Lifetime Fitness (Chicago)

So I get to go tryout another Lifetime fitness gym, this time in Schaumburg Illinois.  Back in Dallas it was a “Diamond level club” meaning membership there means membership everywhere else. However, I was told that trying out the diamond level club doesn't mean I couldn't try out other clubs. So here I am, checking out a chain gym in the suburbs for the first time.  One thing the suburbs offer over urban areas is land, and this gym takes advantage of it.  It’s less of a gym, and more of a compound.  They have tons of stuff here.  Perhaps it’s the burbs, perhaps it’s that fact that I’m in the mid-west, but this gym had a different… feel than the other large commercial gyms I've attended.  The people are less… shiny.  I don’t know how to describe it.  It’s like even the people that are showing off (because there were quite a few) don’t have that sense of pretentiousness that I’m used to.  Strange.

Gym Layout

One word to describe this place: Huge. Actually, more like Hyooge.  Two indoor pools (one with water slides), one outdoor pool, two full basketball courts, a three story rock climbing area. It’s simply massive.  There’s the organic smoothie bar, various group exercise rooms, you name it, they have at least three of it.  This place is so commercial. Everywhere I went I was bombarded by commercials.  They were all over the walls, on the TVs, and even on the radio.  All these ads were super annoying, the kind that tell you to go check out your testosterone levels, or this other latest thing that will take your workout to the next level.

I got to the weightlifting portion of the gym and SWEET BABY JESUS THEY HAVE FIVE

NO BICEP CURLS
IN THE SQUAT RACK!!!

OLYMPIC LIFTING PLATFORMS!! FIVE!!!! I was super pumped to try one out.  It was only after trying one out that I realized not was all as awesome as it seemed.  For whatever reason, the rubber padding that lines the wooden center stripe of the platform only covered half of the entire platform. It’s hard to describe, so let me try it another way.  If I’m facing the mirror (like I prefer to do) and I jerk the weight up and then drop it, the bumper plates will hit the gym floor rather than the rubber padding that is supposed to be on each side of the wooden strip.  This means for me to actually do Olympic lifting I need to turn around and face out into the crowd.  This doesn’t bother me on its own, but without a coach I have to be able to look at myself to notice any missteps with technique. 

I would have never noticed this unless I tried it out, and I think this goes to show the importance of trying things out before you commit to them. Some small little thing that you would never have thought about shows up and then bothers you for the rest of your time at that gym.

Locker rooms

Locker rooms were big, but not posh. Everything was good, but nothing was special.

Classes

They have everything, though yoga and Pilates require drop-in money.  They also have “Alpha” which is their version of crossfit.  I saw the wod on the whiteboard and it did not look impressive to me.

Surfability

This was fairly easy to surf, though I did have to take an extensive tour beforehand so I was chomping at the bit to lift by the time we were done. After explaining that I wanted to keep looking because of facilities and location, the salesperson said she had to go check with her manager. I kind of got excited and hunkered down to negotiate with a hard sale. (I would've said yes if I could get the first year free- nothing less.)  However, she returned simply saying that she was sad to see me leave but that was all.  Only slightly disappointed, I left the building.

Days in: 123 days

Amount paid: $0