Hi,

Yesterday I went and checked out a new fitness club here, Lifetime Fitness. I feel in love right about away. I have never seen a gym like it: beauty salon, cafe (w/wireless), pool cafe, tanning, 2 indoor pools (24 hours), 2 outdoor pools, 2 full court basketball courts, 100 classes a week, racquetball, squash, 2 hot tubs (indoor and outdoor), childcare, rockclimbing, etc. They have the largest gym floor I have ever seen. They have physical trainers that are on site from like 6-10 (mon-fri) and 6-6 (sat-sun) I think. The trainers have several desks on the floor and they will help you You can bring 2 free guests a month and they are $10 adults and $5 a child per day after that. The entire club asside from the outdoor pool, cafe and rockclimbing are 24 hours.

My only concern is location and price. It is way out of the way, but it still seems so worth it. The joining fee is a one time $199 and then $59.99 a month. They have a few specials (they aren't that great though). I wonder will the inconvenience of distance eventually get to me.

I just wanted to get opinions........Anyone any members. Is it as great as it seems?

I used to be a memeber there though my membership was free becasue I worked in the child center. I loved it. Open 24-7, a place to take my kids when I wanted to work out. The pools, space, everything. The group fitness classes are awesome especially the spinning classes.

That is really good to hear. Maybe I should try applying there. I need a part time job.

Thanks for responding...

No problem. I just wish there was one closer to my house. We moved away from there and the 30 minutes drive was just too much for me to get there. It really is an awesome place.

It's about 25 minutes from my house and 15 minutes from my job. That's the main reason I am debating on it. I am trying to see if it is worth it. There aren't any good gyms near my house at all. I am planning on moving closer the gym by the end of the summer. I just don't want to wait that long.

I think that you get 30 days there to try it out and if you don't like it you get your registration fee back.

hi sky,

not sure where you live but i belong to lifetime fitness in texas.

the club itself is beautiful. they keep it really clean.

in texas...the quality of the staff is mediocre. i just moved from NY where the staff members at my club up there (equinox) were the ultimate professionals.

this could be just my club ...i'm not sure. but i have written to the corporate office without any reply.

if you dont need any service....this is the club for you. the equipment is great.

it's hit or miss on the classes. we happen to have a few really good teachers.

location....for me...location is key. it needs to be accessible. how far away is the club?

it's funny this question is all relative. in NYC if something is more then 3 blocks away...it's too far. here in texas if it's within 10 miles...."it's just down the road a piece" ha!!

overall i'm staying with the club as there are more positives then negatives.

good luck.

i belong to the lifetime here in columbus. it is nice, too, i sort of feel like i am having a day at the spa. they just built a brand new one that is even nicer.

i just wish our pools were open 24 hours a day. i get off work at 0100 and would love a dip in a pool but unfortunately it closes at midnight.

but our dues are a bit less, so i guess it is a trade off.

The club here is about 15 minutes from work and 25 minutes from home. There aren't many clubs in a real close vicinity to me. There are a couple w/in 10 miles and I don't like one and have already tried the other in the past. There are a lot of Curves, but that's not really my thing.

There is a YMCA downtown and that's about 15 minutes from here. It's the nicest gym in this area, but no where as nice as Lifetime. It's $50 to join and the young adult rate is $29.50/monthly. When I turn 29 next year it will go up to $33.75. When I tried it out, I did like it, but I did have to wait for equipment. The one thing they have that Lifetime doesn't is an indoor track. The hours aren't that great at the Y either.

I still haven't completely decided yet....Most likely I will go ahead and join next week. My main concerns are still distance w/the price of gas. I didn't really like the lady that gave us the tour. She was kind of annoying and I really didn't trust her. She said that most of the people there had PHDs and they had people that would be familiar w/lap band.

One thing I read online was that you can't bring any kids other than your own. I am going to ask about that for sure. I have no kids, but occasionally I watch my younger cousins. My uncles daughter stays with us about 2 weeks during the summer and she's 15. I would like her to be to use the facility.

Thanks for your responses....Since Lifetime is so new here it's hard to get any opinions. I few people spoke to us during the tour and they were saying how great it was and that we wouldn't regret it.

I joined Lifetime last month and it's the nicest of the 3 clubs I have belonged to - a resort without the room or the umbrella drinks (although there is a grill/snack hut poolside).

They offer 20% off the initiation fee to employees of certain companies: IBM, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Partners, and others. See if they will give you a "special", even if you don't actually work for any of these. That's what they did for me. Plus, if you know someone who belongs and they refer you, that person gets a free gift: one referral earns you a gym bag or a $25.00 gift certificate, two an iPod shuffle, etc.

