mine's not on the list, though it may be a boston area only thing... healthworks gets my vote!

The free one at the public park around the block.

OUTSIDE is my favorite gym of 2008 - parks, the beach, the sidewalk, wherever.

LA Fitness wins for WORST gym of 2008 - Avoiding going there is what made me discover my love of working out outdoors in the first place! Then I had to cancel my membership - which took me three more months of payments to finalize. Ugh!

PLANET FITNESS!!

The park near my house...free, fresh air.

I miss the Sports Club LA/Boston. It was my Favorite place, the yoga studios were enormous. Then I moved away but I'll be back my friends oh yes I'll be back. Also they weren't jerks when I told them I was moving as some gyms are. They were very friendly and told me to come on back if I come back to the U.S.
Once in the past I had to get a lawyer to leave equinox. It was an ugly situation.

YMCA!! I love my Y... it's only $39 a month for students, it's four blocks from my apartment, it's very clean, and I always get a machine. Plus the Pilates instructors are great.

i belong to equinox, and though it's really expensive, i absolutely love the location that is right down the street from my apartment. i work out there maybe six times a week, it's worth every penny.

I prefer outdoors to a gym (and there aren't many gyms very close!). Unfortunately I live where it rains 8/9 months of the year often I do take advantage of the summer and most of the spring months, though. I need a sunnier climate!

From what I've seen, NY & LA seem to have the best gyms.

When I loved up north I adored all the gyms I went to in NY and NJ. Now that I moved this year down to the deep south, I LOVE the Omni Club we have near me in Georgia. AWESOME, amazing gym. So much equipment, never a line, in a college town, home of UGA...so it's cheap. Trust me, having something THAT nice is not something you see around these parts.

I'm voting for where I go, Ballys. I finally finished my 3 yr contract, so my monthly payments are down to ~$20. The services at my gym meet my needs (without going over the top, like my husband's $60/month gym). And the personal trainers aren't too pushy - at other gyms I've had PTs come up to me while I'm on the elliptical or treadmill, trying to sign me up. How tacky.

I go to the YMCA, and I like that you can use your membership at any other Y in the world. I just like it because I can use it when I visit my parents in MA.

A year ago I was a member of Sports Club LA in San Francisco. It was incredible. But my life changed in 2008--lost my job--and I had to leave. *sigh*

Other should be an option. I use the gym at my university.

I've always been a bit hesitant to sign up for a gym membership, I have heard too many nightmare stories about not being able to cancel your membership etc! I go to the local community rec centre, which is brand new and has an indoor running track. Plus it's very close to my home!

I just joined Lifetime Fitness, it recently opened in my town. I absolutely love it! The classes are great, so many machines, wonderful instructors. Plus, the child care there is AMAZING. My daughter begs my everyday to go to the "Big Gym". Plus, they have a cafe there, a spa, two indoor & one outdoor pool, plus a climbing wall. And finally, you don't have to sign a contract! You just go month to month. It's FAB.

And no, I don't work for them!!

i have a membership with Equinox through work and my own one with NYSC and i have to say that HANDS DOWN i would always go to equinox. the care that they put in everything there - to be clean, and to have things maintained and all that - it's so worth the extra money that i have to pay each month.

Cebca -

Bally's is another bad gym to add to that list.

I love Life Time Fitness... I don't ever want to switch! Pretty much anything else would be a downgrade.

I haven't been to any of these, though I almost signed up at a Gold's Gym, but my friends and I opted for Planet Fitness instead, which I am quite happy with for what it is. $10 a month, that is.

I didn't vote because the two large-scale gyms I've been to (24-Hour Fitness and Ballys) both suck. They have poor customer services, are expensive, and are always full of people.

I work out at home with a manual stepper and weights. I also jog.

YMCA=cheap!

NYSC

i go to bally and enjoy it..where i go its always clean..people are great...not to busy when i go.

I would say "other"...I like the gym at the hospital where I work. It's cheap and well-equipped and it is NEVER crowded. You'd think that a gym for hospital employees would be busier, but you'd be wrong.

i like 24hf, i've always gone there. it's open all the time, and i'm the kind of person who will want to go when it's closed, and that'll be my excuse for not going. i also worked front desk there for a year, and now i teach cycle classes there, so i get a free membership (so does my boyfriend).

ymca all the way!! thanks urbanbohemian for the comment about being able to use it anywhere- i had no idea but that will come in very good use for the next 4 years! y-m-c-a

The Woodstock Recreation Center! j/k. I REALLY miss my old gym (Washington Sports Club), but now that I live out in cornfields of Illinois, WRC is the best I can get.

No other option, but I go to my local NYSC (New York Sports Club). I really like it; it has great equipment, very clean, and nobody is pushy in the slightest. I do wish I could go to more classes, but most are when I have class. It's a bit expensive, but I save in other areas to make up for it, and I think my health is worth it.

I would totally go to a YMCA if there was one anywhere near me!

I go to a gym not on the list, Snap Fitness, and it has everything I need-machines and weights, no classes. The fee is only $29 a month and it's close to my house, so I am apt to go more often.

Mine isn't on the list.. Anytime Fitness.

I like the gym on the base where I serve in the military because I do not have to go far to go to the gym.