LA Fitness

While I have been a content LA Fitness member since 2005, my most recent experience at Collegeville (not my normal location) was absolutely awful and warrants sharing.
The number one reason I’m a member is to use the aerobics room to hit the heavy bags. As a former amateur boxer, I like to stay in shape without having to go to a «real» boxing gym. Often times there’s a class in a room, and the instructor let’s me do my thing in the corner. This time however, 15 min before the class began when I was wrapping my hands the instructor of «Boot Camp Conditioning» was downright nasty to me and made a scene asking me to get out. When I noted I’m usually there without any issues and the front desk confirmed it for me multiple times (including that day!) she got even nastier. I assured her that I would be in the corner, keeping to myself, and she dismissed what I said and snapped at me, saying she was using the whole room and I would be a distraction.
I’m not embarrassed (takes a lot more than that) or even angry. In fact, that even may be proper by-​the-​book protocol. However, how I was treated reflects poorly on the people that LA Fitness allows to teach classes and by extension represent the company.
I *only* use LA Fitness for the heavy bags, as I lift at home. This recent interaction has me considering cancelling my membership.

Dirty equipment-don’t use the fans on the treadmills
Signs are posted all over that limit on equipment is 20 minutes, but it’s not enforced-​even when people are waiting to use equipment
Many members don’t wipe down equipment after use

One year and change later I feel the club has earned an extra star. Cleanliness has improved and I’ve even started getting a «goodbye» from staff on occasion. New spin bikes arrived this past summer but, sadly, are already experiencing wear and tear. A little preventative maintenance would go a long way. How hard is it for a staff member to spend an hour in the room on a weekly basis checking pedal straps? Some are already badly frayed and many are twisted so that you can’t completely secure your feet.
Cardio Equipment: The stairclimbers continue to disappoint; loose side rails (a potential danger) and messed-​up chains give a stutter-​step climb. It’s hard to describe in writing but if you try the machines you’ll know exactly what I mean. Also, the recumbent bikes are really beaten up and just feel weird when pedaling. New, up-​to-​date cardio machines are a necessity but I’m sure it’s not the club’s call.

After switching here from the Downingtown la fitness I am shocked at how old and crappy all the equipment is. Also feels like they don’t have the AC on here. Never thought I’d say this but I miss the Downingtown la fitness.

Closes at 7 PM on a Sunday??? Why??? I just don’t get it.
Major design fail in the locker room: there is no door between the sauna area (not the sauna itself) and the bathrooms… nothing I enjoy more than steamed urine and feces. Nice job LA Fitness!
One good point, it is quite spacious and in a nice area.

Standard globo gym. The staff at the front desk couldn’t be bothered to smile or actually be nice to you. After stopping in to look at the gym while traveling in the area, I was told that there would be a charge for working out each day I was in town. I have no problem paying a fee, as I’m not a member. However, the manner in which I was told this by the front desk was curt and gave off the appearance of «why are you wasting my time by asking me this?» — I was then told that I could walk around and see the gym to decide if I wanted to workout, which was nice. After leaving the gym I found a workout pass online, at the company website, that indicated a workout was free. I printed it out and brought it back later and was able to work out. However, when I walked back into the gym the same person I spoke with before refused to help me check in.

Personally, I think everyone is being too hard on this gym for reviews. I saw a lot of reviews about the place being dirty and, I have seen dirty, I can tell you this is no more dirty than any other gym; and dirty is not even an adjective I think of when I am there. I’ve heard a lot about L.A. Fitness being kind of «salesy» with their members. Honestly, they are just doing their jobs, and I thought the Sales Representative/​manager or whatever you want to call him, was very professional. They have a decent amount of treadmills, and yes, you do need to wait for one most of the time; but literally, the longest I waited was probably 2 minutes/​just worked out on the stepper machines behind the treadmills scoping out the next open space.
There are a lot of different people that come here; and the classes are free with the membership. My membership actually is not that expensive since I chose to only work out at this location.
I have found nothing to complain about while being here so far for a week. It is a very nice looking gym, with a lot of activity, and honestly, the busyness is kind of motivational… Even people who are intimidated when they aren’t very fit, should not really feel that way here. I have seen all sizes. The only thing that is slightly intimidating is looking at the weight-​lifting area, and buff everyone is; but I am a female so I don’t feel so bad.
The locker rooms are also nice. I’ve seen reviews about people having their stuff stolen, I’m sure that wouldn’t happen if it was locked up properly. This is not a trashy gym. There seem to be a good number of professionals/​every day people/​teenagers/​college students that work out here.

