Detroit Tough

I live in LA but travel to Detroit a few days every month. Was looking for a gym like I had in LA and the team at Detroit tough turned out to be awesome. The place is great, the classes are amazing and the team is even better. If you live in Detroit you are lucky and if you are in town and enjoy interval/​circuit training I highly recommend the gym and the trainers.

Whoa Boy! this was a workout I’m visiting from LA and I was told this is a cool workout place so my daughter, and sister-​in-​law went we are all 45 yrs old and up and Lindsay the trainer there was fantastic she worked us to our ability and maybe even a little more I highly recommend this place SO COOL Thanks Lindsay you are FANTASTIC!

It seems to me that lately a new gym is popping up on every corner. So to be perfectly honest, when Courtney and I planned on visiting Detroit Tough I expected a typical gym… just like all the others. But as soon as we entered Detroit Tough, met the passionate owner and saw the graffiti-​filled walls — we started to realize this place was special.
There is a large parking lot right in front of the bright red entrance door, so it’s very easy to park and get right in to the gym. Detroit Tough is set up as an «open gym» atmosphere with everything from kettle bells, ropes to climb and weight benches. But what sets this gym apart from the mega workout chains in existence is it’s character. The place is clad with tons of antique, Detroit memorabilia and everywhere you look there’s signs, graffiti and even hand written words of motivation and inspiration. Which all added up to tell me one thing… this wasn’t just a gym, but a place people came to be part of a community and a team.
Detroit Tough memberships work in a variety of ways. You can take classes (more than 40 are offered per week), you can work out in their open gym, or participate in their Endurance Club or TRX Bootcamp. But whatever you choose, there is an abundance of motivation and support given by the coaches to each and every individual member.
Detroit Tough definitely has a team-​like mentality that encourages you to work hard and push your physical and mental limits, but with an overall feeling of support and personal care. But that mentality doesn’t just stay within the confines of the gym. Detroit Tough owner, Roger Dyjak, has a passion for helping the Detroit community, where he was born and raised. He not only gives back but encourages the Detroit Tough members to do so as well.
They help the community in a variety of ways but Roger’s passion is aiding Detroit’s Homeless Veteran population. Members regularly drop off donations at Detroit Tough and on Saturday mornings Roger brings them to the Detroit Vet Center and since they started this outreach in 2013, they have donated over 50,000 items! Courtney and I recently joined Roger on a Saturday morning and it was beautiful to see community members genuinely caring about each other’s wellbeing.
Detroit Tough does a fabulous job of training peoples bodies — but they also push them to have a positive mind and giving heart. Now that’s what I call a complete full body workout!

This gym is like a weird mixture of Cheers and a military boot camp. Everyone knows your name, and they’ll sure as hell yell at you to get your ass moving. I had a previous membership at a nonprofit organization downtown (also the name of a Village People song) and even though that gym had a pool, climbing wall, at least 12 showers per gender, and towels, and a dozen trainers, I prefer flipping dirty tires, bringing in my own towel, and hoping I get to use the one shower before heading off to work. That being said, if you prefer eucalyptus steam rooms to rolling around in the dirt and cussing… probably not the gym for you. If you’re tired of your current routine and want a nice ass kicking… come on in.
Another note, this is a great place for all fitness levels. Seriously. The coaches are very mindful of physical limitations per member and work with you if you have said limitations. I had painful athritis like symptoms for a couple of months and the coaches tailored my favorite class [Detroit Tough] to fit my limitations and I still got a nice ass whooping in.
Love this place.
Oh yeah… a friend asked me if this place has a daycare. I laughed. No they do not.

This was sorely needed in downtown/​corktown Detroit!
Detroit Tough is both an open gym and offers almost fifty classes a week in everything from kettle bells to running. They have a great selection crossfit-​style functional equipment, like rocks to carry, giant tires to flip, walls to climb, and a rope wall to scale. They also have traditional equipment that I’m more used to, like a bench press and squat racks (with bumper plates!!!). If you are looking for a family-​style gym, a gym with a pool, rows on rows of treadmills, or dumbbells, this isn’t the gym for you (although you already have plenty to chose from in metro Detroit). If, however, you are looking for an urban gym with both classes taught by experts and an open gym format and with a huge variety of functional and traditional equipment, then there is no better place.