ExRx.net

Like:
If you time it right you can lift by yourself.
You can pick any music you want.
You rarely have to wait for equipment.
If you time it right you can have good company for lifting.

Dislike:
Sometimes it's a bit lonely
Sometimes it's a bit crowded
I'm the only one who ever puts weights away
I'm the only one who ever sweeps the floor
The "power rack" is old and flimsy (not that it matters much with the sort of weight I lift!)
Not enough weights (enough for any lift if I'm there alone, but it's possible for people to be benching, others squatting others DLing at the same time.)
No restroom
Gym is near the boss's office window

i would give my left nut for a gym where I could pick my own music

I'd accept that offer, but I just don't know what I'd do with your left nut.

I trained in my(dads) garage on Sunday night, for the first time in years. It has a bench which is really old and pretty much the same as lying on a plank of wood. Squat stands, DB's, EZ bar, and just over 300lbs worth of weight. Also somewhat randomly has a floor to ceiling ball.

Likes:

I loved everything about it. I forgot how good it was. It was especially great because i'm so much stronger than I was when I used to train in there. I had left 200lbs on the squat stands last time I was there. This used to be quite intimidating for me. Was good to just shift it on to the bench and do a quick set for the fun of it (I benched the day before).

This was where I done my first deadlifts - about 2 years after I starting training. I worked up to 105kg/230lbs. I can remember because I took a video on an old camera of it to check my terrible form. I wish I could find that camera, but it's long gone.

Dislikes:

What a pain in the a$$ having scew-on collars and DB's that you actually need to adjust. Small price to pay, though.

I won't lie, the -9ish degree temperature wasn't exactly fun when I first went in, but I warmed up quickly.

KPj

Likes:
Open 24 hours a day
Never have to wait on equipment
Choose what ever I want to listen to
Can make any manner of noise I want
Can lift barefoot (or naked) if I want
Weights are always racked
Cost

Dislikes
Open 24 hours a day, no excuses
Dumbells are the manual kind, no fixed weights
Lack of spotters
Small space

I work out in my basement 99% of the time and can do just about anything I can do at the university gym. Sometimes I work out at the university and there is long list of dislikes and few likes that go with that.

Like:
at work
No jerks - some strange lifters (once per two week curlers etc) but no attitude or annoying people in there.

Dislike:
NO SQUAT RACK!!!

Other than that I dont really care, I'd like some heavy dumbells for messing about with some exercises, they aren't heavy enough for dumbell bench or farmers walks - but as long as I don't run out of plates for my main lifts ...


Sometimes if it is a busy time of day they have an MTV style station on and depending on what is popular at the minute you hear it three times a week guranteed, that can really irritate me (I went through a phase of hearing that god damn "baaad boys, are always catching my eye" alexander burke every where I went, one time I just raged and turned off the TV at the socket and got a couple of looks, but turned it on when it was safe.. :) )

Like

No one really trains legs, so therefore the power rack is nearly always free. If anyone is using the rack for curls or shrugs tell them i want to squat and the kudos that comes with doing manly squats is enough for them to move, and shock horror, actually lift the weight from the floor. It's not quite the same when the 10 man team are sat in it doing shoulder presses.

Fair amount of weights to use, including DB's up to 60kg.

It's a cultural melting pot with all races and religions working and cooperating for a common goal. It's a microcosm for what the world could be, unfortuanetly the common goal seems to be big arms, chest and shoulders.

Price

It's within walking distance from where i live and it's right next door to a supermarket.

No problems training in my socks

Dislike

Crap music, but that's not a problem now i have my girlfriends I-pod (although it is pink)

Can get really busy at certain times, i usually avoid those times.

The guy who talks too much, and who has to state the weight after every lift he talks about. eg.

Yeah i was doing deadlifts yesterday, 130 keys

The unprecedented amount of bull$h1t that gets talked. Staggering. Including from the 'gym instructors'.

I got to take charge and stock the gym for my company about a year ago, I actually posted here and was able to use some of your advice. Thanks guys!

Like:
- At work, literally 30 feet from my desk
- Almost always empty (small company)
- Quality equipment (power rack + benches, barbell + plates, DBs up to 80 lbs, treadmill and elliptical, multi-use cable machine)
- Can pick the tv or radio station, or play my own music
- Rubber floor
- 24 hours, available during work too

Dislike:
- Almost always empty
- Bosu balls
- A little cramped
- No bumper plates

This sounds amazing! At least you get more time at home because you can hit the gym the minute you finish work. If thats's all the things you can think of for dislikes I'm jealous!

The weight room at my Y is a little narrow. Other than that it's fine.

Yeah, I left off some real specific little gripes which basically amount to the differences between our little facility and a commercial gym. We just don't have space for some specialty equipment (trap bar/platform/dip station/hamstring machine, you get the point). But it's a perfect setup, since when the clock hits 5 pm, I'm literally lifting by 5:05.

I hate to be a "bumper," but I was going through the threads, and I could not pass up this venting opportunity...
I will not disclose of the name of my gym, but if you have experienced what I have, you should know what gym it is....

The Good
Cardio machines up the wazoo. So many damn treadmills and ellipticals. Also there are 32 TV's, 16 channels (16 TV's on the left, 16 to the right) and a way to plug your headphones into a receiver to listen to whichever program you want, if interested.

