Zip Fitness

There’s a lot to really love about this gym. It’s location, cleanliness, size, hours, and the fact that the majority of people that frequent this place are there to work out. It’s not a meat-​market. It’s not a place for young people to hang out because they’ve got nowhere else to go, etc. What you get is a LOT of treadmills and elipticals, along with a decent selection of machines and free weights. The price is right. Plenty of parking. The locker rooms are very nicely sized. The staff is approachable and have ZERO attitude. I can’t stress enough how important that is to every gym-​goer. It’s most likely the make or break for someone as to whether they will return to a gym.
That being said, I feel with a few changes; this gym can be perfect.
There are too many treadmills. The amount of people on a treadmill vs in an area of weight/​resistance training is 2 – 1 usually when I’m there.
There should be a strict «no weights allowed» policy in the mirrored stretch/​abs/​yoga area of the gym in the North/​East corner. Too many people leave the weight in there, or take up too much room for people who want to stretch/​work abs/​do yoga in there.
There should also be more dumbbells in the 5−20lb range. Realistically, there are few people there who regularly work the heavier weights. I have yet to see both sets of the 40−100lb dumbbells out at the same time. Having 4 sets of the 5−20lb dumbbells will help tremendously with the need for those weight amounts.
Honestly, these are minor issues compared to the value and amenities here at this gym. Ditch the attitude and the hype of most of the big name gyms and save your $ and sanity by coming here instead.

A wonderful employee who deserves great recognition for his professional knowledge and personal kindness is Joseph (Joe). I’d highly recommend his assistance to any Zip-​Fitness member, as Joe will put a smile on your face with his kindness!:-)

Overall a decent place for the money. The cleanliness level is good and the people that come here seem to be concerned only about working out. I wish they had more machines though.

I love working out here and never feel outta place. Half of the staff seems very friendly but the other half seem annoyed all the time. Especially when you walk in and hand them your little membership card. Its not my fault you have to scan everyones.

Feel very comfortable using this gym. I’m new to working out, never too old to start.

Zip Fitness is a great gym if you want to save money. There’s a few things though that I wish they would change. A lot of the cardio machines are shaky & need to be replaced. Also they should consider moving the gym into the empty space where Burlington used to be. It would be more private and there would be space for more machines.

I’ve decided to edit my previous review because, based on feedback I received from another user, I’ve come to the conclusion that perhaps I was a little too specific with the details of my own personal gripe and it’s led to individuals not being able to see the forest for the trees. Suffice it to say that my previously positive experience with Zip was tarnished because of the way I was treated during a payment disagreement. I felt that my dispute could have been handled in a way that was more agreeable to the principles of good customer service. Bottom line.

I love the club, but I am noticing that the bikes are all rusty and my biggest pet peeve is that why do they allow club members to carry all their belonging from machine to machine or leave their gym bags and coats etc near the treadmills so anyone can trip over them. they need to enforce to use lockers. Everyone else does. May need to switch to export fitness instead.

you get what you pay for. this place is loaded with old grouchy people who like to take a nap while working out. Machines, especially treadmills are the cheapest and constantly malfunctioning. I am a runner and the place has nothing to offer to semi professionals. Also the main attraction of the place is a horrible stink of Chinese restaurant burned food, which comes from the neighboring China buffet, throughout the air vents. I have reported this several times to the Zip management but no echo so far, after more than 6 months. Terrible place not worth any attention.

Matthew is a cocky kid. Full of life for 16 year olds. But nothing for adults. He is not a fair employee and even goes for embarrassment and smirks. He is employed at the cheapest gym in the area and it shows. Way to go MATTHEW!

Very affordable, yet provides all the equipment you need. The staff is friendly usually. You might hear a few grunters and weight droppers here and there, but overall it’s not a big deal. The majority of weight lifters seem to be either high school or college students. I wish there were better restaurants nearby.

