Tired of Gold's Gym

[Bigredpits]

I been a member at Gold's and its been going down hill for a while now. There is nothing but old people (God bless them) and people squatting on balls with one leg, doing jumping jacks in front of the dumbell rack with weights on their ankles, doing step up cardio on the bench press station, and by the cardio machines selling monavei and praising its benefits like it was handed down by God. I'm tired of this fufu environment and people look at me weird bc I want to add muscle...wtf! Well thats why I come to you my friends I live in South florida....Palm beach county and I wanted to see if anybody knew of a gym that still has its hard core roots! I really need a new place to lift this is killing me?
Thanks in advance for your inputs.

 

[gooey]

its so sad..

this is the mecca of BBing, it started at golds, I have lifted at cpl of them in different states, they all seem to have this new ideology of anti meat! If u look like u work out, and u have muscle then ur not allowed. They do things like make the 45 lb plates thicker so U cant put as many on the machine as other gyms. Dumbbells up to 95 lbs? As a avid lifter and personal trainer their seem to be a of meat heads who have to scream, holler, and wear tiny tank tops to show their zits off to the public. Which makes all the rest of the people who actually look like they workout have a hard time picking gyms now. Golds needs to take off the BBer with the bent barbell image and go to a skinny fat, middle aged man with a gut and a headband.

gooey

 

[Dad]

Mom and I have been at Bally's for the last few years becuase it's close and super cheap because we once had a membership there then returned.

What a total joke! The "trainers" are all under 25, most have only worked out for as long as they took the in-house course - 3 weeks. LOTS of step-up on the bench press benches, walking lunges with 15's, and the dumbells? Yuo guessed it - up to 100 only.

Mom outlifts virtually all the guys with a 190+ bench (raw) and 365 shrugs for reps. She made me a T-shirt that says, "My bitch lifts more than that!"

Seriously, I figured I can equip a SERIUOS gym for about 20K. The only problem is finding space to lease that's cheap. I'm looking into the warehouse district at the space they rent for bands to rehearse. We're SO SICK of Bally's, and nothing caters anymore to anything but middle-aged debris!

 

[fatsuperman]

the problem is that muscle head gyms fail!

Why meat heads show up everyday, lift heavy and break your equipment!

A better financial model is to get people to pay for memberships that they will never use in completioin or if they do happen to show up, they will put less stress on you equipment than the meatheads.

 

[cavemuscle]

There is an article in this months MD about the "new direction" Omni Hotels is taking Golds and it is not pro-bodybuilding.

Fortunately OKC has so far been spared this and we have a decent share of warehouse meathead gyms, but with our booming economy I don't see that lasting long.

Brock

 

[BOOMSHAKER]

I been a member at Gold's and its been going down hill for a while now. There is nothing but old people (God bless them) and people squatting on balls with one leg, doing jumping jacks in front of the dumbell rack with weights on their ankles, doing step up cardio on the bench press station, and by the cardio machines selling monavei and praising its benefits like it was handed down by God. I'm tired of this fufu environment and people look at me weird bc I want to add muscle...wtf! Well thats why I come to you my friends I live in South florida....Palm beach county and I wanted to see if anybody knew of a gym that still has its hard core roots! I really need a new place to lift this is killing me?
Thanks in advance for your inputs.

Why do you let it bother bro? Those folks are there to do "their" thing, just like you are there to do "your" thing. As long as you know what makes you grown in the gym and go about it everyday just walk past those folks and don't give it a second thought. It sounds like their actions are keeping you down mentally. Let it go brother. Just do your thing and enjoy it!

 

[irons_george]

I've worked out at golds before and it's hard to find real bodybuilders there. At Golds they are few and far between. I have found them to have decent equipment but if you see a guy with huge muscle he looks a little out of place. I do like all the ladies that come to do step up lunges on the bench (when its not chest day for me) and the ladies that bounce on the stability balls.

 

[irish_sd]

I used to work for a new Golds in Reno NV. they cater to women. you have to understand the business plan when you open a gym is...sell memberships to people who don't show up. Get them on EFT and they forget about it.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

What a total joke! The "trainers" are all under 25, most have only worked out for as long as they took the in-house course - 3 weeks. LOTS of step-up on the bench press benches, walking lunges with 15's, and the dumbells? Yuo guessed it - up to 100 only.

I worked at a Gold's as a trainer for a very brief period and it's the truth.

And my Gold's dumbbells only go up to 130lbs.

