I've been going to Farrell's since October 2011 and have been holding off on reviewing it till I…read morewas sure about what I wanted to write, but I think I'll finally give it a shot. I'm going to tell you what it is, and then why I like it. What is it?: Farrell's isn't your standard gym, and it isn't your standard approach to a fitness plan. The program is a mixture of kickboxing and resistance training. Monday-Wednesday-Friday is kickboxing, and Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday alternates between Upper and Lower body band resistance training. The classes are 45 minutes, and you pick a time to show up 6 days a week. I chose the 5am class, but there are many options. When you first join Farrell's you are enrolling in the 10 week transformation program. Everyone that you see in Farrell's has gone through the 10 week program. This includes the people working behind the counter and all of the instructors. The instructors aren't personal trainers, they are just normal people that have gone through the program. When they aren't instructing, they're working out right next to you. You get a coach that's in your class for the whole 10 weeks to help you stay motivated and answer any questions you may have. There are 3 fitness tests during those 10 weeks. At the end of the 10 weeks the most improved male and female of each 10 week program wins $1,000. Seriously. With your enrollment you get a nutrition/workout manual, boxing gloves, and hand wraps. When I signed up it was about $360 for the 10 week session. What to expect: The first Saturday you will go to Farrell's for orientation. Your body will be measured. This includes body weight, BMI, and dimensions. They will take a before picture (Guys in shorts, ladies in shorts and tank/bikini). You will also do a step test to get your heart rates, and a reach test to check your flexibility. You will see how many situps and pushups you can do in a minute. Finally, you will run 1 mile outside. All new members do this. You will meet your coach and all of the new 10 weekers that will be in your class and going through the program with you. The nutrition program is explained to you, as well as how to put on your wraps and what to expect when you start the workouts. The first couple of weeks of workouts are focused on teaching the new 10 weekers the form and techniques of kickboxing and resistance training. The expectation is that you don't know anything about kickboxing or bands. The pace is slow and there are plenty of FIT members (graduates of the 10 week class that continue the program) that will help you and answer questions. You will be sore, and you will be tired, but everyone picks it up fairly quickly. As the 10 week program progresses, the workouts get more involved. With kickboxing you add in combinations of kicking and punching, aerobic sets in between combos, and 'fun fridays' that really push you. For resistance training you add circuits, drop sets, and super sets. At 5 weeks you take another fitness test to check your progress. The final test is at 10 weeks. There is a completion celebration that weekend when the winners are announced and everyone can appreciate their results. Why I like it: So if you've made it this far, the question is probably "So is this worth my time and money? Does it work?". My answer is unequivocally yes. During my 10 week session, I lost 20.5lbs. I'm much stronger. I shaved 1:30 off my mile time. I got great results, and so did most of the others in my session. I've tried some things in the past, but there are some reasons why I think this worked for me. First, staying motivated while working out is hard for me. This program kept the workouts interesting, and you had a support structure built in to get you to come to class. Everyone there is normal, and you don't have any of the gym rats or super buff people that often intimidate others. The $1,000 prize also provided motivation. I did not win the prize, but I felt that I could, and many others were in the same place. Like I said, everyone had great results. Second, the nutrition program wasn't a 'diet'. The program allowed you to still eat things you liked, but got you thinking about eating smarter. This is honestly where most of my weight loss probably came from. The meal plans and recipes made it easy to do, and even if you don't stick to it 100%, you'll still see some results. Finally, this program is fun. Kickboxing feels great, and the program makes it enjoyable (yes, enjoyable) to wake up at 5am. The way the program is set up you get to know and like the people you work out with. When you miss a day, people comment that they missed you at class. They motivate you to push harder and keep it fun. Farrell's worked great for me, and I've recommended it to everyone I know. If you're looking for something different from the normal gym, try this. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I hit up this Crossfit box while passing through town on a cross country drive and am glad I went…read moreto check it out. I've checked out several Crossfit boxes across the country and this one wins hands down for the best and biggest space. The space is HUGE, which means as a member you can expect lots of variety in activities and some really fun WODs (workouts). All the equipment is newer and nice and the space is really clean. For just opening up a few months ago, this box also offers a nice selection of class times which makes attending super convenient. The coach for the class I attended really seemed to care that everyone was using proper form as he walked around the class a ton checking out what everyone was doing and making corrections/suggestions when necessary. I definitely plan on hitting them up whenever I'm in town and you should consider joining if you live in the area!

From the owner: Welcome to CrossFit Galesburg! CrossFit is constantly…read morevaried, functional movements executed at high intensity. Our program gives you a more balanced overall fitness, increasing your capability and capacity over a broader range of movements and activities. What we do is scalable to accommodate different levels of experiences, injuries or other limiting factors. CrossFit Galesburg's coaches will train and motivate you through all of the workouts. All 6 of our coaches are CrossFit Level 1 certified. Join our CrossFit Galesburg family today. Check out our website for more information www.crossfitgalesburg.com or our Facebook page @CrossFitGalesburg.

