Best gym in Chicago, hands down! I've been going to Quads for years and it truly stands out from…read moreany other gym I've been to. The trainers and staff are incredibly knowledgeable, supportive, and always willing to answer questions or offer advice, no matter your experience level. The owner, Sharon, is so welcoming and has created such a great community where everyone feels comfortable and motivated. If you're serious about lifting, this is the place to be. They have an amazing variety of machines and equipment that you won't find at most gyms, and everything is designed for people who really want to train properly. The atmosphere is motivating, the people are friendly, and it feels like a gym where everyone genuinely wants to see each other succeed. A couple of my friends joined after I recommended it, and they're so glad they did. I couldn't recommend Quads more!

This is the most difficult review I've ever written for Yelp because I honestly love the idea of…read moreQuads and its history, but after a trial week, I ran back to my pathetic Planet Fitness. For years, I walked by and looked in the window just to see if some of the vibe would entice me to walk in and get energized by all the real-life Marvel Superheroes working out. And I'm glad for the week of experience I had because Quads has some of the nicest, knowledgeable, and dedicated fitness people I've ever met. From the moment I walked in to my final exit, the desk staff, the family members who run it, trainers I encountered, and a few guys who could deadlift car engines whom I asked questions how to use this or that, I felt a lot of compassion for me being the new guy in a sea of bewildering equipment that could either change my fitness life or scare me away. Bear in mind that I truly love Quads but coming from a lengthy history of memberships at Lakeshore Sport & Fitness, Gorilla Sports, YMCA, Holmes Place, Chicago Athletic Clubs, and Planet Fitness (with visits to FFC, Crunch, East Bank Club, Cheetah, Life Time, Bally's, and Midtown Athletic Club), I have to do a pro and con thing. Pros It's a good environment to watch others doing astonishing calisthenic exercises and massive lifts and squats. I'll never get to that level, but it's an inspiring place to get jazzed about your own routine. Quads has a diverse membership. You'll see everything from people doing their daily treadmill to pro bodybuilders doing four-hour circuits. I saw every kind of body type and age group. People doing rehab exercises and a person with a visual impairment. The specialty here is bodybuilding, though everyone is welcome. You'll hear grunts, fits of anger, yelling of encouragement, the rage of accomplishment, and claps of high-five. I felt like I was in a place where great bodies are refined. The membership prices are fantastic for the amount of equipment you're offered, and the hours are comparable to other gyms. They offer a few additional membership discounts not listed on the website, so go in and talk with them. Kudos to a gym that finally understands the right way memberships should work--upfront and no hassles. You are constantly reminded of your potential. There are photos and awards everywhere of past and present bodybuilders and pro and amateur athletes, and you can't help but soak up some of that greatness. You're in a place where celebrities have trained, too. Cons Here's where I have to be brutally honest. I may not know the difference between an Iso-Lateral Front Lat Pulldown and an Iso-Lateral Wide Pulldown, but I do know when machines are so old that they need to be replaced. If a machine's pads are worn, replace them. If a Selectorized's weight stack has half its weight labels missing, that should be fixed asap. If a machine's so old that the frame's been painted a number of times, it's probably a good time to replace it. I'm going to guess most of the equipment is older than the members. Sure, old-school machines can be great, and a lot of bodybuilders want them, but at some point, you need to replace them. Hammer Strength, Precor, and Cybex are constantly evolving the science of ergonomics, body mechanics, and safety. Please, Quads. Get new equipment. I didn't see any dumbbells less than 10#. That's not a bad thing, but small weight dumbbells would be great for people doing rehab or weaklings like me starting back at doing simple free weight exercises. In fairness, Planet Fitness dumbbells start at 10#, too. Other reviews are correct: A lot of the equipment, especially the Selectorized machines on the first floor, are squished so closely that safety could be an issue. There are a few machines so close together that parts could touch if used in full range of motion. If you're used to a defined circuit from a previous gym--especially if most of your workout is using Selectorized equipment--you might have difficulties matching it to the machines here. Plate-loaded and cables, no problem; they'll have one of anything you'll ever want. But for Selectorized, nothing made sense because a lot of what I needed was spread throughout the gym on both floors and in hard to find areas (e.g. the pec fly/rear delt machine was in a dimly lit corner, and most of the weights in the stack had no labels). I won't go into cleanliness. Suffice it to say this is a well-worn gym. The rusty lockers and second floor smell attest to the longevity of Quads, for better or worse. Overall, you should try Quads for a week to see if you like it. Most people swear this is the best gym. No, Quads doesn't have a pool, a sauna, towel service, group fitness classes, fancy self-locking lockers, a three-story climbing wall, or sleep rooms. They offer a world of fitness possibilities in an old school gym where amazing happens.

I was skeptical to try this gym based on some of the reviews. I was visiting from out of town & had…read morea great experience! It was very clean. The gym itself was on the smaller side but had everything I needed! Only con was the locker room was very small so it got crowded quick.