I have been searching for a perfect gym for the past couple months since planet fitness is out of my way. I had to narrowed it down to x-​sport, a gym by my job downtown, or zip fitness. soooooo I ended up picking zip bc they have a price you cannot beat for everything they offer. This place has so many equipment And it’s not packed !! Also, joe was so helpful and informative. I look forward in making this my new gym! So 25 a month= awesome hours, lots of machines, and tanning …

The Good: Low cost gym where the majority of people are there to get in a workout and not for the social aspect you see at other fitness centers. Plenty of cardio machines; solid selection of strength training machines and free weights. Front desk staff is friendly.
The Bad: There is a small stretching area in the back but forget about stretching because it is always full of people lifting in the space and checking themselves out in the mirror. Plenty of TVs throughout the facility to keep you occupied during a workout but they choose the most useless stations — always HGTV, E!, infomercials. My personal favorite is the multiple options of religious programming on Sundays. I mentioned the front staff being nice enough but all they do is hang out up front — I never really see anyone cleaning or trying to enforce a rule or two to ensure everyone has a great experience.
The Ugly: Next door is a Chinese Buffet and particularly in the evening, the smell eventually gets into Zip and it’s pretty strong. Locker room is pretty clean overall but usually smells a little funky.

Finally, after weeks of not having a leg press machine it is fixed again. However, despite the fact that the employees continue to lubricate the machine (for the seat to move forward) it is still extremely hard to move it forward. It feels great to have a 4-​day weekend and go to the gym a little later than I normally do. The staff is still great at this fitness center, and the Manager, Kristen, is fantastic. I increased the rating again. Now that the kids are out of school for the Summer months I love going here when the Soccer Mom crowd isn’t here. During the school year, they hit up the gym around 8 am. Now, it is not so busy so I can do my 2-​hour work out without a huge crowd of Soccer Moms. Gotta love it!!!

No frills, what you see is what you get place. Great hours, nice staff, good amount of equipment so you are never waiting for a machine, and clean to boot. For $ 12.99 a month it’s no lifetime fitness but it fits the bill.

Originally horrified to join a gym, I gave in November of 2012 and have never gone back.
I started my weight loss journey in July of 2012 and had lost 30 pounds prior to joining zip. BUT ZIP FITNESS HAS CHANGED MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER.
Since joining, I have lost 90 pounds with zip (120 total) in the last year and few months. This gym is not intimidating, you will always find a machine available, and the staff is superb.
I’ve gone less often in recent months as I’ve gotten closer and closer to my goal, but have started back up again.
I love their 30 minute circuit and their stairmasters (there are 6 available). This gym is very easy going and it may get busy at certain hours but you’ll always find something free.
This isn’t a gym for HARDCORE body building types. If you’re there and are acting like an idiot, I’ve seen you and I’ve laughed at you. If you’re going to be grunting and walking all over the gym covered in free weights, go to World’s Gym. This is Zip Fitness. This is a safe place to work out and feel comfortable getting into shape.
Seriously I owe these guys my life.

Ok,
First off, this gym is well kept. The cleanliness here rivals or tops more expensive gyms. Plenty of weight machines and normal treadmills. The staff is nice and helpful. The rates fantastic .
So why am I pondering joining another gym?
Quite frankly I have had it with the rude and lousy behavior of the customers. Though there are signs posted about cell phone use, I cannot count the number of times I have had some brain damaged individual next to me blabbering on and on loudly enough where I could hear them over my iPod. Seriously. You really need to ask Cheryl about her dogs dyslexia diagnosis or whatever while working out? Even worse people sit at weight machines and have conversations… who cares if your waiting to get in it…
The biggest problem. There are some really epic super high incline treadmills I love. But there are only two of these popular treadmills… that’s right two. The rest are narrow cheap models… but there are about fifty of those. Soo getting on these is a chore even on non peak times. And it’s always a battle. People leave coats or ipods or whatever they can find to save machine. Some stalk the two machines. .I was almost knocked over by one lady who had been lurking on one of the cheaper treadmills nearby.. (You can tell these people. They position themselves at treads near the high incline machines and walk at a mile an hour while watching the machine like a hawk then practically flying off the cheap treadmill once it becomes clear.)
But I think tonight I saw the most astonishing example of idiocy at this place.
A woman got on this high incline machine. Started it ran for about ten seconds then proceeded to stand on the safety rails and talk to her boyfriend for twenty minutes. .ok.
But no.. she then left and followed him over to weight machine area all the while leaving the machine running and her stuff on it.
She then came back. And got a call that she had to take elsewhere. Then left machine again for fifteen minutes, running her crap still on it.
Came back and did it again for another ten minutes.
So I thought. heck with it i’ll do some of the weight machines. Well the teenage wannabe muscle head squad was hanging out at and around most machines. Not exercising. Talking to their friends. Great. Finally found a machine that was usable only to have someone sit next to me talking on a cell phone. I left
This could be an awesome gym. By if nobody is enforcing the rules here it’s going to alienate people like me..
Crazy people who come to the gym to work out. Not talk on a phone. Save machines I’m not using. Our use them as seats to talk to my buddy’s…
I’m going to wait and see if it gets better. But I Will be keeping my eyes open for another gym in the meantime

