting a certified prescription from your doctor that requires you to use a gym. This medical "need" allows you to use your HSA funds to pay your gym membership. I haven't done that, but it's another option to check out, especially if you get a huge discount on your membership.

http://themoggroup.com/blog/gym-membersh...bursement/

[Aquiles_Baesta_Parada]

Good ol' YMCA!
I'm part of a family plan and I pay $35 each month.
Pretty reasonable considering I use almost everything they offer (weights, pool, sauna and jacuzzi)
I'm a morning person, the gym at 7am is almost empty it's perfect.

[Biz]

I go to a small hole in the wall power lifting gym that hasn't changed since the 1960's. Pay in cash every month, sign in and out everyday and the owner gives you a key to go whenever you want.

During off hours it's not uncommon to be there all alone, I love being in the gym by myself with almost all the lights off in complete silence with 100% focus on the task at hand, so much so that I know it's time to change gyms when I know too many peoples name.

[Merenguero]

(06-11-2015 03:50 PM)ShawnDom Wrote:  

Got a 2 year 24hr Fitness membership for $369 at Costco. Comes out to about $15 a month.

They don't have a 24hour fitness close to me yet, but thanks for the heads up on that. I used to go to one of those gyms in California and I remember it being way better than Planet Fatness.

[JayR]

(04-20-2015 10:36 PM)kinjutsu Wrote:  

I highly suggest buying your own squat/power rack, a bench, a barbell and about 300 pounds in weights. Also pick up some dumb bells off amazon for $20.
It was the best fitness investment i've ever made.
I work out in my basement 6 days a week. There is no excuse.

I can't give the OP any recommendations because I haven't belonged to a commercial gym in a long time, but I want to second kinjutsu's post. When your gym is in your house, there's never an excuse to blow off the workout.

If you don't have room for a power rack, a pair of individual squat stands takes much less space and you can still go plenty heavy. These are great:

http://www.roguefitness.com/s4-h-base

In addition to the squat stands, suggested gear:

- Olympic Bar and plate set w/ plate tree (keeps things organized)
- Adjustable bench with leg curl/ext. and preacher curl attachments
- Set of adjustable, threaded-type dumbbell handles, with as many plates as you need
- EZ curl bar
- Pull-up bar (door or wall mount)
- Deadlift platform

Costco has those interlocking thick rubber restaurant kitchen floor mats, so if you need to drop a heavy weight, you won't damage the floor or the weights.

The only things from the commercial gym I miss are the lat pull-down machine, the big pully-station to do cable work, and maybe the ubiquitous wall mirrors to monitor form/admire gains.

If you've got a suitable space, the investment pays for itself before you know it, and weight equipment is almost always available used/cheap.