I love coming to this YMCA, sometimes parking is hard as it's either garage, or street parking to pay. They do have some free 2 hour spots but sometimes it's impossible to find a place. It's right in the Charlestown Navy Yard which explains it. They have a lot of the YMCA staples--classes, indoor pool, gym, equipment, and sauna (mixed gender sauna). It is definitely older inside but feels like it's been renovated and newer equipment. I like their classes they offer and playing pickleball here. read more

Charlestown YMCA - Gyms Near Me - Charlestown, Massachusetts

Great place to workout with a variety of cardio and strength equipment. Machines, hand weights, smith machine. Mat areas for floor work. Cardio includes spin bikes, recumbent. Rowing, treadmills and more. All kept clean and in good condition. This Y offers a variety of activities for every stage of life from babies to mature adults building strength and stamina. A full schedule is on line. Strength training and water aerobics I can say have top notch instructors. Pool lanes have a schedule and a sauna on the pool level. I attend Fit for Life studio class, a strength class, and have taken shallow and deep water aerobics all very good classes and have seen a difference in my function, strength. Highly recommend instructors: Kathleen, Tracy,Gino & Francesca. Locker rooms are average and have what you need soap/shampoo, showers, lockers, dressing room. Bring your own lock. All the staff are the best! Patient and helpful. A great value for what you get! read more

Used to be a regular until I had a jacket taken from the coat rack right next to the welcome desk while I was working out. Staff provided zero help or indication that they even cared. Awful experience. Unless you plan to use the gym during off hours, worth finding somewhere else to go. read more

Best thing about this Y is that they have a decent sauna next to their swimming pool...twice as big but about 20 degrees not as hot as that of the Cambridge Y. Surprisingly, it's coed so you have to wear swim trunks, not go nude under a towel. This could be good or bad depending on who's there on any given day, lol. They do have decent and relatively new-ish Life Fitness equipment in the weight room, including 2 Keiser bikes which are a godsend vs the usual crappy big-but-useless SUV-like gym bikes. Strangely, there is no seated adductor/abductor machine (which is the one indispensable exercise that you cannot really do well on your own using free weights or tension bands). The cons: 1. The workout area feels small and cramped due to the low ceilings which make the space feel a bit claustrophobic. Plus, the very bright industrial fluorescent (oy, remember those?) lighting is depressing...I just wanted to get my workout over as soon as possible and flee. Maybe I should've worn sunglasses. On top of that, the building itself is kind of a maze. 2. Aside from one back street which appears to be free parking, you'd have to pay for metered parking during regular business hours. 3. This Y's open hours are horrendous---even shorter than that of the Cambridge Y, which I had previously complained about as being banker's hours! I checked out this Y only because I had an appointment in the area...can't imagine ever coming back. read more

Not a good gym at all. The space is WAY TOO CROWDED. Even if the gym was empty it wouldn't be a good workout experience because of how close all the machines are. Overall horrible workout experience read more

I find reasons to hold on to my membership, but this place gives me more reason to depart - they changed their member rates w/o notice - work out area is too small for large equipments -Throughout the facility should be chilled @ all times (A/C blasted) -Machines are too bunched together. - personal hygiene should be enforced - needs to wipe equipment after usage - no FARTING allowed!! 2 stars only ** read more

I've never had a problem at a ymca. But I went here once and a women named Kelly I believe had a problem with me. She claimed to be a manager and I'm not sure what her problem was but she went on a power trip because of my mask I was playing basketball alone on half the court. Me not realizing she had a problem until she randomly started Yelling threats about calling the cops. I placed my mask on and started walking out, but she wanted me escorted out. I whispered something under my breath and she took offense ( for someone who wanted to keep up with the mask rule she was very close to me) then she said the n word. She looked like a white women and I told her she can't say that and she said she can say whatever she wants. This annoyed me because she was treating me like a child. I was walking to the entrance that I came from to leave but she blocked the door and pointed me at the side exit and told me to get out. I've never met this women in my life and we started to exchange words. And she told me that she took a photo of my profile when I came in. So then I knew that she had a problem the second she saw me walk in. So I don't recommend this ymca because of her specifically. read more

