LA Fitness

I was a member of 24 hour fitness for 7 years until LA recently bought them out and I converted over. I live in Glendale and usually go to the LA’s over there. Today was my first time at this Avondale location. My boyfriend lives a half mile away so this will be a location I frequent often. I was concerned after reading these reviews but to be honest it’s actually pretty decent. I must say I can only comment on the equipment considering I did not talk to a single staff member. Upon check in there were no employees at the desk, you scan yourself in at this location apparently. All of the other LA’s in Glendale always have staff up front to check you in so that was a little odd to me. Other than that, they have all of your equipment needed plus racquetball. I didn’t do any cardio today just lifted weights so can’t comment on cardio equipment. Just like the other locations, cardio is upstairs and weights and machines are downstairs. Also it was great because it’s Saturday and there were hardly anyone there! There is a one stop nutrition right next door as well so that’s convenient.

This place is really unorganized. The girls at the front desk do not greet you when you walk in. Most of them are very young and seem to be doing school work behind the desk. Not knocking them at all but a nice smile and hello goes a long way. I went to a Body Works class on a Saturday, the instructor totally flaked out and no one from the staff or management came into the aerobics room to inform any of us members. It was really unprofessional and poor leadership from whoever was in charge. They seem to change instructor’s often and many have complained that it is because of the leadership. However, I don’t go to hear anyone’s drama, I just want a good workout from an energized happy instructor to keep me motivated. The place isn’t really packed, workout classes like Zumba and etc are very small. If you are looking for a good Zumba class, Ana at Tolleson on Monday’s is fun! If you’re looking for a good Cycle class, Kimberly here in Avondale is great on Friday’s. That’s pretty much all I can say about that. They need more interaction here.

How about NO stars! My son was called for an interview. Arrived 15 min early and sat and waited an additional 15 minutes only to be told that the interview needed to be re-​scheduled and they’d call him. No reason or even an apology for the inconvenience of him driving down there wasting his time AND having to wait. Not to mention the rude front desk person had the audacity to tell him he should have covered up his tattoo on his INNER UPPER ARM mind you, which could BARELY be seen under his shirt, while HE was dressed in a golf shirt and basketball shorts. How about let’s LEAD by example? What a concept.
For an interview, he was dressed in a collar shirt and khakis. Very appropriate and nothing wrong with that. And if they didn’t want tattoos showing or at all, they should have specified that PRIOR TO. It’s a gym for Gods sake not a corporate office!
The manager Tyler was too much of a coward, didn’t even have the common courtesy to come out and tell him, himself, instead had the front desk person do it. Sounds to me like nothing more than they may have already found someone and forgot he was coming and/​or just don’t give a damn about how they treat people. They had no intention on calling him to re schedule to begin with when they failed to call him in the first place to tell him not to come. They did my son a favor by letting him see what a pathetic, unprofessional clown show they run over at LA FITNESS and why he wouldn’t want to work there anyway. We don’t tolerate poor customer service and disrespectful treatment.

I like this location, nice ppl, friendly attitudes, and my kids love the kids care center, this location is WAY BETTER than the Goodyear one (cotton ln) and bigger and nicer. Try it for yourself!

It is easy to sign up but the make it very difficult to cancel. I went in on a sunday and you can only cancel on monday to friday 9 to 5. Karla, the acting Operations manager was NOT friendly and seemed full of herself and said she had worked there for four years and can do anything except cancel my membership. Ben which was the sales manager could not cancel as well but told me I could not come in and BARK demands at them. I asked him why not. I am a customer and it is not to much to ask to cancel my membership.

My only real gripes about this gym are the hours. Sometimes I like to get up and get a workout in before work which I can’t because they don’t open until 5am. Others open at 4. Also the mat setup where you do core work is awkwardly placed in front of the stair masters so they’re just staring at you while you work out. Not a big fan of that either.

I really need this gym to be open before 0500. Unfortunately I will have to find another one. This one was ok, no different as far as service. The equipment is a little old but works for what is I intended.

The salespeople here really just can’t take a hint.
I was approached by one as I was leaving Walmart, and the man practically insisted that he take down all my contact info — even after I told him that I had absolutely no interest in paying for a gym membership, because the apartment complex I live in has its own gym that’s free with rent. I’ve never dealt with a more pushy salesman in my life. If he was really SO determined to get a sale out of me, maybe he could’ve demonstrated his superior fitness by helping me load my refrigerator into my car.

