Looking for a gym

Avoid gyms. Try stopping eating shit and excercising more.

Fernwood Tuggers is excellent. I’ve never had a problem and I have not seen any bitchiness.

In fact I’ve had a wonderful experience. Off to the Gym now. 🙂

Or to swap it around, if it’s not secure or lit, why would people use it?

Fair point.

I’m quite happy tussling with my ancient Bullworker at home, jogging, and exercising my right elbow (and throat muscles) in the pub.

dez, I’d recommend picking a gym close to where you either live or work as otherwise you’ll never make the time to go 🙂

Having said that, Alive in Narrabundah are fantastic. There is always heaps of parking, they have lots of machines, and they do breakfast weekday mornings. I haven’t done any classes but I do know that there are plenty on. Customer service is great and Cathy and Rod are fantastic.

It’s also on the cheaper side (not as cheap as the unis though). I pay $24 a fortnight.

Having had my favorite gym closed really sucked, so I have put up with some others for the last year, but recently went out and got my own second hand gear and haven’t looked back. Nothing better than being able to use my own gym whenever I want. Have even got some cd’s mixed up for circuits to keep the energy up.

Yeah – chicken or egg Sammy?
They have a parking problem around the building but an empty back lot. If I were the management, think I’d be asking why? But that’s just not the way people who manage that place work. I’ve really got to ask what is going on that such a woeful mob secured the rights to such a wonderful facility that ACT taxpayers paid for. What performance criteria are in place?

Or to swap it around, if it’s not secure or lit, why would people use it?

a parking nightmare due to lack of lighting and security in the large but unused rear carpark

If the carpark is unused, why would they secure and light it?

Park your car in one of the many carparks along LBG and run around it. A common run is the ‘bridge to bridge’ circuit – absolutely free gym membership at the outdoors gym.

For resistance training, throw in pressups and situps.

My wife was a member of a female only gym in Woden. Her locker was burgled, and she subsequently felt very uncomfortable about going there.

The management was initially very comforting and helpful, initially (on the night of the incident) offering to give her a bunch of free membership privileges.

She explained that she wasn’t comfortable leaving her belongings in their lockers anymore, and that this would make it very difficult to use the gym, and thus asked for her membership to be cancelled.

The next day the management had completely changed their tune, and would not allow her to cancel the remaining 4 or so months on her membership. After much huffing and puffing, they agreed to let her out if she paid for one month of the four remaining.

Not a pleasant experience, from an ‘exclusive’ gym. Family members and a few close friends have subsequently not renewed their memberships to this gym.

When I was checking them all out, Alive at Narrabundah was great – top quality machines, great classes schedules, heaps of space, free parking, close if you are on southside.
But alas we settled in the north, so CISAC got my membership. BUT they have proven to be grossly impersonal, absolutely unresponsive to customer feedback (regardless of the noise they make about getting it), a parking nightmare due to lack of lighting and security in the large but unused rear carpark, and I here indirectly that they aren’t that great towards their instructors too. It’s about to double in size due to closing the indoor sports area, but what is that going to do to the parking situation???
My yearly membership is up next week, and I was dearly hoping the new and much closer Bodyworks at Gungahlin would be an alternative. But their class schedule sucks, and it looks small. Also concerned about the lack of a website for updates, and the Fair Trading cases that come up for the owners whenever you do a google search. Curse you Fernwood for gutting the gym market in Gungahlin for the rest of us…

For those in Woden, I highly recommend Elite Physique… all the latest equipment ata decent price, and they’ve only just expanded a bit more with extra class rooms etc

I’m happy with ANU, too. 🙂

Boomacat – I go to a women’s only gym because I *don’t want* to be perved at and I prefer to concentrate on lifting, not checking out blokes. And frankly I don’t really like the smell of lots of sweaty blokes at once. 😉 (One specific one, sure. Heh.)

Slight tangent, but on the comment about Fernwood being bitchy – I think it depends on which one you go to. I regularly go to the City one and have found it really friendly and comfortable. I went to the Woden one once and that was rather unpleasant, unfortunately. (And their weights room has a bizarre layout.)

Yeah that is another good point, they have a “heavy weights” room at the ANU, which means all the super serious weight lifters don’t get in the way of less hardcore types in the general weights room and vice versa.

I once visited the bodyworks in Kaleen to work out with a friend and was also very impressed with that gym, friendly staff, cheap, clean and a reasonable size and amount of equipment.

Re Women’s only gyms – why would anyone want to go to the gym if there was no one to perve at? I gotta say that is like 20% of my motivation to actually get off my arse and get to the gym in the first place.

ANU is awesome.

Like boomacat, I’d recommend the ANU gym. I have been using it on and off since 1979 and consistently for the past seven years. A number of footy players (M & F) work out there most mornings, in and out of season. They – like me – use the so-called “heavy weights room” which is for serious weight training as opposed to the “chrome and fern” brigade who use the other room. Good staff – they leave me alone. They open at 6:00am weekdays if that’s your preference.

ah i am just your average bloke, living in woden area just looking to get fit again for the footy season

Just out of curiosity could you describe a bit more about yourself and what you’re looking for as well as locationwise?

I joined Active Leisure in Erindale about 2 months ago and am pretty happy with it. But even with the ‘best’ gym in canberra you might not be motivated to go to it if its out of your way.

I always found UC Gym to be a professional and friendly environment and very cheap as well. Only downside is it tends to get pretty busy at peak times.

Recently joined Bodyworks and no complaints there, again friendly and professional staff and not too expensive.

I like how the new fitness first in civic has an icecream shop directly outside!

Theres a new gym near woden called Elite Physique. All brand new top of the range equipment and pretty good pricing. Check it out if your in that area.

I used to go to body works mawson and thought it was great. The equipment was a bit old, but it’s not that expensive so I didn’t care so much. The people there are really nice and I enjoyed it a lot.
My partner is at fernwood and complains a fair bit. Apparently it’s quite bitchy and just not a very nice environment. At the risk of sounding sexist I think perhaps any all women environment has a large potential to quite bitchy, then again I can understand that some overweight people may feel self conscious working out with the opposite sex….

.

In my experience, Fitness First is overpriced and super-commercialised. Fitness First logos and associated advertising everywhere, blah…

Go for the Gym at ANU, it is FANTASTIC for weights and general cardio equipment, not to sure on the classes situation though. Really cheap, very modern equipment, spacious and well maintained.

Lots of nice looking blokes to perve at too.