Anytime Fitness: Now Serving Assault and Lost Limbs After 10 pm
October 22, 2008 by Kelly Turner
Filed under Fitness
Alright, now I need some advice from you guys.
I think you’ll agree you guys owe me.
I was walking Porkchop the other day and saw that an Anytime Fitness is opening right at the top of my hill. Literally, a 4 minute walk from my house. The actual place isn’t open yet, but there were two guys (one of which looked EXACTLY like Ashley from O-Town. Does anyone remember that show/band? Anyone? Well, incase you need a refresher, see here) out front with a little table and sign doing pre-opening day specials. I stopped to talk with them, explained how I currently go to 24 hour fitness, which is a commute and my membership is almost up, am a personal trainer so I don’t need to be sold on any of the fancy stuff and just really want to know what it costs, and how the place is set up.
They told me that it is a locked facility but every member gets a little key card that gives them access 24 hours a day. They said there are employees 8-10 (I can’t remember if it was 8am to 10pm or if he just said they are there 8-10 hours a day.) The rest of the time its just you and whoever happen to chose that time to work out as well.
At this point my stranger danger senses are tingling. I think he sensed that as well, and informed me that there are little 911 necklaces you can wear, and if anything were to happen, you can press the button and the cops would be there in a second. But what if I got hurt? What if I dropped a massive weight on my head and it burst open like my jack-o-lantern that gets stollen EVERY HALLOWEEN by the punk kids down the street who smash it all over the sidewalk? What if for some reason I decide to steal an elliptical and drag out of the gym and the whole 4 minutes home? I bet there’s cameras, but I’d be smart enough to spray them black with spray paint. Didn’t they think of that?
I have no intention of working out at 2:00 in the morning or anything, so it doesn’t effect me much, but its still a concern. The price isn’t much cheaper than 24 hour fitness, but the convenience is a huge factor. I’m still debating.
Has anyone ever worked out at an Anytime Fitness? (I keep linking to the one I’m talking about in hopes they’ll find it and offer me free membership. PLEASE?) What was your experience? Was the elliptical cumbersome to get home? Should I go with a recumbent bike instead?
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Well, I don’t know about that gym, but I used to go to a key gym, and at first I was a little freaked out – for the same reasons – but I ended up loving it. Occassionally it was a bit weird, because people would sometimes come and knock on the door – I just ignored them. But I like the key gym idea – it fosters a bit of a family feeling I guess. Most of the time the same people were always there when I went, and everyone looks out for each other, where as with the other gyms I have gone to it was more anti social and meat market-y. Anyways, what I’m trying to say is I like key gyms. Plus the convience is a huge factor, right? :-)
They put in a Snap Fitness close to my house which is similar to the Anytime Fitness concept. Besides the not anyone being around thing (which I think would only bother me at night), I really wish it was cheaper. If I’m only going to get half the equipment and no group ex classes like at 24 Hour, then it needs to be at least $10 to $15 cheaper, and Snap is only $5 cheaper.
I always recommend starting out with the free weights myself– once you get stronger you can move on to ellipticals and recumbent bikes.
I’ve never belonged to something like this but if it’s only a 4-minute walk, I would totally do it. I don’t think the 911 necklace reassures me, though.
I haven’t been to one, but my friend uses one and he likes it. I don’t know if he ever felt the whole “stranger danger” aspect, especially as the gym was located in Moscow Idaho, the smallest crime free town in the world. But he liked it, and he liked that it was small, and that he could go on business trips or vacation and generally find an Anytime Fitness around. Good luck with the Free Membership!
My work actually has a key gym like this and I used it for a few months when I first started working here (it’s also pretty cheap and they just take it right outta your paycheck). It only creeped me out a couple times when there was either no one or one other person there on the weekends. If you’re going to be working out during ‘normal hours’, I think you’ll feel safe.
Can you snag me a bosu? I’m too cheap to buy one.
sassy- thats what a want, kind of a community aspect. i could work out at work, but I need the social aspect…time thats just for me to be around different people.
FBG- i was suprised at the price, too. its not like they have to pay staff, and the facility is pretty small. If i decide to go ahead, i will definately wait until it opens and go in when i would normally work out to see how busy it can get.
tfh- nah, im all about the heist. i want them to come in and immediately know they got robbed.
i should stop joking about this, someone is going to report me.
Allison K- ha, my neighborhood is pretty quiet. its right next to a middle school and everyone says hi and pets eachother’s dogs when you pass. which is nice unless you are actually trying to get somewhere by a certain time.
bridget- im bad at small talk, so i think me and one other person would just make me feel awkward. Id be all nervous and thinking about something witty to say that wouldnt facilitate much conversation, and they;d probably have no idea i was even in the room.
Ill get you one after me. I never understood why half of a ball that costs $12 is $100 instead of $6.
The only gyms I’ve ever used is the YMCA (which I loved) and the university gym (free membership for students, hurray!).
The convenience factor is REALLY nice. If it was me I think I’d make the switch just to give it a try- but then again, that’s because I know I’d be way more likely to go if it’s closer, and that might just be a personal thing. It’s too bad that there aren’t employees there round the clock, but I don’t think that it would bother me overly much. I’m guessing that your 24 hour fitness has employees 24 hours a day?
