Bally's Health Club (1/11/05)

Since I had my Book Club meeting this evening, I decided to check out the Bally's Health Club near my office for the free 8-week membership.

I went right after work which is peak time for most clubs. It was just like I remembered it from 4-5 years ago. The only thing that's changed is the people. No more muscle bound, bulging neck uber jocks hitting on super cute, naturally thin bachelorettes, who worked harder at picking up guys than picking up weights. There were regular people there, like me, with their long pants and extra big t-shirts who took breaks on the stairs on their way up from the locker room to workout floor. The exhaustion from fastening their sports bras and bending over to tie their shoes had already settled in before this journey began. Some turned back, but others pressed on only to find that, aside from a handful of recumbent bikes, every other friggin piece of cardio equipment was occupied!!!!! Like I said, the only thing that's changed is the people.

Bally's HC is still possibly the most crowded health club in the history of health clubs and I can't understand why. The equipment is the same equipment they had 5 years ago and even then it was showing some age. The place is huge, but the layout of the club makes absolutely no sense. There is too much equipment in one area, not enough in this other area and some in areas where they don't need to be. It's like they're in the middle of remodeling, but they're not, which makes it difficult to explain some of the makeshift walls, mismatched paint and temporary light fixtures. The locker rooms are in the basement and you have to climb 4 flights of stairs and go through the main lobby to get to the workout floor. The basketball court and the cycling studio are the same room. The main aerobics studio, where they were trying to host an over crowded step class, was carpeted. (This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's not natural.) The entire place is dark and I mean dark. There are absolutely no windows and I felt like I was at a construction site with dim halogen lights hanging from exposed beams 16ft over head. There were weight machines spread out in 3 different areas and in one room that reminded me of the cafe-gym-atorium from my elementary school but w/bad lighting. There was only one dinky stretching area w/ no mats for cushioning. And they don't provide towels for your workout, so I have to remember to bring my own.

The only good thing and possibly the only reason I would venture to sign up for the 8-week trial is the indoor track. It was empty compared to the rest of the club. I could run/walk/jog freely with no fear of being trampled by the herd. It was made of some type of soft foamy material and each lane was a different color. This will be my safe haven for building up road time w/o actually being on the road.

The guy that gave me my tour didn't even attempt to sign me up, which is unlike the tag team approach they used the last time I went in there. So, that is another positive change they've made. But overall if it wasn't for the free membership and the indoor track, I'd never set foot in that place again.

- Arrivederci