July 19, 2006
Will Joining a Gym Make Your Wallet Thin?
Is there a place where you can view membership rates for area gyms? None of their websites mention anything.
We checked around, and were not able to find any one site that listed membership rates for gyms around the city. Even most of the clubs' web sites themselves don't list their prices in hopes of getting potential members into the gym where they can dazzle them with the latest equipment and current specials - if you sign up today!
So we did some of the legwork for you and checked out what several local gyms are offering for those of us looking to feel the burn.
The chart shows the rates for Crunch, Dolphin Fitness (the Manhattan location), Equinox, Lucille Roberts- who was the only place that would not give prices over the phone, but encouraged us to make an appointment at one of the area gyms to get pricing, NY Health & Racquet Club, NY Sports Club, and the McBurney YMCA.
All the prices on the chart listed are for one adult with a 12-month contract. The YMCA's prices varied the most even within boroughs. Where as McBurney in Manhattan is $79/month, the Greenpoint YMCA is only $41.70/month, and we currently pay $49/month for the Prospect Park YMCA (although we think those prices have gone up a bit.) The YMCA's facilities all vary greatly, which explains why each location is priced accordingly. They also give you the option to pay annually - Citywide access is $1033/year, McBurney is $948/year, Greenpoint is $500/year.
On the other end of the scale is Equinox, which was the most expensive that we came across, but there is no extra charge for nationwide access, and they boast spas, pools, and complimentary deodorant and razors and such. Everything is provided, according to the gentleman on the phone.
If you really are trying to figure out how to get access to a yacht for the summer, NY Health & Racquet Club would probably be a great choice for you. On top of their citywide gym access, members are given access to the yacht and the beach and tennis club during summer months. The prices listed on the chart for NYHRC are good until July 31st, they were unable to tell us what they would be beyond that. If you are a commitment-phobe, you can skip the yearly contract and pay $119/month with a $59 initiation fee, or if you love commitment, you can sign a 2-year contract and pay $99/month.
New York Sports Clubs' prices listed above for the single location price also include access to the citywide gyms at off-peak hours. To avoid their contracts, you pay $200 initiation, $89.95 for one location (with citywide access during off-peak hours), and $95.95 for citywide access.
Dolphin Fitness prices are for the Manhattan locations only. If you want access to both their Manhattan locations, it is an additional $50. They do not have a plan for both Manhattan and Brooklyn locations, as they explained to us, because some locations are corporate and some are franchises. So you either have to join in Brooklyn or Manhattan, you cannot do both. They are also offering a special right now that is $149 for membership through December 15th.
Crunch offers you the option to skip the contract as well, but like the other gyms, the prices go up. With month-to-month membership, initiation is $149 and monthly fees are $89/month for citywide and $74/month for a single location.
Many of these gyms may offer corporate rates as well, so you should check with them and perhaps you can get an even better deal. We barely scraped the surface of all the gyms around the city, not even touching on the smaller neighborhood gyms. What are your favorites/least favorites?
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Having been a member at NYHRC, and now over at NYSC, both are pretty good. The corporate membership rate at NYHRC is actually quite good in comparison to other NYC gyms, but has no Brooklyn locations.
A lot of these places want you to come in because the rates constantly change. That's why they can't (or won't) advertise rates half the time.
Nice article morons, except you forgot to mention only the biggest gym in the city....the Sports Center @ Chelsea Piers.Duh!
Woo hoo, I only pay $70 a month for NYSC. Although my main gym is in Astoria.
One thing that you may want to also mention is how difficult it is to cancel a membership at most of these gyms. NYHRC expects you to mail them a utility bill from out-of-state (apparently, the only way they'll let you quit is if you move a certain # of miles away from New York City or something like that) and I had to cancel a credit card once to get out of a Crunch membership.
I was lured to Lucille Roberts for their low prices (usually around $35/month) and women-only atmosphere (trust me, men don't want to see me in workout clothes). What a ripoff. Even for low prices, their gyms were awful. Dirty, poorly lit, rude or absent staff, half the machines were broken--and I went to at least 3 different locations in 3 different boroughs, but they were all the same. Of course it was a real hassle trying to cancel the membership, even after my "one year" membership expired. Their only saving grace is some interesting, frequent workout classes, like kickboxing and yoga.