At first the gym was okay.. the bathrooms are horrendous looks like they don't clean the showers…read moreDAILY... the gym is terribly smaller than what they make it seem on social media. Barely have any machines there's one of each so it makes it nearly impossible to do your workout session in a timely manner, since you have to wait for sometimes 2-3 ppl to use a machine before you can get to it. I happened to move to the suburbs and didn't have a chance to cancel in person so I thought I'd call THEY NEVER ANSWERED THE DAMN PHONE I CALLED LIKE 7-8 times NO ONE PICKED UP THE DAMN PHONE!!! The one time my partner went in person to cancel his membership he was given the run around and was not able to cancel his membership! We just want out of this horrible gym, the staff isn't easy to work with at all! I just want to cancel my membership and they make it nearly impossible! HORRIBLE SERVICE DO NOT PURCHASE MEMBERSHIP!! Update I sent an email to cancel since I moved and they're saying I have to live 25+ miles away from the gym to cancel my membership which is complete and utter bs!! The cancellation process is ridiculous and nearly impossible save yourself the headache AND DONOT GET A MEMBERSHIP HERE THEY MUST BE DOING TERRIBLY FINANCIALLY TO MAKE IT THIS FRICKIN IMPOSSIBLE AND FRUSTRATING TO CANCEL A SIMPLE MEMBERSHIP NOT EVEN AT MY LAST GYM DID I HAVE SUCH A HARD TIME TO CANCEL A MEMBERSHIPPPP

Just here to update my previous review. Still a very very good gym in the city (or should I say…read moreclub) - with everything you really could want for an entire day..,.work out? Check. Lunch? Check, swimming, tennis, golf, childcare, the list goes on. You can even get your clothes cleaned and your car washed. One drawback is the price. It is very pricey (with rates going up in 2026).., I don't really want to think about how much more I'm paying since I joined. However, I've easily spent entire days here swimming and working and working out so I guess I can't complain too much. Their spa is also great though it can get busy and in the summer the pool is a total scene (and packed). New locker rooms are underway (men's done and women's getting close) with new features and upgraded lighting and fixtures. Worth it if you don't mind paying for the amenities (and be careful with the house charge account ... it can get surprising!)

Great facility! There's so much to do and see. I'm here with my friend who teaches water aerobics…read moreand stretch. I decided to try some food since there's a cafe here. Since I'm a bit under the weather, these are the items I chose. Attentive server. Beautiful room!

Better than my experience with Equinox Dartmouth in Boston. That Equinox has a lot to learn from…read morethis Equinox The Loop branch.

Gotta be honest, I spent years and years living in Chicago running by this place imagining it as…read moresome epic amenity-packed gym for the wealthy. I left Chicago last year, joined Equinox in New York, and triumphantly returned to Chicago for a work trip, picking a hotel as close to this gym as possible. My take is that this location is a loss-leader used to placate business travelers who have multi-club access. It's a mediocre gym with a nice locker room. Great for blowing off steam after work in a largely uncrowded gym if your employer is subsidizing your wildly expensive gym fees. Mine is. Compared to East Bank Club, which costs $235 per month, the Loop Equinox is laughable, and I question whether the three Chicago Equinox locations combined actually stack up to EBC on any measure except sheer convenience or imagined exclusivity. I think what a lot of people miss, and certainly what I missed as I formed my first impressions of Equinox, is that the machines and basically everything else, except the quality of the locker room, is the exact same as any competent gym in a big city. In fact, you could make a compelling case that the overall variety is worse here compared to the downtown FFC locations. I found that the blueprint for the location I frequent in NYC was nearly identical to this location's--it's an ordinary equipment layout that can make it so that one other person wanting to rotate through the machines can impede your workout. If you are living in Chicago reading Yelp reviews as you assess Equinox ($???) vs EBC ($235) vs FFC ($160 all-access), I would put this gym toward the bottom of the list. It's just crazy how normal it is in reality compared to how people (including me) perceive the branding.

Awesome place. I play tennis there, use the gym and even pilates which is my membership. Huge…read morefacilities, nice courts, nice gym, nice instructors, nice lessons. Very satisfied. My only qualification to change the rating to 4 stars is that their billing/finance/etc. processing is a nightmare. They charge too much and then you must go back and straighten out the books now and then, that is no fun with such a good place.

The good: 1. Great…read morefacility and amenities 2. Indoor tennis (monopoly) 3. Amazing restaurant with good prices and really good food 4. Sauna and steam room 5. Plenty of exercise machines and programs for work out 6. Last but not the least, despite all the negative reviews I think the staff is amazing and deserves kudos The not so good: 1. For the price, not really worth it when you consider you have to pay additional $$$ for tennis, Pilates etc 2. Multiple people have shared my observation that the yoga program is below average and my partner attended one class and never went back because of an abrasive the yoga instructor. Overall if you have additional $$$ and don't mind paying more than what you are getting (like the Bucktown housing market) then you will certainly enjoy this place. If you're looking for something that makes sense from a value perspective then there are other options.

Good gym experience. Plenty of machines and equipment. Clean and not too crowded on a Sunday…read moreafternoon. Friendly staff too!!

Renovated location but the bathrooms were not the cleanest. They basically added. Larger area for…read morethe personal training. Also they do Pilates and you get 2hrs of free parking in the garage

Clean gym. Has been renovated last few years and being managed well. I'm a big fan of the…read moreWednesday kickboxing class (included in membership).

