Differences among clubs

[Jammer]

So I work out at a recently constructed small-town YMCA.  It's close.  There's a pool and group classes, both of which my wife likes.

 

And in reality there's everything I need, dumbbells, barbells, squat rack, benches, lat pulldown, showers, cardio if I feel like it (rare).  It's close, it's a little expensive but not bad.  $70 for a family membership.

 

I have these frustrations with the place:

 

1) Long waits for the squat rack during peak times.  They only have one of them, and there's a husband-wife couple and a pair of fitness partners either of whom will sometimes show up and occupy it for 20 minutes at a time. 

 

1a) No barbells or space to do miscellaneious free weight exercises that don't require the rack or bench, like deads or curls, so people do them in the squat rack, making the waits even longer

 

2) Clueless people who get me out of my groove with their fuckups.  One guy dropped a plate next to me (he wasn't using collars and wasn't as awesome as he thought), one guy yelled for help because he couldn't get the bar off his chest while benching and didn't have the foresight to ask for a spot.

 

3) Disengaged staff.  They're knowledgable enough but don't keep their eyes on the floor or intervene to save the clueless from themselves.

 

I've been away from teh scene for years and am trying to understand the tradeoffs with the clubs that are out there now.  I understand that Planet Fitness is a non-starter because they don't allow deads, but we have LA fitness, SNAP, Anytime, a powerlifting gym, and a bunch of crossfit places within driving distance.  Are any of these places any good?  What are the tradeoffs?  I want to get in, lift, go home, without waiting around or solving other peoples' problems...

[jfreaksho]

You will have to go check them out.  My brother goes to a SNAP place that only has machines and dumbbells.  The powerlifting gym might be really expensive, or really crowded.  Crossfit places may or may not have open lifting times, or may make you attend classes for a while before you can lift on your own.

 

On the other hand, you might have overly high expectations.  20 minutes in the rack isn't a big deal.  I can easily spend close to an hour in the squat rack between squats and overhead press with my partner.  No, there isn't anywhere else to do overhead press.  Yes, we let other people work in when we are taking long rest periods.  No, we don't go at peak times.  When we do deadlifts or barbell rows, we just grab a bar and take up space in the aisle between the benches and machines because there isn't anywhere else to do it. 

[dijos]

depends on where you are. I was at youfit for years, and I loved it, and it was dirt cheap. 

I'm now at anytime, and there are 4 that i go to regularly, and if it wasn't for the name on the outside, you'd never know it was the same company. The one by my house is a total meathead place, all bodybuilders and heavy lifters, 4 squat racks. the one downtown is tiny, a whole room of not weight equipment- trx, ropes, foam rollers, dip station and yoga mats, oh, and kettlebells. but the free weights are set up well, and everyone's cool. 

the one by my job has all the weird CF equipment, decent basic bench array, 1 3d squat machine, 4000 treadmills. full of douches. 

the other one a ways from my house has a bunch of boxing equipment and nobody ever uses the pretty good free weight section. always empty. 

[Oramac]

I want to get in, lift, go home, without waiting around or solving other peoples' problems...

 

Might sound weird, but check out the local MMA gyms.  I currently go to one here and while the parking lot usually has a ton of cars, they're all there for MMA classes.  The free-weight section rarely has more than 5 people in it, including me. 

[IslandGirl_Becks]

I am a member at a CF gym and love the "no excuses" results of having someone do my programming, as well as the *coaching* on lifting (I'm a noob). Most will let you do a one-time test run, and many have "open gym" hours where you can use all the equipment without doing a prescribed WOD. 

 

I still keep a standard gym membership because my company's health plan will cover it, but that's more for the things my cf box doesn't have (yoga, sauna, treadmills to walk on while watching football...)

 

If you're totally into your groove, not looking for programming, I think Oramac's suggestion is great!

[Juni0r83]

I currently use a SNAP that's pretty good. Most of the lifters in the place aren't that serious (squats in the smith machine, use cables and machines over barbells, and dumbells for curls all day long) and it has two power racks, so I can usually geta bar and a rack and take 2 hours to get through my workout without anyone even asking how many more sets I have.

 

Plus I have a manager who is cool with me slamming the weights down on the ground when i deadlift, and also doesn't have a problem with me using chalk. The person who is trying to take over however (because he would rather just be a trainer and not have to manage the place), is totally bro-scienced up and doesn't even think what I'm doing at the moment (SL 5x5) has any merit whatsoever.

 

My point is, who's in charge of a particular establishment can make a huge difference to the way its run and the sort of environment that thrives there. Check out all of your options before you make your final decision.

 

And yeah, 20 mintues for the power rack - consider yourself lucky. Between my warm ups, my 5x5 of squat, my 5x5 of OHP, and my 1x5 of deads, Workout B could see in hogging a power rack for quite some time.

[Jammer]

Just to be clear, I don't see anything wrong with someone using the power rack for 20 minutes straight.  No problem with the people doing that at all, and no problem with them coming in with a training partner and working in with each other.  It's what they pay for, and it's what I pay for too.  The focus of the problem is that my current club has a poorly chosen mix of equipment for its clientele and should have a second power rack in the space used by, say, the 3rd bench press setup or perhaps one of the cardio machines.

 

Thanks for all the advice.  I never would have thought to look at an MMA place but will do that now.  CF gyms are unlikely to work for me because my schedule fluctuates enough that I'd have trouble working into the "open gym" hours but I'll still consider it.  And will visit places as suggested.

 

More advice still welcome if anyone has anything to add.