Bally Total Fitness

Pros: Some gyms are better than others-see below.
Cons: Some gyms are worse than others-see below.

My husband and I moved to Washington in October from California, and decided to buy a gym membership. Since I’m in the Navy, we do have access to the gym facilities on base, but we decided that the hours and location from home were too inconvenient, so ...

Pros: Variety of Facilities/Equipment
Cons: 3 Year Contract, Cost

Bally Total Fitness and Me

I'm writing this review in celebration of my upcoming second anniversary with Bally Total Fitness (BTF). While I have had several issues with BTF over the past two years, there has never been anything...

Pros: 2 free week pass, over 350 facilities, clean facility, new equipment.
Cons: Pushy, playful unprofessional staff, distance from home, small facility, hours of operation.

Searching for the right gym can be a real challenge. Especially if you live in a city that’s been rated one of the “fattest” cities in America. If you’ve ever visited St. Louis, Missouri I’m sure you will quickly find all of the fast food...

Pros: Lots of equipment; pool; track; lots of classes; good hours
Cons: No child care; the sales pitch is a hard one; teachers could be better.

While in Los Angeles I got a free two-week visit to Bally Total Fitness, Hollywood II at 1628 North El Centro Avenue. Their hours are 5:00a.m. to 12:00a.m. Monday through Thursday; Friday 5:00 to 10:00; Saturday and Sunday 6:00 to 10:00. Bally ...

Pros: Good variety of exercise equipment, social atmosphere
Cons: Hard sell, inexperienced trainers

Living near a large urban area often gives you a wide variety of gyms to choose from including YMCA's, local gyms, and the nationwide exercise clubs such as Golds Gym, and such as Ballys Fitness

So Whats good about Bally's Fitness?
Well,...

Pros: None
Cons: Unfriendly staff, smelled bad, hurt my credit score, lap pool too small

I joined Bally Total Fitness two years ago and purchased a two year membership. I chose to only select my local Bally to visit, meaning I had no access to any other location. But that was fine with me. I had never "worked out" before, except on a ...

Pros: Social aspects, largest and only nationwide chain, lots of equipment
Cons: Pushy sales staff, untrained floor staff, equipment frequently broken, deceptive sales tactics

Thinking of joining a health club? Great! But, what should you be cautious of before joining? What do you need to know? More specifically, what about Bally's?

Bally's is the largest and the only nationwide health and fitness center. They...

Pros: Great equipment, 360 locations
Cons: can be crowded, there is a contract

Summer is coming, are you ready? Have you tried on that bathing suit yet? Need to lose a few pounds? If you, like most of us do...... have a few things to work on then Bally Total Fitness is THE place to be!
Bally total fitness has...

Pros: lots of equipment, friendly staff
Cons: can not get out of contract, rates are a little over-priced

My experience with Bally's has not been a good one. Let me start off by telling you a bit of my story. I joined the club about 4 years ago. I was excited about joining the club, so of course, I did not fully read the contract. I saw a commercial on...

Pros: Lots of machines, decent classes, pretty clean, 2 weeks free
Cons: Staff inconsistencies, expensive, tricky salespeople/trainers

I just finished my two week free trial of Bally Total Fitness downtown (14th and Walnut St). ...

Pros: Great marketing, good classes, lots of locations
Cons: Bait & Switch tactics, contract problems, unclean facilities, poor trainers, internal security problems

I was a member of Bally Total Fitness for almost six years, and was increasingly disenchanted with them. When my membership expired, and I tried to renew, they were rude, unpleasant and unyielding – not to mention a little error on their part...

Pros: cheap, convenient location
Cons: dirty, no towels, can rope you into a long contract

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 ...

Pros: Lots of equipment and facilities.
Cons: NO BASKETBALL COURTS AT ANY LOCATIONS?! What gives?!

Early on in life, I was blessed with staying a consistent weight. All the way through high school and college, I stayed the same weight...130 pounds. Then after a bunch of jobs that had me sitting in a chair all day, and sapping my energy at night, I...

Pros: Friendly, helpful staff, variety of equipment, facility layout, varied ages and body types, atmosphere
Cons: Some facilities are nicer than others, staff experience varies a lot

I've never considered myself an "exercise person." Instead, I've always reveled in my sedentary ways, proud to be sluggish and inactive, not like "those people" who jogged and stayed fit and wore tight spandex shorts while rollerblading and looked great...

Pros: First class machines, lots of aerobics space
Cons: Slacker staff, pushy sales, pathetic free weight environment, expensive, pretentious atmosphere

Bally's would have you believe they are THE premiere fitness (note how they never refer themselves as a "gym") destination for America. In terms of sheer number of locations and members, I suppose they are. Looking beyond the hype, however,...