Abeaut T.

Honest review. I went to 2 cities bc I live in one but short term biz in another. I signed up with my temp city letting them know I live in Los Angeles. Here's some issues:
1. LA/NYC & other major cities is not part of premium unlimited. It's a diff tier of premium so I had to join the LA studio at 199 a month which was a B bc I had went home for 2 weeks but going back to the other city for 4 OR I would've had to pay the daily rate.
2. I've been a member for about 18 months. I can say that my temp studio is AMAZING & just friendly, happy, encouraging members & workers who will do anything for you! (Santa Fe) but when I went back to Santa Monica and Brentwood- I almost QUIT. The members are blah. They're so stuck up and rude. One guy would stretch all over the tread, sweat all over it & wait until the last sec to switch and swipe the machine with a rag. The instructors there are a clique. They miss their marks and seem like they're forced to be there. Only 2 were good. Not great. One Sunday in Brentwood at 8am, this young one played hardcore, street underground rap. It was sooo horrific and jarring & im from the hood. No one wants to hear negativity while working out esp in the AM. She tailored the music to her - not the people paying $200 a month. It was like night and day.
3. The workout. It's amazing to get u back in the gym BUT: its not to get u in tip top shape. Why? 5-6 min of warmup. 5 min total of recovery during sets like if ur on the tread- it's 23 min and there's a good 5-6 min of recovery. 3 min of switch. And the 5 min end stretch. So I calculated about 40ish min of workout.
- The tornado which EVERYONE IN MY STUDIO HATES. Where u switch stations every 3 min, then 2.5, then 90 is unbearable and not conducive to working out. U tech only workout for 33 min. But they don't take in account the first 1 min that u need to get moving again. It's a ripoff to paying members
- Some of the exercises are DANGEROUS. They don't make sense. I play sports in college and went pro (half a year bc I got mangled) & when i asked them about certain exercises- they scoffed & said it wasn't good for normal ppl such as: doing push-ups or in that stance while pressing weights against the floor. Throwing weights. (Thrusters). They can injure u by throwing out ur back, dislocating arm etc. It's nonsense. Jumping onto the bench? U can really injure a person. U can assign exercises that are effective and beneficial to normal people that don't require these moves. It's like they are just trying to "mix it up." They don't consider that most are not teens.
-lack of core exercises. We Barely do core ever
- for the past 2 weeks, we've been 95% using body vs using weights. We already run and row. We need to tone. It's ridiculous
- not forewarning us about 3GS or tornados.
-lastly, we were forced to walk at 3.5x For runners- esp those who run above 6mph & (I'm a New Yorker) that's nothing. It didn't feel like I was exercising.
- contests: the weight challenge does more harm than good. Why? Bc their system is way off. I ran 260 miles in the 8 weeks bc I do a 5k every morning, I worked out daily & I eat healthy. My doc said I lost 11lbs and 7% body fat. Theirs showed I did neither but I wasn't the only one this happened to.
Moreover, what about the discrimination? Old vs young? 4 of us are over 40 and all of us had hypothyroidism. Not to mention, I got my period the week of the weigh in. They say to try to come before or after. Uhmm they do realize women begin to gain weight 2 days before and after. It's nonsense. They should use a real scale with real measurements. Also, I don't want more muscle. I don't want to lift more than 20lbs. Some women do but there's a few in my gym that don't. I don't like that look. I like the lean look.

So… while my review seems like a huge complaint- it is. But for me, the OT in at in Santa Fe -the community, kindness, plus they have no say in what corporate picks for the workout- trumps the negatives.

Btw, I had no problems in cancellations. It varies from studio to studio though bc studios are individually owned. U also have a duty to read what u sign. Most places require a months notice. That's consistent "doing biz" with gyms.