SWEAT

So a commenter asked that I check this place out, so here I am in the park cities (Inwood area) trying out Sweat.  Sweat is a local gym, so local that it’s not even a chain.  Had I known this, I might’ve not surfed this place. The staff is so generous and kind, and a single membership means so much to them, that I don’t like teasing the little guys.  This place is small, but it has pretty much everything.  This is the first gym I’ve seen that has aerial silks. 

View from the lounge area

If they don’t have it, they will get it for you. Like the guy showed me they have drop pads for when you want to drop the weight (the floors are polished concrete).  I commented to myself about bumper plates, and he said, “Oh those, those are pretty cheap. We could get some if you’d like.”  Like I said, super nice and super generous.

Given this gym’s proximity to the park cities, I get the impression a lot of Parkies and Devonshire folk come here to workout.  Lots of women during the early afternoon. Met some bartenders that come here to workout. None of the guys I saw were the musclebound kind like at LA fitness or at Gold’s Gym. Though I did see some cutoffs I never saw a tank.  A lot of the women here wear booty shorts, but no one’s outfit was that flashy, if that makes any sense.  So I got the impression this crowd is like a very small, subdued Equinox. I saw one guy rip off the pistol squat progressions that I was working on, thought that was pretty funny.  There were also quite a few high schoolers lifting here.  I’ve been told it never gets really busy, and I’m inclined to believe that. I think the gym is just about the right size.

Layout/facilities

Drop pads if you're
going to drop big weight

It’s small but has a converted space/loft feel, which I really dig.  The floors on the first floor are polished red concrete, and they have a wood lattice design on the walls. They have lots of weight machines, but they only have one squat rack and one bench rack.  More than once I’ve had to wait on someone else who is using the squat rack (though never for squats :/ )

This gym is on a corner so in addition to the two stories of open air you get light coming in from the front and side. The dumbbells only go up to 100# here, but obviously that’s not a huge issue for most people. I imagine if you requested it they would get more for you.  The first floor has cardio equipment and weights, the second floor has a Pilates studio, group class room, and a cardio deck overlooking the gym.  The cardio machines all have headphone jacks to plug into so you can listen to what’s on the TV’s in front of the machines.  If you forget your headphones they’ll provide you with a pair, which I think is nice.

Group Classes

Because it’s a small gym they don’t have a lot of group classes, but they have a program where you can play a video on a drop-down screen in their group class room and do a yoga workout to the video.  So you can do a group exercise without being in a group.  I actually kind of like this.  Even though it’s like doing a workout dvd at home I think the separation of space is great and you can do what you want whenever you want to.  They also have Pilates reform and Cadillac and all the Pilates toys available.

Locker Room

Like the rest of the gym, this is on the small side but has everything you need.  Everything is clean and I like how the lockers have their own key.  They also have cubby holes in the front desk if you come dressed to workout.  The bath is stocked with all kinds of things that you would need. 

Sadly I saw no shaving equipment, but again I'm sure if I asked for it they would get it for me.  They had pretty much everything else, deodorant, lotion, hairgel, mouthwash. Pretty much everything you need.  They also had a radio playing Christian Rock.  I have a feeling a member changed it from 93.3 so I just changed it back.  

Surfability

Because this gym is so small you have to call and talk to them to ask and get a trial membership.  When I asked for one the guy was like “Sure, how about a week? Ten days? Does ten days work?”  God dude way to really made me feel like an asshole with this one.

Days in: 62

Amount paid: $0