differences in gym vibe from location to location

[dijos]

so I belong to a chain (anytime fitness), and of the 3 or 4 locations I go to, every one is a completely different place. 

 

The one by my old job was an old folk's paradise. I mean the mean age was 70. free weights were always available.

 

the one by my new job is a DB hipster paradise. everyone is covered in tattoos, flat brim hats, and huge beards. always doing wierd ass cross training. 

 

the one by my house is like gold's in the 70's. full of gigantic dudes, I mean gorillas, crushing huge weight. cardio is always empty. 

 

my favorite one, a little further from my house, is tiny, but has a great vibe, always has the same fun, hip folks in it, and everybody's in pretty good shape.

 

anyone else have similar experiences?

[Padfoot]

I definitely have found that different gyms have different vibes. The one I used to go to in my old hometown was middle-class/upscale, a little trendy, but pretty nice. Nobody really talked to each other, but nobody was jerks, either. 

 

The one I go to now (in a much smaller town) obviously caters to the higher end of the economic spectrum in town, and while it's very lifter-heavy, it's not very friendly at all. There seems to be a core group of guys who all know each other, and there's the young, testosterone-fueled male subsection, and if you don't belong to one of those two, you get a lot of side-eye. The trainers are really lazy and unfriendly too--I'm considering switching to a gym that's less fancy, but a little more utilitarian.

[SevenofSeven]

My gym called "the shed" is pretty cool, mostly young guys and one old chick, always rockin' the awesome tunes, David Bowie to Chili Peppers to Rammstein, it's clean and except for the couple goats crashing in every now and then pretty exclusive. Plus free rain water to fill the water bottles!

[starsapart]

I've always felt awkward in many of the big commercial gyms, especially the men-do-weights women-do-cardio divide.  If a woman ventured into the weight room, she'd get weird looks... or come-ons......... sigh.

 

My current gym is at my workplace (I am lucky enough to work for a major tech company that provides such a benefit!) and it's awesome.  Almost everyone I work with is super fit, so it's usually pretty full, but everyone is courteous at the least, and no one is creepy because... well, they work there, and HR may be on the treadmill next to you...

 

Lots of gender mixing in the weight/cardio areas, which is nice.  Many people do circuit training with a mix of weights and bodyweight, which is cool (I'm one of them).  There are a few people taking leisurely elliptical walks, of course, but most people are serious about their workouts.  Well, aside from Selfie Guy, but he's a unique case, hahahahahahahahaha.

[redimagination]

I have found that. My current gym is probably the best gym I've been to vibe wise. Everyone is really focused on what they are there to do but friendly and approachable. Plenty of women in the weight room also which is always good to see and some older people as well. And it is less than a minute away from where I live which is awesome.