I've never been a "gym guy". I grew up thinking I was too small to be athletic until I rediscovered…read moresports as a young adult. So when I say, "I love this gym", know that it's not coming from somejock who loved working out...and I do love this gym. I had been searching for a form of exercise to replace the activity and community of a team sport after I suffered a ruptured Achilles. I found GLSC through a free trial and had no idea it was going to change the way I thought and felt about fitness. GLSC workouts were the highlight of my week, and over the course of a year, I saw my skills, strength, and enjoyment improved significantly.
Here's why I love Green Lake Strength and conditioning:
1) The coaches: Shout out to Coaches Hannah, Zeyab, and Jonathan, who were my first and primary coaches. They are the perfect balance between motivating and moderating, helping you gauge your skill/strength limits and safely push them. They are excellent at teaching form and technique, and they brought my high-school-level understanding of weightlifting up to par. Despite having an injured Achilles shoulder, their guidance helped ensure that I never injured myself (and in fact reduced my pain through strengthening and increasing range of motion) even while greatly increasing my strength and endurance. They can help you improve whether you're a beginner or an expert.
2) The community: GLSC has a vibrant community. Members get to know each other but not in an in-your-face sort of way - you can be a casual weekly member or you can join your fellow members on unofficial hikes and official BBQs and gatherings. There's a very wide range of ages and experiences in these classes, and they didn't make me feel "dumb" or out of place. Classes have been kept to 12 people max, which after experiencing much smaller and larger classes, 12 is a great number - not too crowded but not awkwardly empty. You also get to know each other through the infamous question of the day - just lean into it, it'll be fun, I promise. ;)
3) Facilities/programming: After trying several other gyms, I can confidently say that none of them quite match up to GLSC's programming. GLSC excels because of the three distinct segments of their strenght & conditioning workouts: Warm-ups, skill/strength-building, and WOD. The warm-ups aren't just stretching and jumping jacks - they are specifically design to engage the muscle groups that you'll be using, they help reinforce the techniques needed to complete the rest of the workout of the day, and they get your heart pumping. Other gyms I've experienced rush this part or do the bare minimum. The skill/strength segment is where I learned the most over the last year because they remove the speed element and focus on quality over quantity. Again, the other gyms I've experienced rush this part and either skip teaching altogether or push you into a higher pace too soon. They also offer a wide range of modifications and equipment to meet each person's level of skill and strength. The WODs vary between low, medium, and high metabolic conditioning and are varied in type and style so you're never bored. There's no "leg day" or "arm day" - your entire body will be exhausted every day. They oddly fill you with both a sense of dread and excitement, knowing how hard they will be but also how good you'll feel afterwards. And for what it's worth, the coaches have generally good tastes in music - good balance between pumping you up but not obnoxious techno.
A note about cost: It's expensive. But I look at value for cost, not low cost. The quality of the coaching and programming alone is easily worth it in my eyes. Add to that a clean, high-quality facility, fun community, and personal results and I was happy to pay the higher cost.
I loved this gym...but sadly had to give up my membership when my workplace moved away. I'm still searching for a new gym, forever comparing it to GLSC and still not finding its equal. Congrats, Nate and team, for building this wonderful gym and community! Hit me up if you want to expand to S. Seattle!