The main complaint that it does not get 5 stars, really the price alone should get it 5 stars, is the temperature. In winter it was always too cold, and in summer you never know what to expect. The low monthly cost may be factoring in to the heating and cooling costs. So working out in winter can get you brain freeze – if you’re breathing heavy. Whereas summer can have you dripping wet, and trying to cool off anyway possible.
There’s always too many channels with sports on. Lately if you want to watch sports, news, hgtv, you’ll be in luck every day. I guess you have to ask the staff to have something decent on, there is no permanent setup to what tv channels are on which TVs.
There seems to be some issues with maintenance, cleaning, and too much idle time of the staff. Some weight machines need lubrication and the hand holds on some need to be moved back to the correct position before they start breaking. The insides of the lockers continue to get dirtier week after week, the gentle cleaning to the showers could be more often, and the fabric floors (especially in the locker rooms) need a deep cleaning now and then. With sometimes three staff at the desk, all just talking, things could be better if they had more initiative.
All kinds of people go here at all hours they are open, so no one is really out of place. Just please if you go, work out, sweat a little, you can motivate everyone else. And remember it’s what you eat that has the biggest impact on your fitness goals, so change your eating habits if you intend to lose weight and exercise as often as you can.

Less that 2 miles from us we stumbled on it going to the grocery store. Huge parking lot for this shopping complex so parking is safe with no issues. The store is clean and HUGE! So many machines there is never a concern about going in and having to wait to work out.
Friendly staff, simple showers and a no-​nonsense no frills gym. And oh… did I mention the great price!

I am so happy my friend recommended that I sign up at Zip Fitness! Back in Dec of 2009, I signed up at Fitness Premier in Melrose Park. I liked this gym because it wasn’t as busy/​crowded as Bally’s and LA Fitness. That gym, however, closed in January of 2011. Before coming to Zip, I signed up at two other gyms. I hated it. I wasn’t enjoying my workouts and the staff was not friendly. The gyms were also outdated and dirty. Zip Fitness is the complete opposite! I never worry about getting on a machine. They have a TON of treadmills and ellipticals. I love the amount of TV’s they have, too. And $ 12.99 a month? WHO CAN BEAT THAT!
What I like most about this gym is that I don’t feel «judged.» Everyone is there to do the same thing. Since joining my first gym in Dec 2009, I have lost about 120 pounds. I am very excited to continue that journey at Zip Fitness. After reaching a goal weight, I plan to meet with a Gym Genius to see how the free weights and cable machines work. I have yet to try out that portion of the gym. They also have a 30 minute circuit training area (I did this briefly when I was at Curves and I enjoyed it).
Some other pluses: The staff is very friendly. I am always greeted when I walk in and they always say goodnight when I walk out. The bathrooms are CLEAN. They are maintained and kept up properly. This is a huge benefit for me. There is nothing more disgusting than wads of hair in drains, dirty sinks/​toilets, etc. This place still looks like it just opened. They have tanning available, but I have not tried that.
I want to also comment on the «younger/​high school’ crowd that I see here. Yes, at times, there are handfuls of young adults here. But they are ALWAYS working out. They aren’t standing around socializing. They are on a machine running next to one another or lifting weights together. How can someone complain about that? I wish more young adults/​teenagers would realize the importance of physical activity and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It’s better they are there than out on the streets doing who knows what. These kids keep to themselves and behave. I have never seen a problem.
Overall, I am very pleased with Zip Fitness. Some of my friends work out at bigger chain gyms and pay ridiculous amounts of money… and for what? If I want a smoothie, I’ll go to Jamba Juice and have one made there. If I want a towel to shower with, I’ll bring my own. Zip Fitness is a top-​notch facility at a BARGAIN price. HAPPY WORK OUT! :-)
P. S. It’s kinda cool this used to be CEASARLAND! Great memories there as a child, and now I am building new ones in my weight loss journey! :-)