This gym has the energy that people need to feel motivated and excited to get in shape. The space…read moreis tight but perfect because you can get a feel for what everyone else is doing and helps get you pumped up! The owner has been someone that has been valued in the community for over a decade! He's brought so much life to this rural area and anyone that wants to surround themselves with motivation to get fit stopped at the right place! The staff is really knowledgeable as you can tell from how they speak about fitness that education is an important part of the experience here! You won't regret it!

From the owner: We love to workout and educate our customers on living a healthy lifestyle! This is our passion and…read moreyou will see the fun, upbeat atmosphere as soon as you walk in the doors. Bring a positive open mind, work hard and get the results you desire. Team Green can help you achieve your fitness goals while you help us achieve our professionals goals. Live Clean + Train Mean = Team Green

First off this place does not have a pool there for you cannot swim, kick boxing is only if you…read moreknow how to do it yourself already. There is not a personal trainer. That is just for starters. I was a member for an entire year and I never seen one person clean the place. It was so dirty you could write your name on the machines do to the two inch dust or falling skin whatever you want to call it. The bathrooms where even worse, most times there was black ring in the toilets. The exercise equipment is from an old school gym and sooo out dated. I was working out one day and they turned off all the lights out. I had to say something so they can turn them back on. I came in many times to a very dark room. What is the deal there? The hours are a joke as well, they have them posted as 8am to 8pm Monday thru Friday Saturday 8am to 2pm. Well in the year I was a member (if that's what you want to call it.) I was locked out 5 times. 2 Saturdays totally locked up, the other 3 was when I went there at 6:45 or 7. I had an hour and fifteen minutes to work out. If it says 8 to 8 it should be 8 to 8. On occasion the owner asked me to lock up for her because she had other thing to do, whatever. So, if you are thinking of getting a membership here. Be prepared for the dirtiest, generic place under the sun. If I could give it a minus star I would. Thank you for your time.

Clean, friendly staff, all the equipment that I could ask for & then some, plenty of dumbbells,…read moreplus everything seemed clean & well maintained. Impressed!

Always friendly, never crowded, great variety of equipment, low monthly price. Only concern would…read morebe the timing of bathroom cleaning. Not sure why the big cleaning can't be done before and after hours. Then maybe some periodic checks during the day.

I used to belong here. I joined because the location included a pool and a large hot tub…read moreoverlooking the Illinois River. While soaking in front of a huge glass window in the hot tub, you can actually see the bald eagles nesting in the trees on the other side of the Illinois River! But that's about it. The place is being run by idiots, all on the city payroll -- usually guys wearing tight body shirts who spend most of their time working out on the machines while giving scant attention to the "problems" all around them. The workout machine area overlooking all of this is virtually deserted with no supervision and no customers, particularly in the evening hours after work (one has to wonder why?). This encourages pilfering and chronic theft in the locker areas, among other things. Then a white school bus arrives and unloads various people on a hot summer day, who stand around talking to each other in the Olympic-size pool, thus preventing anyone from swimming laps until after they and their white bus leave two hours later. If one tries to complain, a guy in a tight body shirt comes over to tell you your behavior is not acceptable. Meanwhile, the people off the bus could be drowning from no supervision for all he knows because, up to then, he and his "crew" are busy talking to various types about tomorrow's big game at the events center! It is a big political operation to keep everyone happy during the summer heat and the drop-dead months of cold winter, so they will not throw rocks or steal hubcaps (as well as cars parked nearby) due to the lack of personal safety on the streets around the place --which has been funded by tax monies -- that is from those who pay taxes. Somebody made a lot of money building this place. Then they use it to stick it to the taxpaying citizens to keep some people "happy" who are "needy" and unhappy for whatever reasons. But watch for Mr. Body T. Shirt to run for mayor next time around, since he knows how to make the big shots with the real money happy.

Incredibly unsafe environment. After several months of harassment by another member, we escalated…read morethe case to the building level management who informed us they had no instrument at their disposal to enforce the code of conduct they expect of their members, and that we should just ignore the intimidation of the other member. We hate to leave this place, particularly because of the relationships that we have formed with so many good people here, but the dereliction of the duty of care by management is just unacceptable and morally questionable. I hate to say it, but you'd be safer going somewhere that values member safety over money.

I visit town every now and again and I'm very happy they built this gym. Friendly staff, clean…read morefacilities, and has every piece of equipment you need for a great workout out.

Had a child in their gymnastics and tumbling program since the child was 1.5 y.o. Love this place…read moreand staff to pieces. Laura and Susan are experienced coaches and they are grown ups. Lots of other gymnastics places use college and high school students to coach little ones and its not always best with the toddlers. Had fantastic experience for almost 4 years. I'd say this is really good program for tumblers and base for future cheerleaders and cross-fitters

My daughter LOVES the Jump Spot! Laura is the best!read more