 

[Sal Paradise]

Why do you let it bother bro? Those folks are there to do "their" thing, just like you are there to do "your" thing. As long as you know what makes you grown in the gym and go about it everyday just walk past those folks and don't give it a second thought. It sounds like their actions are keeping you down mentally. Let it go brother. Just do your thing and enjoy it!

I have to agree with this comment.

Now I can also understand it's hard to get in the right frame of mind if you want to go for all out pure intensity. Then it's a bigger problem and is somewhat difficult in a place where you're the only one and people look at you like you're a dipsh!t because you need to get pumped up for a 600lb deadlift.

That being said -
I work out at a few different gyms and travel around the country for work and have the pleasure of checking out many, many different styles of gyms. From the Golds and Ballys to hardcore places.

There will always be a variety of lifters in every facility.
The last gym I went to in Milwaukee had a very, very nice hardcore place called the Brickyard. I saw the ad in the yellow pages and it caught my eye because it said in blod letters "HARDCORE BODYBUILDING" when I got there it was on a second floor with some new and antique machines, great selection of dumbbells, strong man equipment, etc, etc - The place was phenomenal.

How many bodybuilders did I see? ZERO! Except when I looked in the mirror.

My point is this - We can have the hardcore gyms, they are great and a wonderful place to get all out intense.
But does that mean there won't be a middle aged fat guy inthere too?
Of course not.
They have as much right as we do. Much the same way we have as much right to do our thing in the Golds.

Now when you start talking about Planet Fitness and the "No Grunting" policies then someone just needs slapped. But I digress.

But finidng a hardcore gym is hard. They make little to no money for the most part and if they do happen to survive and keep the doors open they won't have any of the newer equipment - it's just too expensive when you only have 50 members paying you. Then you have people leaving to go workout in places that have better equipment, give that few months then they want to go back to the hardcore place for the better atmosphere. It's a dreadful cirle and the owner of the hardcore palce takes the hit, unless you have the gym rat paying for two places like my training partners but that is very rare. Most of us are just too F'n cheap and poor to afford gym memberships to multiple places.
I know for a fact that the hardcore place I work out in cannot afford a new piece of equipment if it wanted to.
Usually the guys will have to get together and pitch in if we want something or I have to make it.

There simply is no money in it due to the low volume of people.
And most women will not want to workout in a place that has writing on the walls from 30 years ago.
A hardcore gym can be done but it's never going to be a very lucrative business venture. Someone has to do it for the love of it and most likely would have to work a full time job as well necessitating a Key Club type of gym.

Just my .02

Sal

 

[panic66]

hey bro i hope you find a good gym to train at soon!!!

As for all those "Fitness Centers" all I can say is i really cant stand them!!!! I'm actually still paying for a membership I dont use!!!!

Luckily for me I have found my perfect gym Strouds Fitness!!!
They have pretty much everything you want for a PL/BB Chains, Hydraulic squat rack, bands, a very large assortment of bars, boards for board press... well pretty much anything you can think of oh did i mention the dumbbells go up to 150lbs and they have a set of 200lbers.

This place is awesome besides all the great equipment, they also have quality members that are always willing to help and its not odd to run into Johnnie Jackson since he workouts and personal trains there. But this isnt a "meat head" only gym actually far from it. Its also a family gym its not odd to see the ocassional toddler helping mom or dad train lol, they also offer karate classes and cheer classes.

Well after all that all i can say is i hope you find a great place like this to train. I think it will be hard to find something like this since most of these gyms are dead, but imo they are still possible just have to be at the right place at the right time.

 

[Bigredpits]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm not blaming the girls that do step-up on the bench press or the middle age gut man or those so called trainers (they piss me off) lol. It's my fault if anything i'm always super intense in the gym but sometimes I see clearly and take a look around in the gym and see nothing that inspires me or anybody pushing as hard as their body will allow them to. I come from a collegiate athlete and grappling background, those gyms everyone is on the same page to be the best and that environment pushes you to try harder than you ever have. Now that I lift to scuplt my body I have come to understand that not only are bodybuilders physically strong but they are some of the most mentally strong people out there. To find the inspiration within yourself and not care about what everyone else says, does or is not the norm is just another thing bodybuilders are strong at. I just need to get back into the zone again and forget everyone else but sometimes I slip and wanted some inspiration. But if anybody knows of any gyms I could check out still let me know

 

[maldorf]

I lift at a Gold's too, and find it adequate at best. My main beef is they have too many of the smaller plates floating around and not enough 45s. The squat rack will be filled up with 25s, 10s,and 5s. Its like whoever stocked the place had no clue as to what to order. No need for so many 25 and 10 pound plates. Hell each rack only needs one pair of 35s, one pair of 25s, two pairs of 10s, one pair of 5s. Then the members never put the plates back right, they are all scrambled up in a big mess. The dumbells only go up to 120 lbs too, that blows. Something breaks and it takes weeks to months to fix it. Only have 2 squat racks and one shoulder press rack. I miss the 100 lb plates from my old gym when I do leg presses. Nothing sucks more than having to load on all of those 45s. The thing is though, that Golds has come in to this part of the state and taken over everything. Their rates are low and advertising is good, almost all of the small gyms have had to go out of business as they lost too many members to golds. So now the hard core lifters have no choice but to go to golds or spend thousands of dollars on a home gym.

