Welp. It has been some time, hasn't it? To my reader(s) anxiously awaiting my next gym review, I apologize for my laziness and the craziness of life that got in the way!
To the rest of you (most of you), thank you for jumping in, reading, and taking interest at any point in this journey. Despite not posting any reviews for some time, I did continue to try out various gyms as planned. I must admit, there were weeks/days that I did not exercise according to plan, which was a result of busy schedules, travel, mood and motivation, and yes, laziness. This lull in my workouts was a good experience for me, though, to evaluate what gets in the way of regular exercise, AND what about a gym might help me stay motivated and on track vs what might push me further away. As someone who appreciates the integrated roles of MIND-BODY- SPIRIT, I decided to write a separate post about this. Check this out soon!
Alright, getting to the point of this post, I explored and experienced these four larger gyms/fitness clubs that had no particular exercise specialty: Princeton Club, Pinnacle Fitness, Planet Fitness, and Prairie Athletic Club. All four of these had blaringly obvious similarities: They start with the letter P (odd), have lots of equipment options for various workout preferences, and have a mixture of group fitness classes to choose from.
So as not to bore you, the summary of other similarities for each P-club: I had a fairly easy time parking due to large, free lots (except for Pinnacle Fitness Downtown); I had an easy time getting into the locker rooms and gaining access to the equipment I wanted; I noticed a variety in ages and body types in each club; each had friendly and helpful staff; and I really did enjoy the classes I tried in each one (although, these varied- I will get to this shortly).
Now, for what sets each club apart.
Pinnacle Fitness
Pinnacle hours, although not 24/7, offer plenty of time for people who work morning, evening or day time schedules. Their hours are: 5am-11pm Mon-Thurs, 5am-9pm on Fridays and 6am-8pm on weekends. Their classes at the downtown location, however, were a little less flexible. I found that if I could squeeze in an early morning time, they had regular early morning classes at 6:15, but if I missed this, the next class was not offered until around noon, which is a time I work most days. Their evening classes were limited to a couple of 5:15 and 6pm classes which I had a hard time making most days as well. Their Fitchburg location, which I did not utilize, does offer one 6:45pm yoga class per week, and a few more morning class options, but I was still not impressed by their schedule. Fitchburg offered a total of 11 classes in a weekday including cycling, BodyPump, yoga, CxWorx, Insanity and Zumba. The downtown location offered about 6 classes per weekday. Both locations offer whirlpool, sauna and steam room. Fitchburg offers a lap pool and a new outdoor pool. Due to the lack of classes I could make, and my general lack of motivation and enthusiasm for doing my own self-run workout everyday, I ended up parking downtown, going for a beautiful run on campus or by the lake and then showering at the facility, vs using much of the equipment at all. Obviously, not worth the price for me, but perhaps if your schedule works with theirs, or if you have the get-up-and-go to push yourself through individual workouts or lifting everyday, then this might be the gym for you!
Another downer that I already mentioned was the frustration with parking for the downtown location. I did not utilize the Fitchburg location, but imagine it is much more accessible, naturally.
Princeton Club
I am revealing at long last for any of you who did not know, that I was a member at the Princeton club for the last 4 years and I really did enjoy my membership there, while it still worked for me. Princeton club has 3 large club locations (in the Madison area): East Madison, West Madison, and Fitchburg with FREE childcare (for those who need it), a large cardio room, large weight room, pool, and group class rooms, as well as a gym for basketball, racquetball and other sports. They also offer a bunch of smaller express clubs with small weight rooms and cardio equipment. I LOVED the classes which were similar to the ones offered at Pinnacle and the PAC (Zumba, Les Mills,etc), but they also offer limited evening classes, which once I switched jobs became more of a problem for me. My favorite class that they offered was at 4:30pm, which only worked in the past because my old office used to be down the road. I don't know of many people who get off of work in time to make a 4:30pm class.
So, bummer, Princeton, maybe you should re-evaluate!
They do offer early morning classes, but I found it much easier to access Prairie Athletic Club for these same classes only because of location of where I live. Most weekdays I counted, Princeton club offers about 16 classes per day.
Four other things I loved about Princeton club: 1-The express clubs! They have many easy access locations all over town for when you need to slip in a workout and don't need an instructor to kick your booty. 2- The East-side gym has a women's-only gym that was separate from the rest of the gym. I LOVED not having to hear or look at (or be looked at) by roidy, grunty weightlifters. This was a truly judgment free zone, where there were usually only a handful of women and sometimes it was just me even!
I could get weird, try new things, jam to tunes and look totally ridiculous, and not care about what anyone else is thinking. Now if you're the kind of person that just doesn't care anyways, good for you, but for the rest of us who feel a little more free to sweat and take risks with less people around, this was HEAVEN. Sorry for those of you men who still seek a pressure-free environment to workout.
3- Princeton Club is OPEN 24 hours!
4- I got a great deal on my membership 4 years ago because of the person who referred me and they locked in my rate for all 4 years, leaving me with one heck of a deal that was hard to let go of. I appreciated the staff and community at this gym. I definitely felt a comradery with the other women I went to classes with over time. RIP Princeton club membership.