They want you to come in so they can strongarm you into signing up on the spot. I tried calling gyms for rates earlier this year and they will go out of their way not to quote you on the phone.
This is great information, now if you could do a similar post about swimming pools with lap swimming, I would be forever grateful gothamist. Finding an affordable pool (well, any pools really) with lap swimming in the city is a difficult endeavor.
its about 150 a month for chelsea sportscenter. Most of the time they waive the initation fee. If you join with a friend its 135, but they seem to be jacking up the price 4 bucks every year.
The Prospect Park Y is now $52 a month.
And Roberto, considering that Chelsea Piers has 1 location city and nationwide, how much value does that provide all NY'ers? Duh, yourself.
there's also the nyc parks dept gyms ($50-$75 annually): http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/recreation_centers/index.php
and check your healthcare benefits, as some plans offer gym discounts.
TR, we will do a post soon about pools, I've actually done a lot of searching for them myself, including also adult swimming classes. For now, if you are willing to go to Red Hook, there is a huge pool there.
great timing for this post since i'll be looking for a gym when i move out of jersey into manhattan next month. are the bally gyms as overcrowded as the ones in jersey?
i know riverbank state park is waaaay up there, but has anyone made use of their gym and olympic size swimming pool?
The city has dozens of rec centers, some with indoor pools and plenty of equipment for $75 a YEAR! You pay enough taxes, take advantage!
THe best gym is Mid City Gym on 49th and 8th. If you pay for the whole year upfront it's just $399 a year. It's a very good deal. It's not fancy by any means and there are no classes. It's a real gym gym. Perfect for if you want to go run on the treadmill and lift weights (though they have weight machines, bikes, eliptical, etc.). Plus, Wyclef works out there.
It's $98 a month for a City-wide membership to Eastern Athletics
Yeah, City Parks is where it's at. Only about $50-75/year. Here's some info about it:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/recreation_centers/
There are also Golds Gym, Balley and others. While I haven't heard much bad stuff about Golds, Balley is definitely one of those that you have to cancel your credit card to cancel the membership. They will suck you dry and then play with your dried up bones, most of the gyms desperately try to sign you up in a contract like cell phone companies do, scumbags.
Also if you are in Queens around Queens boulevard area near Forest Hills - Rego park, Platinum Gym is pretty decent. They charge $400 a year and have plans for 4 month, one month and so forth. As far as neighborhood gyms go it's good, plus their equipment is in good condition and they got some new treadmills just few month ago.
i belonged to the slope in park slope for a year. it was expensive and extremely small. (i think they had 4 ellipticals.) i let my membership lapse after a year cause their new fitness director or gm or someone higher up, hired their wife to teach lots of the cardio classes. and she blew.
was a member of equinox for a year and absolutely loved it. i'm a big class person - and their classes were great. the teachers extremely personable and helpful. and the front desk people are always there to help if there were any problems.
when i moved out of the area, my cancel process took 3 minutes. no questions asked.
I can attest to the value of Equinox. It may be expensive, but it's worth it to not have to work out in a rat hole every day. And they do provide everything. I can recall having to rent a towel from Crunch for $2. Not a lot of money, but still ,it's nice to have everything you need handy.
NYSC isn't as sketchy as many other places - same with Eastern Athletic. I've severed both without a problem. The easiest month-to-month scenario by far, however, is any Y in the city. They just don't have that insane incentive to make it difficult for you to quit. I loved the West Side Y when I lived in Manhattan. I didn't join, but there's a pretty decent gym on Caton Avenue in Kensington, BK that's very affordable. They have classes, too.
I have heard absolute horror stories about Bally's, by the way.
Another way to go, besides the chains, are 1-location only local gyms. If you look in the phone book, you may find a small gym in your area. If you don't need all the trimmings, and are just looking for a place to do cardio and weights, they are great and usually cheap. Mine is uptown on the west side, and is $348/year. It has lots of equipment and classes. The dressing/showers area isn't great, but since it is close to home i can just shower and stuff there - which i prefer to showering in a gym.
harbor fitness is the scheezie in park slope..open 24 hours with TONS of machines and tvs and smoothies and tanning and and and...etc..best is that they are open 24hours..srsly..and it is $69 a month..meanwhile the YMCA in Park Slope is so tiny with no TVs etccc and they are charging around $55...and close a bit early..