Best gym I've been to in a long time! Also extremely accommodating to military! I'm active duty out…read morein NC so whenever I come home to Chicago, they always have a 2 week pass waiting for me with a great price! Never have I ever had to break the bank just to work out here. Other places charges $150-$200 for a 2 week pass (RIDICULOUS!). 10/10, I'll definitely recommend. Especially for my brothers and sisters in the service that's visiting.

I've been a member of Life Time Fitness for several years now and I have to say this location is…read more.. interesting. Located on the 9th floor of the One Chicago building near Magnificent Mile. To gain access into the club you can either walk in from the main lobby floor of One Chicago and take the elevator up to the 9th floor and that's where the club entrance is. There's only two elevators, during rush hour times there is often a line just to go up or down. You could take the stairs but who wants to climb 9 levels? That alone is a workout! Once you're inside the club there's 2 floor levels. The first floor has the check-in lobby, cafe, bar, locker rooms, rooftop pool and spa. The second level has all the workout equipment, cardio, and studio rooms for workout classes. I wasn't a big fan of the layout, it's kind of all over the place. Got a chance to take a Warrior Sculpt class with Taylor and it was awesome! One of the best sculpt classes I've ever had. I've seen some reviews complain about issues with the staff being rude but I honestly did not encounter any of that. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Oh and one last thing! This Life Time is open 24 hours! That's something I've never seen before, not even in NYC. That's a major win.

I don't write reviews lightly, especially negative ones, but this location deserves honest…read morefeedback. I've been a Life Time member on and off since I was a kid, starting in the suburbs of Houston. I've belonged in multiple cities, used LifeWork spaces, spent thousands per year on personal training, and countless dollars on spa services. By any definition, I'm a high-utilization, loyal customer and a genuine fan of the brand. The Chicago River North location is the biggest disappointment I've had with Life Time. From the start, the experience was poor. When I first toured before relocating to Chicago, the front desk manager rushed me through the building as if it were on fire--no real explanation, no attempt to sell the experience, no hospitality. That should have been a warning sign. Within my first two visits, I had two items stolen: A $370 pair of Sony in-ear headphones (gone after stepping away for under five minutes to get water) A $225 Canada Goose toque, taken from a bench while I briefly stepped on the scale These were not misplaced--they were stolen. That speaks volumes about the environment and lack of oversight. Beyond that, the club is consistently overcrowded, dirty, and disorganized, and staff interactions are largely unhelpful. For a gym positioned as a premium urban location, it simply does not meet the standard Life Time sets elsewhere. The spa experience is especially underwhelming. At Houston locations like Green Street and The Woodlands, you're greeted, given robes and slippers, sometimes offered a beverage, and allowed to change in a calm, elevated environment. River North offers none of that. It feels far closer to a Massage Envy than the resort-style experience Life Time markets and charges for. The final straw: when I called to cancel and asked to speak with the General Manager to share feedback, my membership was canceled before anyone reached out, asked what went wrong, or attempted to retain me. For a brand built on experience and loyalty, that was shocking. I've now joined Equinox--something I didn't want to do, as it's not a full-service gym--but this location left me no choice. Life Time is a great brand. This location is not. If you're considering River North, manage your expectations--or look elsewhere.

Awesome spot to get in a lift. It's usually not super crowded, especially compared to other gyms…read more Typically waiting for a machine isn't necessary and in the it is actually taken, others should be available to use. The membership is one of the cheapest in the area too. Only complaint was with the treadmills. Seemed like the treadmill belts were also broken and couldn't jog past 5.5 speed.

I fell in love with this gym during a recent Chicago visit (I am from LA), and almost can't believe…read moreI stumbled upon it. It was like walking back into the 90's, true authentic old school gym. I loved it so much I bought a t-shirt!

This is a solid gym. There's multiple floors of cardio equipment, a spacious weightlifting area…read morethat always has enough room even at peak hours, a Pilates studio, spinning studio, and multiple group fitness rooms. You can find pretty much any equipment here -- punching bags, sleds, reformer machines, etc. There is a good mix of group fitness classes here included in the membership price. Equinox has a reputation for being fancy -- thus the high price of this gym. However, I don't think this *particular* location really warrants the high price. This location isn't as flashy and new as comparably-priced gyms (like the Lincoln Common Equinox or the Midtown Athletic Club). It also lacks the extensive amenities of a place like East Bank Club (which has tennis courts, kayaking, basketball, etc). A membership at this location will give you access to some of Equinox's newer, fancier facilities (like Lincoln Common) as well as some of its convenient locations for office workers (Loop branch). If you live in Old Town / southern Lincoln Park and want a gym that's close-by this is probably the best option in the neighborhood.

I've been a member for years, and the quality keeps declining while prices keep rising. Class…read moreofferings haven't increased and it is difficult to get into classes. The new locker room products are poor. They're often out of towels, and the ones available are stained and dingy. Cleaning wipes are frequently out as well. I was even told not to shower after a workout despite being well before the cutoff time, and several women's showers have been damaged for over a year.