It is true that you can't bring children other than your own. My BFF Betsy tried to take her grandchildren, but they wouldn't let her.

I love the place and never have seen it full, or even really crowded. I worked out today, in fact, and it was almost empty (except for the outdoor pool with the slides).

No one seems to enforce the rules, however, and that irritates me a little bit. The big sign can say "12 and over only in the pool" (or spa, or the exercise room) and it will be full of obviously younger kids. The biggie (for me) are the moms who bring boy children into the ladies locker room. Last week, one lady mumbled, "They'll just have to make an exception for you," as she pushed her 5 year old through the door and into a room full of naked women. There is a unisex locker room (which this woman obviously should have used) but it doesn't have as many amenities. The attendant not only didn't stop her, she wished the two of them "good morning"!

I drive about 10 minutes to the gym. There are several closer to me, but none that hold a candle to Lifetime. I work out for about 90 minutes, then swim leisurely for 20 minutes or so, and lay out by the pool for another half hour. Then I twirl thru the shower next to the spa, just to cool off, and after about 15 minutes in the spa, I do it again. Next I head for the Eucalyptus scented sauna room, then shower for real. I like the "little things":

No towel fee (and the towels are decent size and thick)

Plenty of hairdryers

Tissue dispensers (never empty)

Free help with any of the machines from the staff

Cleanliness

Special events (pool parties, etc)

Huge selection of machines

About 20 big screen TVs - tune in your FM radio to the audio portion and you are good to go

They keep it cool enough that you don't melt while you are working out

It's not over-run with body builders. There will always be someone there who is older, fatter, more out of shape than you.

I didn't really like the lady that gave us the tour. She was kind of annoying and I really didn't trust her. She said that most of the people there had PHDs and they had people that would be familiar w/lap band.

One thing I read online was that you can't bring any kids other than your own. I am going to ask about that for sure. I have no kids, but occasionally I watch my younger cousins. My uncles daughter stays with us about 2 weeks during the summer and she's 15. I would like her to be to use the facility.

Thanks for your responses....Since Lifetime is so new here it's hard to get any opinions. I few people spoke to us during the tour and they were saying how great it was and that we wouldn't regret it.

Yeah the membership people can be really ushy and annoying because they get paid on commission. As for the PhDs...I don't think so. I knew several of the Personal Trainers when I worked there and they only had to be certified, certainly not PhDs.

You can only bring your own children and they require you to bring in their birth certificate for proof (at least at my club). They are so strict on that that they would not allow the partner of a gay man to drop of his kids because they were not his own and they could not be legally married (step parent is okay). Of course I didn't follow that rule because I was pissed about it and thought it to be ridiculous and discirminatory in that situation. As for the 15 year old she would need a guest pass or pay the guest fee to get in.

I called in today and spoke w/the lady that handled my tour. She cleared up a few things. They aren't doing any discounts at this time (company or those listed on the website) since they are brand new. She did say there was a $20 discount that she could extend from what they had over the weekend making it $179 to join.

I was wrong about meeting w/the personal trainer and nutrionist every quarter. She said that you will get a free meeting w/the nutritionist when you 1st start and that the quarter meetings are body age assessments which she didn't really explain other than they check something dealing w/cardio or cardiac something or other.

Oh, since I am single they are offering either a 30 minute free massage or 60 minutes w/a personal trainer.

Also, she said starting today that you can bring a form that they have signed by the parent of the child and you can bring in a child other than your own.

After talking to her today, I am having 2nd thoughts. I think I will just wait until I move this summer. I don't want distance to become an issue. I really want to get my $$ out of it. The place is great, so I definitely see it in my future.

I was wrong about meeting w/the personal trainer and nutrionist every quarter. She said that you will get a free meeting w/the nutritionist when you 1st start and that the quarter meetings are body age assessments which she didn't really explain other than they check something dealing w/cardio or cardiac something or other.

The body age assessments are 3 little fitness tests. One measureds how much weight you could press, the other had you sit on the floor with your legs extended and measured how far forward you could stretch, and I forgot the the third.

You can pay money for some testing like a VO2 Max but I wouldn't bother with that unless you are a competitive athlete.

I would expect that if you meet with a nutritionist at LTF that they will push their supplements, bars, & powders on you.

Sounds wonderful. I pay $59 a month as well and its $20 a month to add a member. That is a really good deal for all the amenities.

Just updating...I ended up not joining Lifetime. I think the facility was great, but I wish they included a little more for the price. Plus, I think I was glossed over and go in love w/it that I really didn't seriously think about how the distance would impact me.

I ended up joining the local Y. If/when I move closer the Lifetime I will consider it in the future.