We joined about 2 months ago my first gym ever so I have nothing to compare this location too except the Pottstown LA fitness.
I don’t shower here but I don’t get the dirty comments in other reviews the locker room here is almost always clean only one time did I come across a paper towel dispenser that was out of tissues. Pottstown I have only been to a few times on the weekends but there have literally been piles of trash sitting on the benches in the locker room
Also I prefer the layout of this gym over Pottstown there is a second level of cardio machines instead of just one big open room.

We joined La Fitness after being at the Spring Valley Y for many years. We like the price of half of what the Y charges. The machines are much better and work different sets of muscles out better. We have taken several classes and enjoyed them a lot. My girlfriend is being trained by the trainers and she has seen great progress. We are very pleased with the place
JIM and Patty from Limerick

I belonged to LA Fitness for a year before quitting. They are horrible, they never have paper towels and the equipment is always broken. Why pay money to join this gym and carry one more stress in your life. Gyms are supposed to relieve stress, not create it!

I actually think the gym itself is pretty nice, there’s lots of machines and free weights that are in good condition.
My only complaint is that the hot tub is always out of order and that is just unacceptable when you are a franchise as big as la fitness.

I joined a few weeks ago, and was a bit apprehensive due to the less than stellar reviews. I was pleasantly surprised, however. The locker room is clean, and the equipment is in very good condition. Much nicer/​cleaner than the Spring Valley YMCA, and half the price!

Very bad experience from the management and customer care staff… They have a ‘Eat this shit or GET LOST’ attitude.

I belonged to the LA Fitness in Collegeville for about 1 ½ years, but gave it up. Due to medical problems with my legs, I was there primarily to use the pool. Unfortunately for me, the pool was a few degrees too cold; a number of other members had the same complaint. Tried switching to the LA Fitness in Norristown, but had the same problem there.
Up thing about LA Fitness was there was an age minimum of about 14 to use the gym and the pool wasn’t being taken up with kiddie lessons like at the YMCA. It isn’t that I «hate» kids, but when you have a lot adults trying to work out, we’re there to work out, not babysit other people’s unattended kids or have to go at odd times to work around kiddie programs like at the YMCA.

I go to this gym whenever I’m visiting my parents. To give you a frame of reference, I usually go to gyms/​studios in New York City. So compared to some of those dirty, cramped, expensive places, this place is pretty good. Reasonably priced, relatively clean, large studios for classes, friendly people (my mom who is also a member here told a lady in the locker room that I was getting married and she gave me a gift — totally true, and the girls on the machines would let me alternate sets with them — rarely happens to me in the city). Jacuzzi is a plus.
Parking close to the gym is a little hard during peak hours. No towels… but you drive there. Throw your stuff in your car and bring it.
I usually go for classes and I’ve liked most of them. (The only reason why I didn’t like some of them as much was because the music was country and rock the whole time which isn’t my first choice of workout music.) I wish the bikes for spin classes were set up a bit more staggered because if you sit in the back row all you see is the butt of the girl/​guy in front of you and definitely not the instructor (especially if the instructor happens to be short). Monica’s step/​kickbox classes are a lot of fun. I remember taking my first class with her… I was thinking this was way too easy and I’m going to have to run on the treadmill and lift afterwards and the instructor doesn’t look like the bodybuilders that teach at my gyms back in NYC… and then oops that was just the warmup… and before I know it the class is over and I’m sweaty and sore. And I had to laugh when she played mc hammer.
Another reason for the extra stars is Bobby D (manager?) who signed me up for the gym. No sales pressure. He was actually nice. I was shocked. I thought mean, pushy sales guys and managers were a mandatory part of the gym experience. (At another gym, I went to try a free class and the manager held my driver’s license hostage until I agreed to sign up for a membership.) Bobby even explained the small print and fees to me instead of trying to gloss over things just to get me to sign and I had no surprise charges on my cc. And he didn’t try to sell me more membership than I needed. (Yup, all things that have happened to me before so I was on the look-​out this time.) And several months later (I had left town again and was back visiting my parents for a day), I went to the gym and he remembered me and he was his usual nice, friendly self and helped me get into a packed spin class.

