Rude Recreation Center

We have started researching the local recreation centers. Like everyone else, we are back to fitness, rather, continuing what we started at the end of June, 2015 — walking, and walking lots! (bought the fitness trackers, etc, which really motivate you to get up and move!)
Today we checked out the Rude Recreation Center. It’s large, and has many things that a person could want in a recreation center. We always look at the cardio machines (especially the treadmills), as well as some of the weight machines. The Rude Rec Center has everything that we need.
There is also an indoor pool, which I might have to get in, as the smell is calling me — I have always loved the smell of chlorine! I’m like a fish when it comes to water!
There is a decent parking lot, so that’s a big plus for me. Oh, when you are working on the cardio machines, the large glass wall looks out onto Sports Authority Field, so we watched as people arrived on light rail, heading to the stadium for the Bronco game later today. It’s a nice view while working out.
There is also a large gymnasium, and other rooms, probably for classes, but I admit, that I didn’t look into those yet.
There are many options (fees) when you attend one of the Denver Recreation Centers. We opted for the 30 punch card/​pass. It doesn’t expire (so you can carry it over into the next month or two), until you have used up all 30 visits. Oh, you can’t share punch card/​pass with anyone else, but that’s ok.
The hours are:
Mon-​Thu: 6:00 AM — 9:00 PM
Fri: 6:00 AM — 8:00 PM
Sat: 9:00 AM — 3:00 PM
Sun: 9:00 AM — 1:00 PM
The interior is large, clean, and a nice place to work out, and work off those holidays calories.
We’ll see you there!
Happy New Year! 2016

I usually go to the 20^th Street rec center, but stopped in here today because 20^th is closed for cleaning this week. I was there early (8 – 9 am) and it was not crowded at all. The weight room is really nice – some of the equipment is definitely older but everything was clean and in good shape. I like the openness of the weight and cardio room and the big windows looking out over mile high stadium. The basketball gym is also nice with a new floor. The parking lot was also super convenient!

It’s a pretty good place to work out. I typically go weekdays between 4 – 7 and have never had a problem finding weights or cardio equipment. I’ve gone for lap swimming and it isn’t hard to get a lane if you get there when it opens. Parking is easy and there are also trails nearby if you feel like jogging outside. Some of the cleintel are a little obnoxious (people must drop their kids off or something) but no gym is perfect.

Clean, not very crowded, and a weight room with all the equipment you could want. No $ 300 outfits or shitty entitled attitudes here, just a bunch of people getting their workout in. I can’t speak for the pool or basketball court, but my experience with the weight/​cardio room is that everyone seems to actually know gym etiquette. Weights are put back after use, no one ‘claiming’ stations for themselves, no crap left on the cardio equipment, no one in the corner taking selfies giving everyone the stink eye, etc. And it’s cheap too.

Rude by far had the best weight rooms at of all the rec centers around, with old school iron weights, new weights and a new set up all together this place is amazing for anyone trying to get a good workout on the other hand the pool and gym are great as well very big and spacey although it might get packed every once in a while this is still one if the best!

Like its patrons or not, Rude is one of the premier recreation centers in Denver. There is not a single recreation center I’ve been to that has a better weight room: A gigantic space with multiple types of various weights complete with picture windows that show a downtown panorama. So yeah, it’s in West Denver so that means a lot of lower-​income people work out here (I am one of them).
People like to passively-​agressively complain about the center employees not enforcing rules, but I bet they don’t actually do anything about that when they are. I complained to management about kids being in the weight room messing with stuff and guess what, they enforced the rule that kids can’t be in the weight room. Problem solved!
And other than that, I haven’t really encountered any big issues here. Yeah, sometimes the weights can be a mess, but I’ve always been able to use anything I needed with no or little wait since there are almost always additional machines you can use while someone is on another one (There are straight up four bench presses and even more modified bench press machines).
I’ve also gone here for swimming and again pretty good facilities. You do have to compete with the kids sometimes during the day, but I haven’t had too many big difficulties with this. The locker room is sometimes a bit messy, but again when I told the management about it, they seem to have redoubled their efforts and had a cleaner locker room the next time round.
The reality is that rec center passes (as of now) are a really great deal for how much you can get out of them. I don’t expect Colorado Athletic Club-​like service from a city run rec center. But this one actually does rival some private clubs in terms of actual access to equipment. Rude is simply one of the best that I’ve seen.

Urgh. Summertime… swimming… kids… splashing. OK, City of Denver, the «Kids Swim Free All Summer» promotion is awesome, it really is, but it also means that there’s less lap swimming for adults and once the pool is set up for laps, you’re swimming in water that’s had up to 100 kids in it before you (I’ll just say the pool is usually really clean, but now it’s summer — I’m surprised I don’t have pink eye yet).
The locker rooms? Pretty gross at present. That’s not the rec center’s fault — they try to keep it tidy, but when you have hordes of kids coming through, unsupervised… doing kid stuff, it gets pretty nasty. It actually smelled like poo the other day and it was clear nobody had taken a poo there recently. I retched. Alas, it’s just like this until September; I could try the Wash Park pool but in the past it’s been full of really competitive swimmers and swimming next to them makes me feel like poo.

It is virtually impossible to have a satisfying workout here. The weight room is full of meatheads, the treadmills are always broken, and there are always little kids screwing around on the equipment. The staff is incompetent and does not enforce the rules of the facility. I’m letting my membership lapse.

Rude pronounced RUDY! Back in the day we came here for one reason and that was to lift, this place was a dungeon and it was hardcore! Everyone here working out here was about it and there were no posers allowed so come in you fancy brand new workout gear and get clowned, this spot was grimy and it was about putting in work. It was raw and hardcore and there were some cats in here pushing up some serious weight.
Rude has hence got a makeover and its a lot nicer then it was back in the day, they have a nice pool, decent locker rooms and yes they still have a killer weight room. This is by far the best weight facility in Denver and even with the upgrade it hasn’t lost its soul and is still a no pretentious get your workout on location!
Have access to this location for that repetitive saying in this whole DPR tour, a fraction of the cost of joining some trendy hot spot with top 40 hits playing incessantly!