Avoid this gym if you have other options. Unfortunately for me, this gym is right next to my work and the only option in the near vicinity. Cons: 1) Unable to keep their AC working. Since I've been a member (year and a half), it has broken no less than ten times between the workout areas and the locker rooms. It's an old building, and they never seem to get it fixed properly so it doesn't break again. 2) They cancel group ex classes without notice, just a sign once you walk in the door, which is too late if you're already there! They don't even cancel it on the website. 3) Most of their good trainers have left, and any new ones typically don't last long. They do not replace classes when an instructor leaves. If they do, it's typically a lower caliber class. 4) The machines are incredibly close to each other. Also, the ceiling is low. If you're on an elliptical, you will most likely be blinded by big lights above your head. There is even one elliptical machine that has legitimately 3 inches of clearance with the ceiling. 5) The stretching area is WAY too small, leaving you with little room to do free weight exercises only stretch and get out of there ASAP. 6) Toilets in the women's locker room (I can't attest to the men's) are pretty gross. They don't flush properly, and the handles are always soaking wet. I'm not sure why, but it's so nasty I've taken to flushing using my feet. 7) Overall locker rooms are dated, tiny, and always soaking wet. The locker room connects to the pool, so be prepared for perpetually wet socks and slippery floors. There are only two small benches to put your things. This is very quickly overrun especially when there are many children in the small space, mixed with swimmers tracking the pool across the space. Pros: 1) Relatively low priced (although my $10/month at Planet Fitness was a much better spend) Would rather spend more money for a gym that was actually fixed up with reliable and challenging group ex classes. 2) Locally convenient for me to get to, as there are no other options in the Navy Yard. read more

The Charlestown Y is the best. Sure, the selection of workout equipment is limited, and the basement (where the fitness classes, locker rooms, and basketball court is) smells musty - but the people are nice, the location is excellent, and the price is right. The sauna is an added bonus; that baby really cranks [160 F]. Nick read more

We have been members here since at least 2011 and love it. We are both active triathletes, so it is really important that it has all the training tools for that sport. The price is perfect, the classes are great, and the pool is great too. I've participated in the Master's Swim class (which is awesome) and my husband has taken part in swim lessons. I love how they are open on the weekends and pretty late in the evening during the week. I do wish they were open a little later on Saturdays so I could go after work. I'm thinking about signing up for some personal training to jump start my fall fitness. Don't expect the fancy pants gym...expect something clean, friendly and useful for even serious athletes at a price everyone can afford. Can't imagine paying cross-fit fees... read more

Love love love this gym! The group exercise classes are FABULOUS. The instructors are so nice and so dedicated. I especially love Sinceree's On the Ball Class; She is so helpful, and pushes you to really be your best! The location so convenient, staff is very friendly, and although the facility is small, it's well maintained, and always feels clean. read more

I decided to get a day pass here back in March and I've been coming back since! I was intimidated by older reviews, but this facility is great. There are many cardio machines (at least 2 of each with a dozen treadmills), a fair number of weighted machines, and a few benches in the barbell area. The stretching area upstairs is quite small, but when there are no classes, the downstairs room has plenty of space and equipment for floor work. The locker rooms always have soap, available lockers, and are in good repair. Generally cleaned up, good water pressure in the showers, they just bought new shower curtains! The pool is nice, clean and inviting with friendly guards. People are very respectful of the shared space, including the kiddos with swim lessons or open swim! The sauna is truly lovely down by the pool, it runs hot and never too crowded. There haven't been any AC issues that I've known about and I'm a pretty frequent flyer. The hours are solid, 6a-9p during the week (though they do change so check their site) and mornings on the weekends. This community center is always hopping, but never too busy even with the post-work crowd. Water bottle refills are a nice time-save too. There are plenty of disinfectant wipes around the facility, though a bit questionable how often people use them. Overall a good fit for me, since I can swim my heart out! read more

It's an ok gym that is great for a quick workout - do not expect anything fancy or much equipment - it's just enough to get by. It is great to have a gym in this location of Boston that is easily accessible. read more

I've belonged to gyms all over Boston and for me this is the best both in absolute terms and value. In absolute terms: they have all the equipment of any gym and fitness instructors and excellent group classes; plus they have a full sized pool and basketball court. In value terms you can't beat the price. The weight room is adequate but small. read more

Great gym with a great value. Highly recommend for anyone local.

This is all you need in a gym! Staff is lovely, location is great and I love their mission. During the summer months when I was marathon training (outdoor runs mostly), I actually did not come to the Y the entire season, but I never thought about canceling or suspending; I had no problem at all giving $30/month to this great resource for Charlestown's community and youth. The weights area is kind of crowded, i like doing body weight work outs in the basketball gym, which is often vacant read more

Not a regular, but came to try a workout class (Strength & Conditioning). The class was fun, used various equipment, and the instructor, Meghan was great. I've tried many classes at different YMCA branches, and this was one of my favorites. Also, free parking, and had no issue getting a spot. The location is in the beautiful Navy Yard which is a plus as well. read more