Planet Fitness
Being the cheap-skate that I am, I was super psyched to get started and only pay the advertised $10 per month for this gym. Only I quickly found out that this was not true.
Yes, you pay $10 per month, plus a start up fee of $29, plus a yearly fee of $39 and then you get access to one location 24/7. If you want access to multiple locations and the other upgrade perks of massage chairs and tanning, the cost is $22 per month, plus the start-up fee and yearly fee. So, no, it is not $10 per month (although compared to the other gyms it is still quite a bit cheaper. Now, if I was joining this for a year, perhaps this would be worth it, but since I only paid for a month, I was fairly peeved that I ate 39 dollars. Classes are much different here and limited to class sizes of 5 people and 30 minutes. The sense I got was that it was more of a personal training session focused on muscle groups such as core, arms or legs and some other varieties. I enjoyed the one class I tried, but was less motivated to do this as it required sign up ahead of time due to limited space. They also offered nothing after 6pm, which was limiting on some days. If I was purely weightlifting or had the motivation to keep doing my own workouts everyday, this would hands-down be my gym because of the lower price and ease of access, BUT, I personally need some class options, so this was not for me.
The other thing that Planet Fitness is famous for is advertising a judgement free zone, which I felt for the most part, but I really did not see the difference here from any of the other P-clubs. Others' judgment is hard to control, Planet Fitness, so while it's nice to claim and promote this, it is a pretty lofty goal. The one real and appreciated role I see you playing in this is by offering an affordable gym for the masses that helps weed out some of the boujee, lu-lu-lemon-wearing folks that pay extra for gyms that offer lattes and scented towels. So yes, more affordable club, but you're also missing out on yoga, spin, barre, a pool, and apparently on dumbbells over 80 lbs.
Prairie Athletic Club
The last of the P-clubs. I found this club VERY similar to Princeton club, only with just one location and no express clubs. This location, although singular, was much larger than the other gyms, offering multiple cardio areas and weight rooms of varying sizes, which I found helpful in my general preference to not be distracted or feel objectified by grunting men, and to not have to be so close to my neighbor that I can smell their sweat. I appreciated the variety in classes including a few more evening options. Most days I counted around 28 classes being offered throughout the day, not including their separate membership option for SOL yoga and Barre, and a separate CrossFit gym! They also offer an outdoor pool, indoor soccer fields, basketball courts, and racquetball courts.
The PAC is *not open 24-hours unlike it's competitor Princeton club (and Planet Fitness), although you can pay extra to get access to a 24-hour portion of the club I was told. Hours are 4:30am-11:30pm M-Th, 4:30-10:30 Fridays, and 6am-10:30pm on weekends. Childcare is also *not free like it is at the Princeton Club, but it is an option unlike at Pinnacle or Planet Fitness. Overall, I was super impressed by the vareity in spaces and classes for me to workout in.
Prices
Pinnacle
One time start up fee: $59 for those under 32 years old (a young professionals deal), $129 normally
Single membership
1 year - 49.95/month
2 year - same price, but waive that the startup fee
Couple
add 42/month
Reciprocal Membership with Pinnacle, PAC, and Harbor Athletic
65/month
Princeton Club
Single-All Club Access
12 mo. $64/month)
24 mo. $49/month)
Single-Xpress (access to a smaller gym of your choosing that has equipment, no classes)
12 mo. $45/month)
24 mo. $35/month)
Planet Fitness
Regular pass: $29 start up fee, plus $10/month, plus $39 annual fee: $15.66/month
Black Card pass (access to all clubs, and other amenities such as tanning and massage chair): $21.99, plus start-up and annual fee
Prairie Athletic Club
GOLD COVE (more class options, outdoor pool access, and more)
Single- 70/month for 1 year, 65/month for 2 years
couple 99/month 1 year, 90/month for 2
student- 56/month 1 year, 53/month 2
*senior and family membership options as well, check that out here
EMERALD PLUS (limited class options)
Single-56/month for 1 year, 52/month for 2 year
couple-92/month for 1 year, 88/month for 2 year
*additional child is $16 per child
Explanation of Ratings
Ease of Access
How easy was it for me to access this gym? (Distance to travel not accounted for since I want this to be relateable no matter where you drive from.) Was it easy to find or did I have to search a building map? Was parking simple? Do they charge for parking? Do I have to walk a long distance from my parking spot? When I enter, is it clear where I should go and where lockers and bathrooms are?
1- It was a beast for me to get to this gym; the stress of getting started with my workout made me not want to workout.
7- Getting into the gym and getting started was a breeze!