 

[GymDudeVA]

I've found that Gold's really varies...I've been to some that have a real hardcore vibe, and others that might as well be a Bally's. I can at least usually get a good workout in, which as some above have said, is all that really matters.

However, I do think that your surroundings can make a difference. I for one tend to have a much better workout of I'm around fellow muscleheads, as opposed to fat housewives balancng on balls.

Another thing that I've noticed is that the newer Gold'ses have some odd ideas for benches and such. No military press station, no t-bar row, etc. Just bodybuilding basics like that. I don't know if new Gold's gyms start from the same equipment list, but this is worrisome. The crowd is one thing, but at least give me the weights and stuff that I need.

 

[RSR34]

I was a trainer at a Central Florida Gold's for a couple of years. They changed their game plan last year and decided to "drop" all the "overpriced" trainers. Yeah, we were getting a whopping $24 per hour out of $55 that they charged. Needless to say, they now have a bunch of kids getting $12 an hour and they look like F'ing MORONS. I stopped in to say hi to an old friend and I was very sad to see the direction they have chosen to go. My friend says they are not doing well and the owner is looking to sell his 2 locations. They even took down the old Gold's Gym logo and put up some "change your body, change your life" bull crap logo in the window. They also eliminated the heavy dumbells.

It's starting to resemble Planet Fitness. You know, the "judgemnt free" gym. Judgement free that is , unless you are a bodybuilder. Ever hear those stupid Planet Fitness radio ads...They sure do JUDGE bodybuilders to be all a bunch of "meatheads". Oh well.

 

[terryd5150]

It's all about marketing...

These places are trying to sell memberships. They don't care if you come in or not, just that your checks clear.


And, sad to say, they can market to the mass-public and make far more money than catering to serious BB/lifters.

Plus, the general public wouldn't really be able to tell if the place had the right equipment (how many people in this thread have mentioned lack of dumbells), so they don't have continously invest capital to meet the demands of their clients.

That means a better P/L statement at the end of the year, which is what investors want to see.

Gyms are businesses, and their point is to make money. That's what they do.


On a side note, I did manage to find a kick-ass gym in my area that caters to serious lifters- and get this: the name of the place is OLD SCHOOL GYM.

 

[maldorf]

Old school gym, sounds good! The place I used to lift at was called The Powerstation. The owner really didnt care about making a lot of money, he was in it for the love of it. He was an exmarine and retired highway patrolman. He wouldnt put up with any crap in his gym, and was known for booting people for not racking their weights right or leaving weights on the machines. He didnt give a rats ass if he lost a member! It was great, every plate was in the correct spot on the racks. The gym was voted several times the best gym in the state, the equipment was awesome. He now has a monolift for squats and several hydralic squat racks.
Now its just me and Golds

 

[Bigredpits]

I feel you Maldorf .....but your not alone its just me and Gold's too and the fight will will go on to get bigger dumbells!!! I will not surrender. :s'ar-wars :s'ar-wars :s'ar-wars

 

[maldorf]

I feel you Maldorf .....but your not alone its just me and Gold's too and the fight will will go on to get bigger dumbells!!! I will not surrender. :s'ar-wars :s'ar-wars :s'ar-wars

Yeah, i forgot to mention that my old gym has dumbells up to 200 lbs!

 

[gfactor]

I have lifted at cpl of them in different states, they all seem to have this new ideology of anti meat! If u look like u work out, and u have muscle then ur not allowed.

gooey

I went to this local gym with my father and we took a tour.... Girls in spandex everywhere ages teen to 50's.... Lacrosse Guys that thought they were tough shit with wife beaters lifting in groups moaning.... After the tour they are suppose to give us a free trial coupons..... My father received one and hey where is mine?? Not to mention the gym is basically 4 blocks away from me. The spokesperson kept looking at my father and not me... The counter people kept looking at me.... etc. Oh not to mention I kept on hearing the famous word "steroids"... Must have been one of the songs playing.