The girls that attend are, for the most part, very well presented (not saying they would go for my smelly, sweaty self... lol)

The Bad... and well, the Ugly too
Jeez where to start... okay the lack of lifting equipment. Only one squat rack, only one incline bench. Regular benches can be adjusted to incline, but DB's only go up to 75 lbs. Only one machine to work calves, and said machine only goes up to 215 lbs. ONLY ONE DECLINE BENCH, but with no bar, so your only option is to move it to the smith, but people use the bench for abs, so good luck obtaining it. Only 2 regular benches for BP. Oh yeah the squat rack is, almost every time i have been there, in use for curls (I'll get to the curling idiots soon enough).

Next, let's go with the music. Oh my god is it not only terrible lifting music, but simply it's terrible music in general! I swear lifting to justin beiber is amazinggg.

Next the people,
The gym goers - I would say I have respect for 1 out of every 30 people that go there, and that's a generous, generous estimate. There are people that I swear I have only seen ever do biceps. They are rude, uncaring, and ignorant. A few days back, while between set on the smith some guy came up and literally tried to take the weight right off the bar! Thank god I was in a good mood... I'm not into vanity, but I often use the mirror for self form-check, but if you are not within 3 feet of the mirror, you will get blocked by some idiot doing his 40th set of DB curls. And DONT EVEN THINK about trying to get water, your bench will be taken. No matter whether you leave your book, weights, a towel, etc., you will come back to your things being used. And that doesn't mean there aren't any other perfectly fine benches there, of course there are!!!! It's like they see how much weight your lifting, think it's your bench that's special, so it's theirs now!

Lack of form and overall general lifting knowledge amongst the masses seems to be a gripe among most in this thread, so I will avoid ranting more about it...

The gym employees - Okay I'm not saying I need gym employees that are gigantic, lifting cyborgs who are jacked beyond all recognition. That being said, I really would like them to look like they go to the gym themselves. LOL. Out of about 12 employees I've seen there, 2-3 seem fit. There are a couple of obese female employees, and it just irks me. I gave them a chance too, i figured, "okay they may be big, but maybe they are knowledgable or something, maybe just maybe they serve a purpose." Nope. Asked one about an excercise a while back, and got a "Oh, I don't know, but mike knows! now where is he..." Ensue visual scan of the gym. "Oh IDK where he went but I'll tell him to come find you." I never did meet mike. I'm sure he was 1 of the 2-3.

They are also useless. Every hour or so someone gets a vacuum and starts to vacuum random areas. Yeah it's good to keep the dust down, but it's overkill. At times they are literally just vacuuming air. And the organization of the weights... welll.......

Weight organization - I know no place is perfect. And I know that it shouldn't be the job of the employees to re-rack improperly racked weights. That being said, they don't enforce, or even mention racking weights in their appropriate areas. The dumbell rack is a fv(k mess. 30's next to 75's nexy to 50's, placed in odd ways so if you're gonna put back your weight, unless you do some moving yourself you will be a part of the problem yourself (and I'm the only person I have seen to have EVER move dumbells when re-racking into their proper locations). And the plates and such? Looking for a 5 or 10 lb? Have fun looking behine 3 45's and 2 25's for some!! It is UNCANNY how random the people place the plates, i can't even describe.

Phew...

Their policies on "judging" and "grunting."
OK I GET IT. They have free tootsie rolls at the entrance. Once a month they give out free pizza. They want a comfortable atmosphere blah blah. It gets them the $, people think the gym is relaxed so they can go there without being gawked at. And the free tootsie rolls and pizza? I always laugh out loud when I get a friend who tells me "the tootsie rolls are for post-workout insulin spike, and pizza is for post-workout carbs." I could just imagine the convo with one of the employees!!

Jacked idiot: "I really like how you have these tootsie rolls for insulin spikes"
Employee: "Insu... wha... ummm.... Yeah!!! That's exactly why we have them!!!!"

PLEASE. They keep candy there so you take it, stay fat, and next year renew your membership. It is a great marketing ploy, and I get it.

Then there's "the alarm." If you "drop weights" or "grunt," they ring this obnoxious thing that echoes throughout the entire gym. They preach no judgement, and yet they will judge me for grunting? Fv(k it. Last week, on incline bench i was breathing heavily, and uttered to myself in a low voice "comeon you got this." I arise, and an employee threatens me with the alarm!!! HA if they want grunting I'll show them grunting!!! (and I am going to, on the 25th, the last day of my membership )



There probably is more, but I must stop now. If you have read this entire thing, I thank you. And you must have a lot of time on your hands, as do i
Only 2 more weeks left before I switch gyms........

_________________

Nick,

It sounds like we attend very similar gyms! Unfortunately though I don't have a lot of other options.....

The alarm thing; the gym I go to has an emergency siren that sounds and two orange/yellow rotating lights that go off. What a joke.

Get this - They recently changed name from Gold's Gym to Blue Moon Fitness. Apparently the name is supposed to be some indication to newbies that it is a comfortable place even for those that attend once in a "blue moon". Seriously?!

Travis

What I dont get is, sure, cater to that profitable $h1t, but why not have a bit of a "rougher" area too - surely it just adds some more profit, cant be a loss to have the people who actually do 3-6 sessions catered for, I realise they arent as profitable as the multiple "class" people with big sign ups and little attendance, but surely theres enough profit to justify a few olympic bars/bumpers and racks/benches - a reasonable ratio compared to the cities of cardio stuff and other machines.

Yep, that's basically it, most gyms just don't cater for what most of us on here want to do at gyms. For instance my local gym doesn't have a power rack doesn't have heavy BB's, the only ones there are fixed, and are too light. The only 'bench' there is for people to set on an incline and do bicep curls infront of the mirror. Ofcourse they have treadmills and bikes in excess too.