Synergy Fitness anyone?
Yeah forgot to mention, local Rego Park "Platinum Gym" is also 24 hours, plus they do have classes and renewed bathroom and all, lockers and small two separate areas downstairs for women and men. Plus they just put three new plazma tvs in. So for anybody around Queens boulevard, it's a pretty good deal. But I'm definitely signin up for nycparks deal, I already checked out location near me with pool, though nothing fancy, still a good deal. Plus I would wanna see more 24 hours gyms anyway, if not in nyc then where the hell can you find 24 establishments in this country?
I've been a Bally's member for six or seven years, long enough that my initial contract has lapsed and I'm now a month-to-month customer. When I joined in 1999, they had me sign a 3-year contract that was basically a loan from Bally's that I had to repay over 3 years. That's why it's so hard to cancel the membership if you want out. Now that I'm paying by the month my rate is about $10/month (down from the $60/month I paid on the contract) and I'm happy with the gym at 106th & 3rd. It's new, clean, has good equipment, and it's not too crowded. I'd rather go to a gym that's closer to my apartment (88th & 1st) but no other gym can beat $10 a month.
I don't know how tough it would be to cancel my membership now, but I remember that when I signed the contract they said that the only way to get out of it was to move somewhere that was at least 25 miles from the nearest Bally's gym nationwide. If you could prove that the closest gym was over 25 miles away, they'd let you go.
Get a bike.
Has anyone known a gym with an indoor or outdoor track for jogging?
i was a member at asser levy and it was a good price, for sure ($75/year since it has a pool) but you get what you pay for. the equipment was old, and usually 2 or 3 of the 5 treadmills were broken, resulting in a waitlist every time i went to the gym. also, peak hours at this gym seemed don't follow the 9-5 crowd, as there are a lot of retired people who use this gym.
Nathan - I think there's a track in the Bklyn Heights branch of the Eastern Athletic Club. There's also a track on the roof at NYU's gym.
I've been at David Barton's for months (the one in Chelsea). Great staff, millions of gay men and me. If you are a woman who gets ugly when she gets sweaty, its a great option PLUS lots of celeb-sighting. The facility is beautiful and prices are competitive. Downside--they used to have great amenitites--Malin and Goetz, Bb hairstuff...these things are in decline. Just this week the great Bumble stuff has been replaced with cheapo crap.
Nathan: the 92nd St. Y has a small indoor track, maybe 200 yards around. Never see anyone use it, but it's there.
Thanks Samantha and Jeff.
court street y, at atlantic avenue is about 52 a month. new facility, classes; they were offering a cheaper 3-month deal for the summer that might be worth checking out.
since you use it to get rid of odors, the proper spelling is deodorant, not deoderant. spell check, please!
many of these gyms offer domestic partner discounts, which can apply to a roommate (because it's no one's business if they are just a roommate).
I'm a member of the court st/atlantic ave "dodge" y, which is about $60 a month for individuals. For me and my boyfriend it's $100 a month, and since we are city employees we get I think %20 off. So $40/month total. Not bad!
If you are willing to commit to a two year contract, about once a year crunch runs a special 30 month deal for $1299 with access to all their city gyms. I think they run the deal towards the end of summer. That comes out to just over $43 a month. This plan really only works if you know you'll use the gym on a regular basis. I've signed up with this deal twice (I've been a member of Crunch for nearly 8 years) and I'm extremely happy with it. And for whatever reason they haven't increased the price in a number of years.
I get a corporate rate at NYHRC of $78 a month, which is exceptional given the quality of the gyms, the fact that I don't have to "rent" towels, and some great yoga classes. They also have a pool in every location except one (Cooper Sq., their newest location).
My best friend went in a few weeks ago to inquire about rates and got their "pitch", and talked them down to about $80 a month with no initiation fee. Most of these places will come down on price if you pay a full year up front.
park slope ymca has an indoor track - elevated above the basketball court, it's very small and oddly slanted, but I do see people running on it occasionally. I believe it's something like 20 laps equal a mile however.
