There's big, then there's opulent, catering to the needs of the masses and all individuals…read morein-between. Life Time Fitness is HUGE and I mean they literally have whatever you desire (Fleur-de-Lis for all of you L.A. Confidential lovers). Located in a very strategic and safe location, near a major intersection and the freeway, traffic and parking will never be an issue. But if you have to park far away, isn't that part of the workout!? Anyways I find the facility to be very clean, friendly and safe environment without to many "weirdo's" (take that how you want).
First off, the showers are plentiful and well stocked with towels and they have a nice pathway to the indoor pool. I've never had to wait on a shower, typically between 5-7am. As for swimming laps in the winter, one might need to tailer their swim routine as people like me who can swim roughly 100 laps and then there's the elderly swim classes. The point is there are limitations. When spring-fall happens it's a bit easier b/c the outdoor pool offers more lanes. Next, I've never eaten at the café so I can't speak on prices, options or anything. As far as BB courts I workout really early in the morning so I can usually shoot alone but afternoons, you'll be waiting to get on the floor.
I've never been to a class for things like aerobics, yoga or anything but I have had a trainer. I honestly think I was bamboozled a bit. In my ignorance I was expecting 3 or 4 sessions a week, a meal plan and several different workout options based on my desired goals. What I got was a body fat measurement via a tape measure and scale along with a musclebound dude to spot me for 3 months. No meal plan, no spreadsheet with workouts that fit me. I mean he fulfilled the spirit of the contract besides not giving me a meal plan other than "eat some berries and tuna", but not what we initially discussed. Now, I will say the greatest thing I learned was foam rolling my muscles. I will admit, I wrestled in high school and college and I've always been fit therefore I know how to workout and diet. So for many others, they may need a little more education so be sure to emphasize that in the contract.
As for workout equipment, they have plenty of stair masters, nautilus machines, free weights, treadmills and so forth to accommodate a lot of people. I think out of my 4 years there I only had an issue with someone reading a newspaper on a butterfly machine and I was doing cardio line training so I didn't want my heart rate to slow down while he was reading. Other than that, it's been very good. Oh, I will mention one time I was on the treadmill and a certain Albert Pujols was on the machine next to me. He had his cap on, his gold chain was bigger than my arm, and hit leg was as big as my torso. He saw me catching a glimpse and we had a small conversation and I mentioned I didn't want to bug him. He laughed and said "I approached you, so we're good!" Class act even though I'm a Cleveland fan!
In summary, I never used all the amenities offered but there are a lot. I only wanted to reference what I've taken advantage of at Life Time. I was happy with my stay there and encourage anyone who wants to improve their health to drop on by and get a free trial membership. Two thumbs up!