Nice location. The machines are clean and the trainers are nice. I signed up for personal training. There is some inconsistency between the trainer that signs you up and your actual trainer. That doesn’t bother me too much as I do my workout with the trainer then cardio afterwards.
My daughter is working out with me for the first time. She’s not use to a personal trainer but will in due time. The trainer follows up with you during the week to make sure you’re doing good. I like the personal touch.
I’ve been working out in the mornings and around 4:30. Doesn’t appear to be too busy during those times. Return to work next week so we will see if it’s a madhouse in the evening.

I played racquetball last Monday and the previous few weekends without air conditioning in the courts. Each time I ask, I’m told that they will call maintenance but it hasn’t been fixed for at least a month.
I’m not sure if they are trying to save on their energy bill or trying to kill their customers, but I don’t like it.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! You have been warned! When you are there they tell you you can cancel at anytime, you pay for first and last month plus an initiation fee. total $ 97… after 2 weeks i decited to go back to 24hr Fitness. I was told i cant Do that and they will keep my $ 97 if I cancel. The sales team are friendly and are quick to take your credit card, come time to cancel its a huge hassle and they treat you like shit because you needed to join a gym closer to your home. The front desk people are very unprofessional, constantly on their personal phones and on one instance one of the girls was on the phone with a customer rolling her eyes like the caller was dumb and she was wasting her time. Total assholes. Stay away

Went there today (9am)for a tour. Front desk girl was polite and quickly got the sales girl. The sales girl was polite. She asked appropriate questions and tailored the tour to my answers. She wasn’t pushy at all, politely explained everything I was interested in. When I explained that I wasn’t interested in group classes or trainers, she said okay and moved on.
The facility seemed to be clean and in good condition. The child watch had two kids in it and the employee wasn’t playing with them, just leaning on the counter.
The sales girl asked for my personal info and I declined (other than my name). She politely said «okay» and moved on. She quoted me $ 34.99 month + $ 10 for child watch. I know I could’ve haggled, but I was just on an info gathering mission. I will update if I join.
Side note:
Went to Lifetime Fitness right after. When i declined to give them my phone/​address, they refused to give a tour. thus, i walked out and wont be back. Thank you LA for respecting privacy.

I go here quite often and have never had any real issues at all with the staff or equipment. I’m not a guy who invests in personal training because you can find EVERYTHING online, I’d even go with saying you can find better instruction or even trainers online. But every time I have talked to an employee they have always been nice and professional. I have even participated in some cardio circuit classes here just to make it interesting, but it turned out not so great because I was the only guy in a 45 person class. I always wipe down my machines and rack my weights and for the most part the staff is actually on people about cleaning /​racking and it seems to have gotten better.
There are a group of west siders who come in here wearing club clothes /​boy shorts /​full makeup and love to text. This is the only downer for me in the gym because they often sit on the machines I like to use, more power to them I guess. The Sauna works great, the pool is well maintained, and the locker room is kept clean.
The elliptical machines always seem to work fine.
Protein bar is cool.
There are enough free weights to accomplish gains
I would recommend this gym to my Unilocal friends, and I’m lucky to have my membership at the Pure Fitness price :)
remember… It’s Still Your Mother F*ing Set — CT Fletcher

I have had it with this gym. I should have known better but I was pressured into buying a training membership at a ridiculous monthly charge which of course they hit your credit card. In September of this year I attempted to get them to cancel this training membership because of financial difficulties. I was told they would take care of it and I would be put on hold with my training charges and they would only charge me $ 15 a month until I could resume. So of course the next month they hit my card again and I complained. It took them 2 weeks to credit me back and then within 4 days they charged my card again. I complained on 11÷12÷12 and am still waiting for the refund. On 11÷27÷12 I called AGAIN and was told he would «call me back» in an hour… of course no call. Today I called and asked for the gym manager. We will see what happens but I WILL NEVER AGAIN USE THIS GYM. This has been a source of frustration and stress for me for 2 months now. Don’t have anything great to say about the training when I was receiving it either… nothing bad just nothing great either.

It’s a great place to workout. They have great equipment and all the stuff you want. I haven’t used personal trainers there but I’ve seen them in action and am less than impressed. Do research, ask experts, and go in with a plan. You have all the tools at your disposal if you go in educated.

