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New gym - LA Fitness in South Loop

5K views 38 replies 16 participants last post by  Solo 
#1 ·
I've been looking for a gym to join. Well LA Fitness opened their doors in the South Loop yesterday at 5pm. I went down and signed up. Pretty nice club. Free parking, free weights and machines, Tons of treadmills, stair steppers, racquetball courts, aroebics room, day care, towel service, saunas, hot tub, and most important to me a 4 lane lap pool. It's in the new shopping center off Roosevelt and Canal, where the Panera, DSW Shoes, and Whole foods is.

It's really nice and I recommend checking it out to anyone nearby. I will be swimming early in the mornings and lifting in the evenings. They are also opening one in Bridgeview.
 
#2 ·
What are they charging monthly? Sign up fee? We know how slick you are and know you got a discount sucking off the dude behind the counter, but what would average joe pay?

I'm about to sign up to the "health club" near my house and trying to get feedback on what people are paying.
 
#3 ·
I paid $94 initiation Fee and $39.99 a month for membership and towel service. Towel service is an extra $5. Everything else is free including classes. You get to use all the gyms in the state for free. If you want a nation wide membership it's an extra $10.

I also checked out Life Fitness in Schaumburg which I'm sure is a nicer and bigger gym. It was $131 to join and $49.95 a month. I decided to go with something closer to my condo instead of work.
 
#4 ·
I can't get over that startup fee with these places. I have no problem paying the monthly fee as it gets reimbursed from work. But what the hell exactly is the $130 bucks for? For the stupid mambo and bimbos at the front desks to get fake baked or something???
 
#9 ·
Those fees are negotiable. Never settle on the 1st offer. Walk out if you have to. A lot of the fee goes to pay the commission of the sales staff so if its a hard month selling then you can probably get a bargain. Although high season is coming up really quick. After Christmas everyone and their brother sign up to loose the fat from Momma's gingerbread cookies and follow through on their new year's resolutions.

After about April things die down again and by June the place is empty again because most folks are outside. This is the best time to look for deals.
 
#11 ·
I have no options in Barrington really, I could join the meat market X-sport fitness in Libertyville, but I'd rather be near home. Probably going to join the Good Shepherd Advocate Health Club fitness center...

It's a full out health club, really nice, full services and some more.
 
#13 ·
I joined Cardinal Fitness last year and I love it there. It is basic and has just what I need - cardio machines and weights. No pool or towel service though. They have a special that actually ends today of $39 sign up fee as opposed to the $99 sign up. It is only $19.95 per month and you can go to any cardinal fitness. I miss Lifetime but it is too expensive and since it is so big, it requires so much extra park/walk/entrance time. Weird, I know but my gym time is so limited. There is a new LA fitness on Barrington in Hanover/Streamwood...looks nice!
 
#25 ·
My mom joined that LA fitness on Barrington rd in streamwood. She gave me a guest pass so I could come teach her some stuff on resistance training and meet her lame ass trainer (now fired). The gym was nice, but there was an overwhleming smell of BO in there! I know it's a gym, and we all sweat, but the ventialation must have been bad because it reeked! I almost hurled...

Oh, and the trainer was just great...throw a 68 yr old woman on a treadmill for 40 minutes, set a timer and come check back on her a few times. Real nice. Didn't explain about target heart rate didn't make sure that she was doing ok with her hips (both replaced). The guy was a moron.

Nicole

Nicole
 
#31 ·
In addition to your list, my 'needs' are lots of free weights. Room to lift. Able to get a bench or at least able to 'work in'. and some smokin' hot ripped guys posing down in the mirrors in front of me (keeps me motivated!..LOL).

Nicole
 
#30 ·
Exactly! A huge pet peeve of mine if how some 'trainers' train clients. Throwing a client on a treadmill for 30 - 40 mins and then doing 10 mins of resistence training is NOT training a client! Clients can do cardio on their own time with the guidelines set by the trainer. I have NEVER paid a trainer so they can watch me do my cardio...thats so stupid.

This guys was an idiot...he prayed on an older woman (who didn't know any better) and who wanted to be more fit...and he was filling his sales quota at her expense.

A Good trainer will evaluatue the client, their fitness level and physical limitations, make a game plan and a plan on how to reach those goals. The moron 'training' my mom didn't do one of these...

Nicole
 
#27 ·
There's an LA Fitness in dt Evanston that opened a few months ago. Was there grabbin' some Cold Stone (yeah, nice and healthy lol) and they offered a promotion for some really cheap deals, but after taking a stroll around the facility, i passed cause 1) too small 2) no wimmenz 3) need to pay for parking by the hour. This was a few months after they opened and what i was told was that they were trying to get a permit to be able to let members get free parking for 2 hours. Very convenient cause i love DT Evanston and it's closer than the Bally's in Morton Grove, but no wimmenz = no motivation.
 
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