Bally's: If It's Good Enough for Cher, It's Good Enough for Me
Written: Feb 01 '08 (Updated Feb 01 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: cheap, convenient location
Cons: dirty, no towels, can rope you into a long contract
The Bottom Line: You get what you pay for.
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| beckytcy's Full Review: Bally Total Fitness |
My name is Becky, and I’m a gym-a-holic. If I don’t go to the gym for a couple of days, I get anxious and irritable, and I can’t sleep, and all I can think about is when the next time I can work out. I started wondering what it was that I liked so much about Bally’s. I mean, the gym itself is not all that great (more on this later), and then someone told me that Cher used to advertise for Bally’s back in the day. Cher, as my longtime Epinions readers know, is my hero.
However, these days, I doubt that The Plastic Diva would deign to align herself with the Bally’s Total Fitness chain. It recently scored lowest on Consumer Reports’s list of national gyms.
But, then again, you get what you pay for.
Membership
Not everyone knows this, but signing up for a gym membership is like buying car. There’s plenty of room for negotiation. They’ll try to stick you with an initiation fee, a monthly payment, and a contract for at least two years. But keep in mind that they really want your business, and you can bargain your way to a good deal. Just be careful because a lot of people get roped into 3-year contracts.
I’ve been a member of Bally’s for a little over three years. When I first started, I paid a $50 initiation fee and $29 per month for a two-year contract. This is dirt cheap for the area where I live (Boston, MA), and I probably could have gotten a better deal if I had tried a little harder. There are other gyms nearby that cost approximately $80 a month.
When you first sign up, they’ll give you a free session with a personal trainer. I didn’t find this particularly useful since the trainer only showed me exercises I could do with him, and I wasn’t planning on shelling out 50 bucks an hour for any more sessions. But the staff are fairly helpful. One of the trainers once showed me a great stretch for my T-bands (tendon that runs from the hip to the knee) for free.
Locker Rooms
This is where I feel that Bally’s lags behind other gyms in the area. The locker rooms are not very clean. They don’t provide towels or soap, so if you shower there, you have to bring your own stuff. And be sure to wear proper footwear! The water fountains are often broken, and you can’t leave anything in lockers overnight. But at least because the locker rooms are kind of gross, people don’t hang around in them naked.
There’s a pool and hot tub, but based on the cleanliness of the locker room, I’ve never set foot in that area.
Classes
My branch of Bally’s has several aerobics, weight training, and spinning class options. I’ve only ever taken step aerobics, and I felt that most of the instructors used routines that were far too complicated. I’m uncoordinated, so I couldn’t keep up!
Equipment
The equipment at Bally’s is actually pretty good. They recently added a bunch of new elliptical machines and got rid of the StairMasters that no one used. However, I do not like the new StarTrac treadmills that they have because they are too bouncy. So, I usually wait until one of the Precor ones becomes available. I don’t miss the StairMasters at all, but they eliminated some of the recumbent bikes, which I liked to use when I was being lazy.
There was a time a few months back when equipment seemed to be broken often, but the new Precor ellipticals seem a bit more sturdy, and there are more of them.
Bally’s has a separate women’s gym where I go to lift weights. I think it’s nice not to have big, buff men around so I don’t feel embarrassed about moving the weight level down or using five-pound dumbbells. The women’s gym area also has a few ellipticals, bikes, and treadmills.
The main part of the gym has two cardio areas, a spinning room, a weight-machine area, a free-weight area, a group exercise room, and a pool.
Crowds
Mondays are the worst day to go to Bally’s as it tends to be most crowded. And Mondays in January are the worst since everyone wants to stick to their New Year’s resolutions. People are fairly good about sticking to the 30-minutes on cardio machines limit, but no one walks around to enforce this rule. I don’t always stick to the limit, but it’s not for selfish reasons — I’m thinking of people who may or may not have to see me naked!
The group exercise room is a bit too small, and there are polls in the middle, so that can block the view of the teacher. Step classes can get really crowded, so you have to get there early to get a good spot.
Gyms often have the reputation of being meat markets, but the only people I've ever talked to at the gym are girls, gay men, and people I already know. People mainly keep to themselves.
Referrals and Extras
With your Bally’s membership, you get free access to the Bally’s Nutrition Web site where you can track your progress. You can enter your weight, exercise for the day, get ideas for meals, and get support from other members on online message boards. The site also sends daily inspirational e-mails with tips on weight loss and keeping your motivation up.
If you have a friend who wants to become a member, make sure you ask him or her to mention your name during the sign-up process. You can get up to three months of free membership depending on what contract the person signs up for.
So, overall, Bally's is perfect for people on a budget. Just don't expect any luxuries or a country club like atmosphere. It’s the gym for the common person. So, despite the old ads, don’t expect to see Cher there.
Related reviews
The Very Best of Cher
Precor Elliptical Machine
Gold's Gym
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
beckytcy
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Becky
Location: Boston
Reviews written: 277
Trusted by: 236 members
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