This gym is getting progressively worse. They keep cancelling classes, sometimes permanently and not replacing them with others, and hiring incompetent instructors. Sometimes they get incompetent subs that I think must come from the King of Prussia branch, other times it would appear that they let someone teach other classes outside of her expertise, despite her lack of training or ability at them — for example, if you’re going to teach yoga, shouldn’t you at least know some yoga poses? The floor in the studio is always disgusting. Dust balls blow across it like tumbleweeds and if you walk around barefoot, your feet will turn black. About 50% of the time they don’t refill the paper towels and disinfectant dispensers, so it’s always a mystery.
This gym has never been entirely on top of things, but in the last year it has gone downhill. The only positive is that they have stopped randomly cancelling every other class as much as they used to. This is by far the closest gym to my house which is why I haven’t switched, but I’ve been considering it for some time.

Staff is rude-​especially for how much they charge for a membership. It’s a basic gym-​small pool (maybe 20 meters). They tried to tell me it was Olympic size (50 meters) lol. It does have a basketball court– that’s the only perk, if you like to play. Other than that, this gym is not anything special. Way over priced with pushy sales people.

Dear Manager,
please do something to clean up the gym that you are supposed to be managing. The mens locker room smells horrible… In addition, whats with all of the young punks DROPPING weights on the floor? You need to enforce your policy on that. if they cant lift the weight to begin with, and then only struggle to perform a few half or even quarter reps because they arent intelligent enough to know better… then toss the weights onto the ground as though they’ve accomplished some miraculous feat of strength, they need to be informed of their behavior.
not to mention that today nobody showed up at 5:00 am to open the doors. there were a dozen people standing out side waiting and waiting to get in. For us who have to drive a fair distance to get to the gym before heading out to work only to find out that their were no employees on site was disappointing. Had to then drive back home to get ready for work with no work out today. I understand that things happen and sometimes employees arent at work when they are supposed to be. but what is the back up plan in place for ensuring that paid members get to use the gym when its supposed to be open?

If you are looking for an above basic gym, this is it. It has just enough machines and cardio equipment to not feel crowded. Great space layout. I gave it three stars b/​c there are no member towels. You bring your own. Also, lack of various fitness classes. They basically have the same 5 – 6 classes but the plus is that they offer them multiple times a day.
It get’s the job done. Another plus is that you don’t have to reserve day care. You can just drop off as opposed to my previous gym.

I’m stuck with this La Fitness, as it’s the closest Gym from my home. I’ve been going to this Collegeville La Fitness since its inception. If there was another option I’d change gyms based on the price alone. They trap customers with a low sign up price, and then they jack it up like a meathead with a shake weight. Since my wife and me both have a membership that’s 34.99 times two. With other gyms offering lower membership rates, this makes me more steamed than the creepy old guy with a hairy back in a La Fitness sauna.
I don’t even consider going in the evening because of the after work rush. So, I can only really comment on the morning staff. The receptionist girl has been there for a while, so I’ll give her props for lasting this long. The average career life span of a morning staff receptionist at La Fitness is shorter than a 2^nd Lieutenant jumping into a hot LZ in Vietnam of 67′.
Some fellow Unilocalers have commented about the cleanliness, but I noticed an increase in cleanliness when they hired a young kid named Dan. Unlike the last morning janitor, who would hang around the receptionist and hit on her all morning, Dan actually cleans.
The music is awful and the playlist loops often. Nothing gets me more pumped when I’m about to put up a shoulder press than hearing the song Moring Wood by Nth Degree.
I’m surprised this Gym is pulling such a low score for being a fairly new facility. A gym member has to expect the same annoyances at any Globo gym: the meatheads, the lame music, broke equipment. However, this La Fitness is spacious, with two big floor rooms to do a free style thug workout if one desires. La Fitness has a variety of features such as a sauna, pool, babysitting service, and booty boot camp classes. I would gladly waiver all these extras, I don’t use, for a cheaper membership rate. I’m bounded to this gym by location; if a Planet Fitness or a Retro Fitness comes to my area I’m likely to throw myself off the La Fitness Midnight Meat Train.