Does your gym have character? What's your gym like?

[Big Dave Smith]

It seems like corporate gyms are taking over the country. Hell, it's hard to find a gym here where I live that actually has metal plates instead of the rubber coated ones.

Anybody here belong to a real gym nowadays?

I ask this because I recently joined a gym that I didn't know even existed. I've been in this city for 3 years 2 months. So far I've been a member of 5 gyms... but did most of my training at LA Fitness. I recently (long story) went up the street to a gym that I had heard of in the past, but never checked out. I was SHOCKED at what I had been missing.

When you walk in, there are 5 pieces of exercise memorabilia/museam pieces. They have an old school fat rubby machine, two early 1900's stationary bikes, a rowing machine that's half wood/metal, an old scale, and an old pommel horse. Everything inside seems a lot nicer and cleaner than the outside, but rustic in appearance. When you enter the gym, you see machines that just don't exist in other gyms anymore.

They have
-a vertical leg press
-tons of hammer strength stuff
-"strive machines" (adjustable to distribute weight at the top, middle, or bottom of the movement)
-at least one piece of every cardio equipment known to man, including an airdyne
-a rotating rock climbing wall
-DB's that go up to 140lbs (rare where I'm from)
-almost every barbell you can imagine
-an INVERSION TABLE... probably the most valuable tool i have in the gym on leg and back days.
-real metal plates

AND... TO TOP IT OFF...

-a pitbull named "Legend" that comes in and roams the building greeting all the members. For a milkbone, he'll sit and shake your hand.


The same guy has owned this place for 25 years and is there half the time the place is open. It's like a lost treasure in a sea of shitty, sterilized gyms. They charge me 7.5% (CHEAP!) to train the few clients I have.

Where do you train? What's your gym like?

 

[RONJON]

..well my gym is DECENT i guess..it doesnt quite have everything I want and is pretty crowded most times..but its pretty cheap and a few npc guys workout there so I guess I shouldnt complain.

 

[The BB Monad]

My gym is the typical old-school hardcore gym where most people train heavy and with freeweights, although we do have machines. It reminds me of the gyms Arnold use to train in where everyone throws weights down and most guys are huge.

And the best thing is I only pay €350 a year!

 

[musicmann89]

i go to two different ones, la fitness, and ultima fitness (private owned old shity gym) the la i usually do cardio only in it gets to crowded to lift in at night or afternoon, ultima i go to for weights, very little, no crowd

 

[hollaatyaboyy1]

i like big dave smith have searched high and low for my gym that i am currently at.. and it was right under my nose (under a mile away) .....in th elast year or so i have been a member of around 5 different gyms.... however PI fitness is the last hardcore gym left in staten island NY.......its pretty dam small however its got DBs that go up to 150 or 160 not sure.... enough squat racks to satisfy everyone and the HARCORE FEEL...... train as hard as you want and say what you want... use chalk ...shoes no shoes... as long as your dedicated your go to go there.......all the machinery is from the late 80s early 90s and working great..... there are hand made pulley equiptment and wore out ropes...... even some long ass broom sticks for shoulder stretches.... greatest thing is ..under 250 for the year......

 

[1badboy]

Old Athletic Club

My gym has been around since 1890s- was men-only athletic club until 1950s. 11 stories (top 3 are botique hotel with discounts for club members). 3 great restaurants (1 where you have to have coat and tie to enter), and a sports bar. There are 2 gyms, but 1 is kind of small. Not the hugest assortment of equipment like at Gold's, but not too busy so it's easy to DC-train w/o people trying to work in between rest-pauses.

It's privately owned by a family who also have their art collection spread throughout- I'm told the art is worth more than the building... $2500 initiation + $150/month keeps the punks away.

 

[triathloncoach]

My basement is cool. Plus 3 dogs and 2 cats

And I go to La Fitness at work lunch time. Bleh.

 

[Swacked]

my gym is legit and everyone is very respectful of eachother no matter what level they are at. it's a pretty good place to train. good equipment, has everything you need and most everyone is on more of an advanced training level so it's a good place to stay motivated.