Cost/Budget-Friendly
This rating is pretty subjective, but I will try to compare to the average cost of gym memberships, which according to Statistic Brain Research is $58 a month in the US…. WHAT?! Maybe I am cheap, but that seems absurd at first glance. In fact, thinking about it initially made me laugh and imagine all the Manhattan Yogis or California Crossfitters shelling out their monthly paycheck to stay buff and zen... until upon further research, I found this to be absolutely average and actually pretty close to what I was paying at my previous gym (although I was paying slightly less because I paid 2 years up front and had a deal I kept carrying over). Many gyms are actually much higher in price, and other gyms are much lower in price (think your basic Planet Fitness and Anytimes). So, yes, this is truly an average. I will base my rating on the following: A budget friendly gym would be based on both how their monthly rate compares to the national average and how much value I see in what is paid. So, while a high intensity boot camp may be more highly priced than a basic gym, you are also basically getting personal training time for each whole hour you pay for, which is obviously worth more. The question will be, is it budgetable and is it worth the cost (subjectively).
1- This gym would cause me to ration out peanut butter and jelly for the month to make it a part of my repertoire.
7- HOLLA for a DOLLA! This gym both fits easily into my budget and feels worth the cost. I’m paying money for my health, but it feels darn worth it.
Friendliness of Staff
This rating is important, especially if the gym requires a lot of time with gym staff. I don’t know about you, but when I’m working out, I am feeling pretty vulnerable, sweating, probably using equipment wrong and looking like a fool. The last thing I want is to pay for some jerk to make me feel worse about it. This rating is all about whether staff members were kind and encouraging; helpful, but not judgmental, extra points if they also make you laugh.
1- I may have felt like crying in the gym bathroom and/or had to turn while doing reps so I could grumble or avoid eye contact with the unpleasant staff.
7- These guys are my new best pals. They were definitely laughing with me, not at me.
Knowledge/Helpfulness of Staff
This is pretty self-explanatory. Did the staff know what they were doing? Were they experts in their field and able to instruct me in an accurate way and a way that was dumbed down enough for me to get the workout right? Did they cater to my individual workout needs and challenge me when appropriate or give accommodations when appropriate?
1- I think the gym picked these trainers up off the street. I purposefully had bad form and they said, “Great job!”
7- No wonder we pay them for what they do! They instructed with great precision and catered to my individual strengths and weaknesses.
Effectiveness of Workout
This rating begs the question: Did this workout pack a punch? Did I get what I asked for when I showed up today? Do I feel like I sweated and moved as much as I would have hoped? If there wasn’t much structure, was there enough equipment or space to do what I needed for an adequate workout?
1- Did I workout today? Or did I pay money to change into my gym clothes and people-watch?
7- The sweat is real. I left this place with a strut in my step, feeling like I’d accomplished a feat for the day, and I called my mom to tell her about it.
Cleanliness
Self-explanatory, I hope. Looking at hygiene and organization.
1- When was the last time this place was cleaned? I felt like I was contracting a disease with every step. I also left with a limp from tripping over equipment.
7- This place shined. I felt free to move and sweat knowing that I wouldn’t be soaking up the last guy’s sweat or tripping over his dumbbells. They run a tight (and very clean) ship.
Atmosphere
Is this a place in which I feel comfortable and look forward to being? Do I feel like I can jam to my own tunes or the gym’s tunes without the distraction of roidy man grunts? Is there enough space for everyone to do their own thing? Is it a warm and inviting place or a cold and stoic place? Does this place promote good vibes or did I feel like I entered a dungeon?
1- This gym felt like the DMV. Shared glances and conversations are not welcome, unless you want peace and quiet-then your neighbor is probably the loud one. No one smiles. Everyone is waiting to get the heck out of there.
7- This place is where it’s at. Music fits the workout. Conversation is easy and minimal unless I’m feeling chatty. Smiles>grimaces, but not forced or cheesy "who-drank-the-Kool-Aid" smiles. I feel like I have a cool club I belong to, kind of like how it felt going to the community center for snacks and games in Middle School.
Fun!
This is also self-explanatory, and not really a necessary rating. The gym is not meant to be fun at all times, nor do I expect it to be, but if I workout and happen to have fun at the same time, what a win!
1- Zero fun had, sir. This was all work, no play. Or no work, no play.
7- I feel like I just left the state fair of gyms! Everything was exciting and kept me engaged, and I just didn’t want it to end.
Challenge Level
Yet again, self-explanatory.
1- There was no presentable challenge. My 4-year-old niece could have done this.
7- I felt significantly challenged! This gym pushed my limits in an effective and safe way. Class Options/Schedule Variability
1- I can only get to this gym on the weekends because their hours don’t fit my work schedule.
7- This gym has various early morning, afternoon, and evening options available!
Ratio of Members to Equipment
1- I had to wait 30 minutes to use an elliptical and the only dumbbells available were ones I could lift with my pinky or couldn't lift at all.
7- There was plenty of equipment for everyone!
Independence vs structure
This rating isn’t necessarily bad or good on either end. It depends on what you’re looking for!
1- This is a very independent gym. I had free reign to do whatever I wanted, when I wanted, how I wanted. Zero instruction was offered. No plans followed.
7- This is as structured as a gym can get, They tell you where to go, what time to be there, what workout to do, and how to do it. Not much free reign in what you’re doing.
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