24 Hour Fitness (Coit and Campbell)

So when I started out this little experiment one of my goals was to be able to surf so long that I would be able to come back to a gym because they allow a trial membership ever X months.  Well, I can now cross that off my checklist.  24 hour fitness only allows a trial membership every 6 months (most require a year), and it has been more than 6 months since last time.

This time, I went to the 24 Hour Fitness off of Coit and Campbell.  This location has a much nicer feel than the one off of Mockingbird.  Because we are more out in the suburbs, you have a less douchebag, more meathead feel, if that makes any sense.  Quite a few of the bigger guys here are first responders, if that gives you an idea.  There were also quite a few women, some actually in the weight area.  Once there were two girls doing real front squats, which is impressive. 

Layout

The gym is all on one floor, one really, really big room, with the typical gym set up. You have your cardio section, your weight machine section, your barbell racks with benches, and your squat racks off to the side.  They actually have three honest-to-God squat racks, plus a smith machine.  They also have two group exercise rooms and a kid’s corner.

One thing that is nice is all but two of the dumbbell benches are bolted down. So there’s no carting off with a bench to go do your own thing. Every bench is exactly where you would find it.  However, they have only two (flat) bench racks, which led me to waiting a while for one to become open.  I would have tried to use an open squat rack, but both of the two mobile benches were being used as well so I couldn’t  even do that.

Locker Rooms

They are your basic gym locker rooms. Clean, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Surfability

It’s the same as it was last time. Sign up online and then show up. This time I didn’t even have a tour of the facility.

Days in: 182

Amount paid: $10

Anytime Fitness

I feel like I’m getting close to the end of this journey, as I’m starting to run out of gyms to try.  I’m also having to go farther and farther out from my home to try out gyms. At least for the free trial memberships. I’m still thinking of doing the intro rates for yoga/Pilates/barre studios.

Layout

Anyway, I’m now up in Richardson visiting Anytime Fitness.  This place feels like a lot like a Snap fitness: it’s compact; it’s open 24 hours to members; it has cardio equipment and free weights.  This place differs from Snap Fitness, however, in that they have a squat rack and two barbells.  For me, that makes this place infinitely better than Snap.  They don’t have a stand-alone bench rack though, which I found interesting. 

One thing the owner pointed out, and I have to agree with her, is that this place is cleaner than any other gym I’ve seen up in this part of town.  Some of these gyms around here are a bit run down, but you can tell the owner takes pride in her facility and makes sure the place is clean.

They do not have bumper plates, but when I deadlifted no one complained.

Locker rooms

They actually don’t have locker rooms in the normal sense. I imagine this really helps cut down on space needed.  They basically have fancy unisex bathrooms with shower stalls in them.  It’s really all you need. Plus this way you can pose in front of the mirror as much as you want and not worry about someone catching you.

Surfability

This is easy to get a week long pass, but that pass means you can only come in during staffed hours, which is not anytime you like.  For example, staffing hours begin at 10am every day.  So if you like to work out early in the morning this place won’t work out for you.  I had a nice tour of the facility given by the owner. When you have the owner also working as the salesperson and manager, you’re bound to have great customer service. I think she should be proud of her little gym.

Days in: 175

Amount paid: $10

Clairevista Vitality Club

Anyone there?

Clairevista is in the neighborhood of Oak Cliff, and it’s personality reflects that.  It’s not flashy, it’s friendly.  It’s not concerned with being the latest and greatest, it’s focus on friendliness and trying to help you on your way to self-improvement.   This place has the whole wellness vibe of Telos (I mean come on one's name is in Greek and the other is in Latin) while having the personal training focus of Diesel Fitness.  They have a maximum membership of 300, so it’s never going to be a crowded place.  There is a very small mention of supplements here, but there is a focus on whole, organic foods.  I go during off hours, but during my two weeks there I only saw one person in my age group (read: not retired).

The pool members have
access to.

One thing about this gym is that access operates like a Snap Fitness or an Anytime Fitness.  With membership you get an access card and are able to come in during gym hours, which run from 5am to 11pm if I remember correctly.  They do offer towel service, but because of the way the gym works I found myself to be the only person in the gym, no staff or anyone else was around.  If you want to get away from it all and be near downtown, this is the place for you.

Layout

It is a small gym, but it has everything one needs. Lots of weight machines, cardio equipment, and some kettlebells.  Thankfully they have one squat rack, so I was able to follow my routine.  They also have bumper plates, which was a nice find.  They also, and this is cool, some outdoor facilities.  They have some turf, tires and sledges, and members are even allowed to use the Belmont pool up on the hill for amazing views of downtown.

Locker Rooms

They are cool/funky (just like Oak Cliff), with a bit of hip retro vibe.  They had all kinds of toiletries available and very clean facilities.  The layout is a bit awkward since it used to be two different locker rooms before a renovation, but otherwise it works out quite nicely.  I think because of the small size of the locker room it feels more like a giant personal bathroom than a gym locker room.

Surfability 

I was lucky in that I didn’t set up an appointment, yet happened to catch the owner at a good time for a tour and signing of waivers.  He’s very pleasant and knowledgeable, and I can see his clients really digging him.  Anyways, if you want to try this out you should really set up an appointment so as not to miss a staff member to set you up.  This is a real nice deal in that it’s two weeks instead of the regular seven days.

Days in: 168

Amount paid: $10

Fitness Just 4 U

This place is over by white rock lake, and it has a similar feel to its neighbor Gold’s gym. However, unlike Gold’s, this place is more “Average Joes” than meathead.  They are going through a renovation, which is a good thing.  For example, they have carpet on a lot of the gym floor (they do have rubber over where the barbells are). Carpet in a gym just feels…. wrong.  Feels like I’m working out in a hotel “fitness center” where it’s just a hotel room with equipment instead of beds.  This place isn’t amazing, but it isn’t too bad either.  If Golds down the street intimidates you I would definitely check this place out for a more laid back vibe.

Layout

This place is a bit dark despite the new white paint on the walls.  They have three tiers of cardio equipment that looks out over the weight machines.  They have plenty of weight machines, but when the guy showed me the six squat racks I had to stifle a laugh because two of them were smith machines and another two were leg press machines. But they did have two legit squat racks, which is one more than most.  I came in on a Saturday and both were being used, causing me to wait 10 minutes until one freed up. …Ten minutes in a gym feels like an eternity, by the way.

They don’t have bumper plates, but with the rubber matting no one complained when I did deadlifts. I should point out, though, that I DIDN’T DROP THE WEIGHT TO LET IT BOUNCE UP AND DOWN.  This is a pet peeve of mine because I see a lot of dudes do this when they are  perfectly capable of placing the weight down, they just want to show off.  These are the same guys wearing cut-off sleeves.

Everything seemed up to date and in order. Again this place is very average in impression, not a whole lot to write about.

Locker rooms

Locker Rooms leave a
lot to be desired

Locker rooms have yet to be renovated, and they definitely need the work. There were a lot of
broken locker doors and the only place to sit is these two leather chairs that sit way too low to the ground. Very strange. They do have some televisions though, and that was a nice feature.  But like I said, all of this is going to change in a couple of months.

Surfability

You sign up for a week pass online.  Low pressure sales here, very friendly salesman, and he gave a nice tour. Although every time I came in here the sales guy gave me a lingering smile, hoping that I was coming to him to sign up. However, after smiling back and walking off, I wasn’t persued.

Days in: 153

Amount paid: $10