Don’t love it, don’t hate it… no passionate feelings whatsoever about this gym. It’s a gym and it serves its purpose.
Seeing as you can go to the website and see the features and «selling points» there, I’ll just try to sum up my personal observations here.
I appreciate the wide range of free weight, circuit training, and cardio equipment that this gym has… even during the busiest times of day, I can usually find an acceptable alternative if my choice machine is in use. The locker room is usually fairly clean, although the bathroom area smells a little funky and the showers are questionable. This gym isn’t as new and modern as other LA Fitness gyms in the area. The equipment is, for the most part, usually in good working order. Actually come to think of it, there’s almost always something down for repair, but at least they get it up and running again quickly and the same piece doesn’t sit unusable for days on end. The gym gets really busy around 4pm-​ish on weeknights, and stays busy until after 7pm. During that time you may have to wait for a machine, but usually not too long. They don’t really enforce the «please wipe down your machine after use» or the «please re-​stack your weight plates after use» rules. This has been my home gym for several years now and I do notice they have a high staff/​trainer turnover. Always new faces.
This gym is heavy on the testosterone, so if you’re a girl and even mildly attractive, be prepared for stares and/​or unwelcome advances, interruptions, etc. (not that I’d know from personal experience or anything, just from what I’ve heard… eh hem…), my suggestion would be to put in your earbuds, put on your game face, avoid eye unnecessary eye contact, and you’ll be fine. Unless you want the attention. Same advice for avoiding the trainers if you don’t want a salespitch, haha. (They’re actually not too bad.)
This is a no-​frills gym but it does have a swimming pool, spa and sauna, a basketball court, several racquetball courts, a spacious aerobics studio and separate spin room. And I noticed that they’ve recently brought in a company that makes protein shakes, etc., so the juice bar is now up and running.
If I must compare this gym to other LA Fitnesses I’ve been to, this location isn’t one of the best, but neither is it one of the worst. It serves its purpose and that’s that.

the very best thing about this gym is a personal trainer named Daniel W. He is super terrific. I had him work with me for almost 2 years and he knew just how much to push me into shape. I’m a ‘senior citizen’ with several health problems and Daniel figured out different ways I could exercise without hurting myself. He is personable, and always has a smile for everyone. I do agree with some of the other reviews that there are issues with the equipment being out of service and the sales staff being too aggressive. However, I do enjoy my time there just the same and I go 6 days a week!
Thanks Daniel W. for helping me get rid of 24 pounds!

Best time to work out at this gym is in the early morning. Went in the afternoon a few times and it’s usually packed.
This place has everything I need to work out. (threadmill, free weights, machines, basketball court, swimming pool, and sauna). Rarely do I see any of the machines out of order/​broken. Although the men’s sauna bench was broken for maybe 2 – 3 months before they finally fixed it.

If you want to feel like you are buying a car, then come see the Sales staff at this location. You feel like you are being conned or sucked into an expensive gym membership… just tell them you are shopping around or present other prices that you have seen with their competitors, watch how quickly they give you a better price.
They have such high turnover too, maybe that’s just an L.A. Fitness thing? I’ve seen very high employee turnover at a few other locations too.
Employees are allowed to park in the spots next to the gym… unlike most Retailers or businesses, where the closer spots are for the paying customers. Nice.
This location is a little on the dirty side, out of order machines, dirty restrooms with broken door latches, etc… the don’t really enforce wiping down the machines either… it’s actually optional. Coming from the YMCA, they really encouraged wiping BEFORE & AFTER you use the machine…
I’ll probably check-​out another location or just watch Exercise TV…

Where do I start…
I hate to compare this one to the one I attended in Southern California, but I don’t really have much other basis for comparison.
First off, this one is way more packed at any given time than my previous gym. Can’t fault them for that, it means it’s a good place to be, right? Meh.
The personal trainers (who if you didn’t already know work on commision) are VERY aggressive with their recruiting tactics… I have been accosted on several occasions, bad enough once that I had to cut my workout short and get out of there to end the madness because the gentleman would not take no for an answer. In addition sometimes the front desk workers are more concerned with who’s pants they’re getting into at the end of the night. Save the MySpace drama for home time, kiddies.
A lot of times, the most random machines will be in disrepair. Treadmills with non-​operating heart rate meters or fans, (or worse and a potential hazard/​lawsuit) slipping belts, exercise bikes with the same problem with the slipping belts, among other machines.
Sometimes it is very dirty in there. Trash on the main floor mostly but sometimes it appears like the mens sauna and shower areas haven’t been scrubbed down for weeks. Also, I don’t understand why other LA Fitness locations have shower curtains, yet this one does not? Not that I care but it is a nice touch for people that aren’t as comfortable «baring it all.»
As stated it really isn’t fair to compare this to other local gyms (I will be switching up soon so watch for more reviews) but having been so impressed by the facility and employees of the LA Fitness I attended back in California, this one is a huge letdown.