 

[ericraven2003]

I had to go with corprate. Lifetime fitness. I like it well enough, but it has everything for my kids. She can even play on a kids basketball league. Happy kids, happy dad.

 

[Gunsmith]

My gym is ok , alot of kids and dumbshits standing around flapping their dick suckers but the material to work with is nice , all the needed tools , bumbells go to 130 lbs planty of plates so your vener waiting on the fat dumbshit on the leg press doing 1500 lbs for 1/4 reps !!

for the most part its ok , and typicaly I only want to kill half the people in their at any given time , but some days are better than others.

The managments is pretty cool and gives me disscounts for making stuff for them and whatever.

 

[BigCracker]

The gym I workout at should charge admission to the locker rooms as if it were a haunted house because some of the most horrifying looking naked people walk around in there with no shame.

Every time I have to piss I cringe at the thought of what I can't unsee in the locker room once I've seen it.

 

[Ness]

My Gym

Is owned by an "outdoorsy" mid-30ish guy. He's okay, but big boys scare the %$# out of him. He wants his gym to be "hip" ...and it is. I really do like that the gym is new...it has the latest equipment, tvs, and the design is right.

The only major problem I have is that his leg-equipment area is lacking big time. One squat rack and no free weight leg press or sleds. They gym members are all old-fart moms and park walkers. There are zero big boys and zero attitude.

Yes, my gym has character...Its just not mine.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

I feel bad for some of you guys!

I had a gym back near Philly that was a great place to train. I might move back there, so I'll definitely go back to my old place.

It'd be a dream to open up a Metroflex near Philly and have my own hardcore place. My dad owns a gas station (but literally makes no money). He said I could do something with the building some day. A Metroflex with a bunch of little French Bulldogs roaming around and chalk dust flying everywhere?

A kid can dream.

 

[hawkmoon]

This is a very fun topic for me.

In Japan I was always afraid I would not find a suitable gym in a good location.
Well, boy was I wrong.

I found Total Workout (TOTAL Workout ROPPONGI HILLS ??????) in Roppongi Hills, which is one train stop from work on the way home, and only one more stop to my house. I can bike there in 15 minutes too.

It's run by Japan's most famous trainer, Kevin Yamazaki, who believes in weight training for fitness. Their specialty is personal training, and all their staff is very nice - most of the girl staff are hella cute too.

Kevin believes in free weights, so there are 4 power racks. There are also three leg presses, six flat benches, two inclines, and four smiths. There are also three platforms for bent over rows.

He lets me do what I want as he enjoys me training there. We talk a lot and he reminices about his younger days in CA with the bodybuilders of the 70s and 80s.

Besides having a great facility with great staff, this gym is also in Japan's most exclusive area, so there are lots on interesting people in the gym at all times. I have worked out right next to several very big Japanese celebrities, K1 fighters, Sumo, and even some rather friendly Yakuza.

Love the place!

 

[IRON37]

This is a very fun topic for me.

In Japan I was always afraid I would not find a suitable gym in a good location.
Well, boy was I wrong.

I found Total Workout (TOTAL Workout ROPPONGI HILLS ??????) in Roppongi Hills, which is one train stop from work on the way home, and only one more stop to my house. I can bike there in 15 minutes too.

It's run by Japan's most famous trainer, Kevin Yamazaki, who believes in weight training for fitness. Their specialty is personal training, and all their staff is very nice - most of the girl staff are hella cute too.

Kevin believes in free weights, so there are 4 power racks. There are also three leg presses, six flat benches, two inclines, and four smiths. There are also three platforms for bent over rows.

He lets me do what I want as he enjoys me training there. We talk a lot and he reminices about his younger days in CA with the bodybuilders of the 70s and 80s.

Besides having a great facility with great staff, this gym is also in Japan's most exclusive area, so there are lots on interesting people in the gym at all times. I have worked out right next to several very big Japanese celebrities, K1 fighters, Sumo, and even some rather friendly Yakuza.

Love the place!

man sounds awesome. Ive always been fascinated with Japanese culture and wanted to visit sometime. Any particular places you would suggest? And do you speak the native tongue there.. or do most people know other languages?