They have tv's on 90% of their equipment.
Harbor Fitness in Park Slope (and Bay Ridge) IS great but it's not 24 hours on the weekends, only during the week. They kick you out at 10pm on Fridays (I don't know about Sat/Sun but I think it's the same). Other than that the place does rock with great equiptment, friendly staff, good amenities, and a nice-sized smoothie bar. I looked around and priced all of the gyms in Park Slope (even that little Eagle Fitness on 5th and Union) and Harbor is above and beyond all of them for the price.
Astoria Pool in Astoria is huge. Mmm...swimming.
I totally stand by the NYSC. Plus, if you travel as we sometimes do, you can use the ones in DC and Boston.
They are clean and the staff is super friendly. I haven't had one bad experience there. (Except for the one at Grand Central, which is the one I go to every day on my lunch break. That one seems to have a larger group of really self-righteous snotty, ladies. Otherwise, it's great.) We bounce around constantly. We go to whatever one is nearest. On the weekends we'll hit the one in the Slope or the one at 14th street.
I can't recommend this club enough especially if you have the extra 90 bucks. Actually, here's the way I look at it, when you pay that much you force yourself to go. At least I do. And each time I go, it's cheaper! :]
I'm currently at Bally's on a 3-yr, $19.99 per month contract but am planning to cancel after one year. When I signed up the guy told me that I could cancel (for a $50 fee) after one year. Can someone please explain a little more how a gym gets away with charging you after you don't want to be there (short of having to cancel my credit card)? Thanks.
I think it's actually 32-35 laps per mile on that indoor track at the Park Slope YMCA. I remember running on it once while training for the marathon, and I almost went insane from the monotony.
Don't forget, if you want a hardcore "Rocky III, Apollo's old gym" experience, there's 5th Avenue Gym on 5th and 14th Street. In the basement, mostly free weights, and as gritty as a sandcastle souffle. I think it's $30 bucks a month, or $5 per workout.
I belong to a city gym, the one that used to be called Carmine Street but is now called Tony Dapolito. And yes, the price is great, but they have something called "family hours" from 9:30 - to 5:30 every day As a single person, I can't be there during family hours. Not very fair.
So, I joined 24/7 on 6th between 5th and 6th, for $30 a month and I really love the place. No frills, but very clean and nice and all the machines work and the staff and the people who go there are are very nice. The place has a friendly vibe. And I love the boxing classes. (What a workout!)
I also belong to Equinox (after being a longtime member of both NYSC and Crunch). I pay $129/mo. for a single-location membership. Equinox has a great spa-like atmosphere, the entire place is spotless, and the classes and instructors are great. I figure that my health is my most important asset, so why not splurge a bit? Instead of being a chore, I enjoy going to the gym now.
With the rising temperatures, does anyone have a list of gyms that offer an indoor running track in lieu of the treadmill?
Christina Piluso, the article's author, is absolutely correct in suggesting you inquire about a corporate rate for your company/group. I have worked in the Crunch Corporate Services divison for the last five years and the Crunch corporate rates are a very good indeed, so I invite anyone to phone me to check at 917-749-6704. Crunch offers a corporate rate to over 600 companies large and small so its worth it to make the call.
Was a member of NYSC, I tryied NYHRC for a year. I getting back to NYSC. shipper, more locations in the city, people are nicer, crowed muche nicer, less crowded during rush hour, they don't try to sell you training sessions all the time.
Ch
Veteran actor William Franklyn, known for voicing the 1960s Schweppes TV adverts, dies aged 81...
went to city rec center at 59 street and it made me ashamed of being a new yorker the place stank of urine, the fitness room was a rat hole. even a small town has a decent plain community center for all to enjoy..and here the richest city in the world and this is what you get for yr taxes.
I have a general question about corporate membership rates at gyms (and I'm particularly interested in Equinox): do I just need to reference the corporation I work for, or do I need to provide some sort of proof that I work there, like a paystub? Also, what if I join at a corporate rate and then change jobs or go back to school... can I continue at the monthly rate I joined with?
Thanks,
BB