I've been a member for nearly two years now after a Groupon for a free month a while back. This location is great, the exercise classes are my favorite, especially weekend morning Zumba classes with Lelys!! The location is equally as beautiful, sometimes just walking around the Navy years before a workout is a great way to get your blood pumping. Parking can be an issue (it's all street parking and meters, no designated lot), but I'm usually able to find something. The weight and cardio areas are a good size too, especially since some renovations over the winter. read more

Equipment is kinda dirty. AC has been broken for months and there's no air circulation which isn't ideal when working out. Ceilings really low. Staff is great! read more

A typical gym in a city environment: pros: - it has a variety of features that your average gyms do not have (i.e., pool, sauna, basketball court, group class area that can be utilized when no classes are in progress. -the number and variety of classes appeals to a a variety of individuals. cons: -the locker room is shared between swimmers and gym users, so that if you are not a swimmer, you have to deal with puddles all over the locker room, making it difficult to change without stepping into water. -parking is pretty limited so that the gym mostly appeals to individuals who live a walking distance away. when you add the cost for meter parking to the membership, all of a sudden this does not look like that good of a value anymore. they charge for towels, which added to the cost of the parking makes this actually as or more expensive that going to a boston sports club or a similar tier gym. -the free weight area is tiny and looks very crowded as soon as there are 6-7 people inside. there is only one set of each dumbbell weight, making it very difficult to work out most of the time. -there are constantly leaks in the ceiling, which would not be that big of a deal, except that most of the times, they do not get addressed for a looong time. you will usually see large trash cans all over the place capturing the leaking water for weeks without a repair being made. -with the before mentioned city environment comes the other "typical" city stuff like screaming and swearing teens and theft issues (they actually had to hire a security guard who walked around and gave people dirty looks until the theft issues stopped) read more

First Y I have ever joined and was pretty surprised by how much I like it! Has just enough equipment and if you go late in the day (7:30-8) it will not be crowded. Really wish they had a stair master though - if they did I'd give them 5 stars. The women's locker room is always clean and was recently remodeled. The front desk associates can be grumpy but don't take it personally. The younger staff are more personable and inviting. read more

Love this place. Close to home. not crowded. great new equipment. It's no frills, so please don't go expecting some slick shiny glossy, meat market. it's simple, and it's a gym, just what i need, people go there to actually work out. love it. read more

Definitely a great gym. The employees are very friendly and the other members are nice as well. They recently did some renovations that really improved the place. The equipment is new and well laid out. It is certainly the place to exercise if you live in Charlestown. read more

Love this YMCA. I'm a nearly life-long member of the YMCA, I'm committed to their mission of being a resource to their local communities - not just a gym. One great thing about the YMCA is that you can use your membership at most other YMCAs. While my primary6 membership is Hanover, I work in Boston and use this Y almost daily. The gym is compact but has everything you need and rarely have to wait for a machine or cannot get a spot in a class. Great spin program, boot camps and other classes also well rated. Staff are friendly and helpful, locker rooms updated and clean. . read more

The gym is small and always crowded. The pool and sauna is downstairs and often closed which can be frustrating because when the pool is closed they don't allow access to the sauna that is still in working order. And to be honest the sauna is the only real upside to this tiny terrible gym. Equipment is halfway decent but for the money you spend you could afford to buy your own equipment. The only reason to join this gym is location. If you don't live close don't bother. read more

I've been a member for several years now. I swim only. I'm reasonably satisfied. My major complaint -- and it's a big one -- is that when there are unplanned closures of the pool they make no effort at all to inform the membership. They don't send out emails. They don't even keep the schedule on the web site current. Several times now I have made the trip to the Y and discovered only when I arrived that the pool was closed. I drive from Arlington, so the lost time is considerable, at least an hour. If they would get there act together about keeping the membership informed I would be pretty happy with them. read more

It's cheap and convenient as it's very close to where I work. Beyond that, I can think of no reason to stay, and am contemplating canceling my membership and paying more to access a gym that is clean and well maintained. The A/C isn't reliable. I expect a gym to smell a little from time to time with people working out, but this place reeks of mold. The men's locker room is disgusting - floors are rarely clean, half the lockers are falling apart, showers have mediocre pressure, toilet area needs more cleaning. read more

I love this Y, it has everything I need and it is a great deal. Here are my concerns, the staff is friendly but do nothing but socialize at the front desk. They should put more effort into picking up the towels and trash left in the locker rooms, encourage people to clean the machines and be a little more diligent about who comes in. I see many people come in without scanning a card. This is only meant as constructive criticism. Much of this may be a result of under staffing at times. read more

This place is well-run, the staff are friendly and helpful, and they have a terrific tae kwon do teacher who is good with adults of all ages as well as kids. The class size is small enough for students to get individual attention when they need it and it's a great twice-a week workout. read more