 

[Stewie Griffon]

This is a very fun topic for me.

In Japan I was always afraid I would not find a suitable gym in a good location.
Well, boy was I wrong.

I found Total Workout (TOTAL Workout ROPPONGI HILLS ??????) in Roppongi Hills, which is one train stop from work on the way home, and only one more stop to my house. I can bike there in 15 minutes too.

It's run by Japan's most famous trainer, Kevin Yamazaki, who believes in weight training for fitness. Their specialty is personal training, and all their staff is very nice - most of the girl staff are hella cute too.

Kevin believes in free weights, so there are 4 power racks. There are also three leg presses, six flat benches, two inclines, and four smiths. There are also three platforms for bent over rows.

He lets me do what I want as he enjoys me training there. We talk a lot and he reminices about his younger days in CA with the bodybuilders of the 70s and 80s.

Besides having a great facility with great staff, this gym is also in Japan's most exclusive area, so there are lots on interesting people in the gym at all times. I have worked out right next to several very big Japanese celebrities, K1 fighters, Sumo, and even some rather friendly Yakuza.

Love the place!

wow that look like a nice gym, tons of equipment

 

[EDED]

ollllllddddddd people actually middle aged shitheads trying to live longer or NOW doing something about it cuz their docs said so or just being a shithead cuz its a thing to do

a bunch of hispanic tough guys, mostly dumb

no bb's

trainers that think know everything

ugly girls

fat women

fat men

stupid stuipd people with jealous look in their eyes...watching and hating.

dirty ass tanning bed

you walk in and you feel immediately angry and want to burn things...thats the theme at my gym.

 

[hawkmoon]

man sounds awesome. Ive always been fascinated with Japanese culture and wanted to visit sometime. Any particular places you would suggest? And do you speak the native tongue there.. or do most people know other languages?

It is a lot of fun, yes. I love my gym and the people there. Because I am by far the biggest and strongest guy (and American) I get lumped into the same crowd as the celebs. This has advantages.

I personally like staying in and around Tokyo.
There is always a lot to do and people to see, even for a non-player and non-drinker like myself. Being a large American does have certain benefits as well - attention wise. Sometimes I just walk around or ride my bike and people watch. Last week I was in Osaka on business and I just roamed around at night for a couple hours people watching (and getting watched in return).

I over-saturated on the ancient culture stuff by living in Kamakura for most of my time living and vacationing here (my wife is from Kamakura). As a tourist place Japan is pretty amazing though. Kamakura is easy because it is one hour from Tokyo, then of course there is Kyoto (2hrs by bullet train from Tokyo). Honestly I don't like traveling. The tough part of sight-seeing in Japan is that everyone goes the same places at the same times, creating insane congestion. Japanese don't care so much, but I like a little breathing room.

I speak and read intermediate Japanese, enough to get by. Honestly I have been lazy as my work environment is 95% English.

 

[walker11]

I lift at one of the strongest gyms on the east coast. it's called Weightlifting Unlimited. We have about 20-30 members and 5 world record bench pressers (a few are: Larry Short, Dave Sands, and Randy Robinson). The gym has a squat rack, monolift, reverse hyper, GHR, leg press, hack squat, 2 competition benches (one w/ band pegs), a small cable machine, a full set of jump stretch bands, 300 lbs. of chains, hex bar, safety squat bar, camber bar, and a few other misc. things. Every time i walk into the place there's hard rock playing, a group of about 6-10 guys all their to support each other, and every lifter is going for a PR. On our last bench day both benches had 600+ lbs on it. The atmosphere there is unbeatable, everyone there is intense when it's there trun to lift and even more intense when it's your turn to lift, the guys there care just as much about making you stronger as they care about making themself stronger. And after going to commercial gyms for a few years I can say with out a doubt in my mind that Weightlifting Unlimited is the best gym i have ever lifted at.
If any of yall live in or around Virginia and want to check the place out let me know and I'll set you up with a time and a few guys to lift with.

 

[LEX]

I hate my gym, latest development there is a guy that literally does a fucking dance routine in between his 5lb dumbbell curls........ of course this is all done in front of the dumbbell rack