Though many of you patronize a locally owned gym, many of us find ourselves breaking into a sweat at national health-club chains. So of these, which gets your vote for best gym of 2008?

Though many of you patronize a locally owned gym, many of us find ourselves breaking into a sweat at national health-club chains. So of these, which gets your vote for best gym of 2008?

mine's not on the list, though it may be a boston area only thing... healthworks gets my vote!
1The free one at the public park around the block.
2OUTSIDE 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!
3PLANET FITNESS!!
4The park near my house...free, fresh air.
5I 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.
6Once 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.
7i 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.
8I 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.
9When 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.
10I'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.
11I 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*
12Other should be an option. I use the gym at my university.
13I'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!
14I 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!!
15i 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.
16Cebca -
Bally's is another bad gym to add to that list.
17I love Life Time Fitness... I don't ever want to switch! Pretty much anything else would be a downgrade.
18I 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.
19I 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.
20YMCA=cheap!
21NYSC
22i go to bally and enjoy it..where i go its always clean..people are great...not to busy when i go.
23I 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.
24i 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).
25ymca 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
26The 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.
27No 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!
28I 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.
29Mine isn't on the list.. Anytime Fitness.
30I 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.
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