YMCA

For the price you just can’t beat it with a stick!
I’ve belonged to a Y on a few occasions in different cities/​states and have always found them to be the best bang for your buck. That’s assuming you get discounts & utilize it for the full family. If you’re a single «Muscle Head,» you might be disappointed though. But with my discounts I pay 42.00 per month for the entire family; how can you beat that?
Their equipment is nice & new, but limited & with only one free weight bench press, it can be a pain. Especially if there are a couple guys camping on it. But it does have the full gamut of dumbbells and a few little benches for various exercises and a preacher bench, which is nice. A fair amount of cardio equipment and so far I’ve not seen it too packed.
In my opinion it needs Hammer Strength equipment, but they obviously have limited space & I believe their clientele is generally older, who do not use that stuff as much. But there is a pool, various classes & free child care when working out if you have no place to leave the kids. No contracts and you can bail anytime you like.
So if you’re looking for a family friendly gym at a good price, this is the place. Oh, there’s also three locations in town & one membership is good for all.

The Y is a good place to go for a basic workout with all the standard gym equipment and a lap pool.
There are some classes offered such as Les Mills BodyFlow that I really like, but most classes are catered more towards the older generation so I’m in the minority in any classes there.
The YMCA is really good about being a community center and a place that the whole family can go with programs for the community and youth (clubs and summer camps).
I like the YMCA and it is a great spot for a lot of different people, but I probably fit in better at other gyms.

The Horn YMCA is in the Healthways network (a rarity, I’m told) which means that I can use it (and any other gym in the network) for a nominal fee. They also offer discounted memberships for people affiliated with any number of companies/​organizations in Albuquerque (CNM/​UNM/​Sandia/​etc.). My main reason for joining is the 25-​yard pool that is open all day, as opposed to the city-​run pools which have less convenient hours. There is also a weight room/​cardio room, which is well equipped and rarely crowded. There are classes, but I’m a guy, so no comment. It’s also centrally located and the hours are quite decent (early morning, closing at 9:00 PM on weekdays).
The biggest issue with this facility is upkeep and staffing, which is inadequate. Although the treadmills are the newer sort with the touchscreens and built-​in TVs, three-​quarters of the TVs are broken with signs indicating that they will be «fixed» (but the signs are months old). You can wipe down the equipment with disinfectant, but the towels they want you to use are visibly soiled and stained. When I go to swim, I go through the men’s shower area, which stinks of ammonia, has mildew stains all over the tiles and grout, hair jammed in the drains and dust building up on the ventilation unit. The locker room isn’t anything to write home about, although it does seem to be more regularly cleaned. The pool isn’t too bad although I do find myself being concerned by the sanitation of the place. (Hint: I shower at home). I usually swim laps when there are recreational «swimmers,» (i.e. people throwing around balls/​pool noodles) and the lifeguards have a high tolerance to to kids diving or swimming into the lap lanes without looking. I’ve nearly collided/​kicked swimmers inadvertently while swimming here. This kind of behavior is not tolerated at other pools I’ve been to (because it is dangerous and a liability).
I get that the YMCA is operated as a non-​profit community center and so may not have the business mindset of serving «customers,» but I think that keeping things clean and generally running an efficient operation isn’t that much to ask. I’m not expecting towel service, laundry, lockers, and a juice bar for the barebones fee that I’m paying. But it would be nice to be able to shower without feeling grossed out.

I only go here to work out, and have no children, but this is a great place to work out and the fee is very inexpensive. I like the machines available for weight lifting and cardio. The air conditioning and heating work well. Parking lot has lots of space. Only problem I ever had was when I was told to go to the lobby when doctors at my dad’s hospital called my cell phone during his hospitalization for urosepsis and stroke; I’ve seen multiple Y users talking on their cell phones in the workout room since then, and not one of them were approached by staff. I realize it’s a posted rule — please either enforce it for everyone, or take down the signs.

I admit my last review sucks. I’m updating because I have a terrible sense of humor and there are not enough Village People fans to make it work anyway. I just finished the summer day care program for my 3 year old and my 6 – 7 year old. I found very little information out there on what exactly they were offering for their summer program so for me it felt like a big risk but in the end I couldn’t be happier. The summer programs utilize young counselors called «professional role models» and there are lots of them so the student/​counselor ratio is very low. They are great with the kids and playful and youthful themselves so they have the energy to keep them occupied. Every day was full of activities including sports, games, art and field trips to the museums, parks, and various kid spots around town. The price is on the low end, especially for the facility and quality of care that you get. There is an incentive program that seems to really work on my kids. They are able to be extra good and helpful to win prizes. I was very surprised when my 3 year old (typically the smiteful one) said «thank you» at the dinner table! «WHAT!!! Did you just say, ‘Thank you’!!!» Weird, but don’t worry, it wears off and she’s back to her difficult self again. They were pretty good at reporting on the day and updating me to the ebbs and flows of my childrens’ daily grind. I asked that my daughter play more sports and less art and the next day she was gloating about making several baskets and kicking ass at sports. So I know that they take parental requests seriously. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the Y for teaching my kids to swim. I couldn’t have been happier to see my little one make it all the way across the pool. Ultimately, the most important thing is the kids that go here. These kids were great. No bullies or psychopaths. My kids made a lot of friends and had fun.

My daughter attended preschool at this YMCA location. She and I both loved it. Once she was done, I thought I would move on to join one of the «bigger gyms» in Albuquerque. I quickly realized how good we had it there at the YMCA. If you want exercise for the family, not just for yourself, this is the place to be.

I recently joined the YMCA and I am very pleased. The staff has been helpful. I go there to use their cardio equipment and for classes. I really like that many of the cardio machines have TVs with cable. (remember to bring your earbuds.) The instructors of the classes I have attended have been good with explaining the steps and offering alternate steps too.
The one area I would like to see improvement is the women’s locker room. Ladies, make sure to use the restroom before or after changing. The bathroom in the locker isn’t as nice as the other women’s restroom. The women’s locker room was recently closed for repairs and I had to use the family locker room — much nicer! It’s a great locker room for a family to use. (especially before or after using the pool)
Lastly, you can’t beat their rates! We qualified for a corporate rate, which is a nice little discount. Even without it, the prices are still a good deal.

I just joined this YMCA and so far I am pleased.
So far, I’ve only gone to lift weights, but I’ve been pleased by the amount of free weights and machines available. I’ve been going late in the evening, around 8 PM and I find that the gym is generally deserted and I have my pick of what and where to work out. This is a major plus. Also, I look forward to using the pool and taking advantage of some of the different classes they offer.
The staff here really are (for the most part) a bright spot, as they are friendly and accommodating.
And a real plus for me is that I get a discount for being an employee of CNM and thus pay a very reasonable $ 40.

The Horn YMCA could do a better job with it’s classes. First of all, when you go in, you have to enter through the door marked «Exit» and if you don’t get it right away, the staff acts like you’re an idiot. Second of all, the classes are never in the place where they’re supposed to be, and there’s no sign directing people to the correct place. Third of all, the classes aren’t great. I was pleased with the variety of offerings, but the «teachers» don’t teach anything, you’re just supposed to figure stuff out and follow them, and they don’t really know what they are doing, particularly tai chi and zumba. Overall, it seems to be set up for a select few regulars who don’t know there’s anything better out there.