I see that this gym works for a lot of people and it definitely has a no-nonsense feel to it. There are all shapes and sizes and everyone is welcome.
However, the two star review is based on some recent experiences with classes. I joined this gym for the classes, as I never know what I'm doing on machines and weights but love a concentrated hour of sweating and muscle building under the tutelage of a trained expert. I've belonged to gyms from California to Texas to Maine. The boxing classes with the owner are fine. He watches over his students like a boxing papa bear and makes sure that everyone is working towards their goals safely. He was a great teacher for a circuit class as well where he knew I was knew and watched me like a hawk to make sure I was pushing myself without hurting myself. If all of the teachers were like him, this would be a four star review.
Unfortunately, just about every other teacher I've had has been not just sub-par, but downright disappointing. They all seem way too green to be at the helm of exercise classes. They're not natural teachers. The urban hip hop class was decent, but it was really a zumba class. I was expecting something different from the name. I liked that the teacher wasn't a size 2 and she was definitely more tuned in, but didn't walk around and interact and help out with form. She seemed inexperienced.
Much worse were the other boxing teachers - hard to hear, repetitive in the movements they chose, and didn't help motivate individuals or impart them with form tips. All of the boxing classes include sit ups and floor work on a hard floor that I found to be downright painful on my back. Injuries waiting to happen. There are yoga mats in that very room - why not have us use them?
Worse yet was the Piyo teacher who came late and then pulled out a notebook and referred to it awkwardly all throughout class. There was no talk of breathing, and there were pauses between each set of exercises for her to look over her notebook and figure out what to do next. Very unprofessional.
But the worst of all was the Insanity teacher. She was also late to class and didn't ask if anyone was new or notice a couple of us who had never taken the class before. She started quietly and hurriedly giving instructions of what we should pull out for the class and ignored my confused expression rather than picking up the cue and explaining what I needed to get, where it was, and where I should put it. I had to ask other students.
Once class started, she really just couldn't be bothered to watch any of us and make sure we were ok, performing the exercises with good form, motivate us in any way. She was very busy scanning the gym looking for people she knew. When she would see someone, she would wave them over and have a conversation with them in the middle of the workout space, totally oblivious. The stations she set up involved a lot of floor exercised weaving through the weight machines which seemed really unnecessary since there was plenty of space where we were, and was probably fairly annoying to the patrons who were working out in that part of the gym to see my big butt up in the air bear crawling past them.
There was a TRX element and I was clueless. I tried following others and put my feet in but they were slipping out. After several tries and looking over at the teacher again and again to signal for assistance, I finally had to get up and walk over to her and interrupt her much more important personal conversation with her gym friend. She came over and gave me a quick instruction that didn't really help me too much and went right back to looking around for more pals to talk to .
Many of these exercises she laid out were seriously taxing. The tire flipping for example - very cool thing and I was excited to do it, but she should have been watching! I saw people lifting with their backs left and right and I kept thinking "Good grief! Someone's going to really get hurt."
I guess I'm just used to gyms employing highly trained, serious instructors. The instructors here seem like frequent gym goers who maybe went over to the owner and said, "Hey - teaching seems like fun!" If they have been through rigorous training courses themselves to become certified instructors, they either aren't taking what they learned to heart, or they're just not meant for it. I worry for this gym that someone will get very badly injured under the lazy watch of a half-hearted teacher who isn't doing their job. read more