I think the stranger danger thing would freak me out too much. If you’re only going to be there at peak hours, it wouldn’t be an issue. But what if you’re there on the weekend sometime and there’s only one guy there and he comes up to you and tells you he’ll kill you if press the 911 button? I dunno, maybe it’s the fact that I grew up in a big city, but I don’t trust places with heavy equipment and no oversight. And what if you were there by yourself and hit your head and couldn’t call 911?
I haven’t been to either. Convenience is good.
I used a key gym in college and 90% of the time was the only soul in the joint. Which I really enjoyed. The only “scary” experience I ever had was when I got into a fight with a guy over the TV. He wanted CNN, I wanted MTV (I have terrible taste in television – one of the many reasons I don’t watch it.) and we both got a little blustery (I was there FIRST!) and then he just left. And slammed the door. Hee.
Anyhow, I hope you get a free membership!
I’m with Lethological Gourmet — the whole stranger danger thing would keep me from that sort of gym. A Snap fitness facility opened by my house a few months ago. My first thought, passing by at night, was that everyone could see IN but that no one can see OUT, like a fish bowl. So what if the strangers don’t get into the facility, they could still be waiting for you when you come out. That makes me nervous for anyone working out in there, not only women.
That said, I would consider signing up for Snap (or similar lock-down gym) if daytime workouts were what I had in mind, AND they had businesses open in the same shopping center.
I’m a sucker for convenience, so I would probably do it. However, I’m a bit too trusting. I guess it depends on how safe you feel in the area that you live.
I get spooked running out in the wide open when it’s dark, I’d really get myself freaked out alone in a gym. But I watch way too much Law & Order (I long to be like Charlotte) so I can conceive just about any crime in any situation. That said, convenience is HUGE. And how bout something simple like a Bosu ball?
hmmm, that’s a little wierd… but i’m all about convenience. gotta be close to work or home, or i’ll be throwing my money away despite my best intentions. maybe they’ll have a month trial before you commit to see how it’ll work for you? at least it’s safe with the key!
It seems like no one is addressing the 24 hour fitness part of the equation. I’m a member of 24 hour fitness and it hurts me to admit it. They have sub-standard equipment (which can lead to so many injuries I don’t even want to think about it), an unhelpful staff and the plumbing breaks at least 4 times a year creating a very unsavory smell for about a week. I hope that someone from 24 hour fitness reads this and ups my membership cost so it spurs me into acting and finding a new gym.
The bottom line is that I put up with all this because it’s a 2 minute drive from my house (it may appear that I am lazy for not running it, but I like to do High Intensity Interval Training most of the week, so I don’t want to look like a dork sprinting off and on for such a short distance).
Any gym you go to is going to have drawbacks (unless you are rich enough to buy a premium package at Equinox or The Sports Club LA and you happen to live close to one of them) and so you’ve got to decide which drawback pisses you off more (do you like how I always focus on the positive?) If you’re more into the convenience and don’t mind the late night mugging, go for the key gym. However, if you enjoy the safety of a major chain gym that’s staffed (I use the term “staffed” VERY LOOSELY here) like 24 hour fitness but you don’t mind risking life and limb on crappy machines, stick with what you’ve got!
I SERIOUSLY thought you were going to spoof 24 hour…never heard of them till your post!
Hey Kelly! Wow, I’ve actually never heard of a key gym…but that sounds interesting. I mean for me, if it had all the same equipment and if the facilities were just as nice (or even a little bit worse) that your other gym…well I’d go with convenience. Location is so huge for me. I live about 5 minutes from a gym, and wish I could afford a membership there, because I totally think I’d use it simply due to location. My school isn’t much further, but still..location. It;s KEY for me. (badungsh! Key gym, “key” for me…get it? HA clever.)
anywayssss….I’d be interested in seeing pictures.
p.s. the food bloggers have facebook fever, but I couldn’t find you? do you not have facebook? gasp! ?
HAPPY THURSDAY LADY.
I actaully belong to an Anytime and have been for about two years now. It’s really convienent and close for me. I’ve never felt unsafe there, the doors have the key, plus they are alarmed if they are open too long or someone tries to sneak in behind you, plus there are a billion cameras. I’ve been to several branches and I usually see the police monitoring the places as well.
The one I signed up at actaully has a massage therapist, nutritionist and 2-3 personal trainers on staff, and they are always willing to help. Equipment-wise they will probably all differl, as I know that they are franchised, but I’ve only ever seen Life Fitness, Precor and Nautilius at them which is nice. I used to go this private healthclub that was well over $200 a month (it was a family thing) and honestly the equipment I’ve used at Anytime is nicer. I just wish that they had a pool. :(
Hmmm….those 24 Hour/Anytime places are popping up all over here, too. I am kind of a wuss and would be a bit scared of the whole Key concept – NOT because I don’t think I could kick some ass if need be (or at least run from them like hell), but I am way too trusting and would probably let in the knockers who “forgot” their key. :-) I’d be interested to try it out, though.