YMCA of Greater Indianapolis

I don’t think that the Pike YMCA is near as bad as some of the other reviews make it sound, but it certainly isn’t up to par with the other 3 YMCAs in town that I have spent at least an equal amount of time in.
The location is convenient for me as far as being in that area of town, but is not at all convenient as far as the actual building location goes. It’s inside a business park, and requires a lot of snaking around the roads inside the park, following small signs that are too few and far between, and driving through parking lots with speed bumps to finally get to the building. I haven’t ever had an issue with finding parking, either during the lunch hour or after work, and I don’t think it is ever a problem judging by how many spots are available in the general vicinity. Check-​in is like the other Ys with someone who scans you in at the front desk, except there is no gated entry that you then pass through so it seems like anybody could just walk in pretty easily if it were not for a diligent person at the front desk watching.
The locker room has been clean every time I am there. It’s smaller than other ones I’ve been to, but the crowd is smaller as well so it’s never seemed crowded. There is plenty of locker space, but I don’t think that they have permanent lockers for individuals to rent like some other gyms do. The lockers are full length lockers and are bigger than most at other Ys. Contrary to a previous review, they fit regular padlocks just fine. I use a regular sized Master Lock padlock every time I am here, and it has never been a struggle for me to put on the locker. They have a few showers, and they’ve always been as clean as any locker room shower I’ve seen anywhere else. They have foaming soap available in the showers on a pump dispenser, but at least once when I was taking a shower here mine was empty, so you might want to check first or just bring your own. Towels for showers are on the front desk, so don’t forget to grab one before you head in the locker room.
The actual workout area is just one open room, and has the same brand of machines as the Jordan Y with the little computer that you put your code into to keep track of your workouts. I’d say it is definitely setup with more of a focus on the weight lifting side of things. It seems to have just a slightly smaller sized weight area as Jordan when you combine the machines and free weight area, so there is ample access to equipment. The cardio area is lacking though. Getting a machine probably won’t be an issue because demand isn’t high, but getting two next to each other if you want to work out with a friend might be tough. It does not have the basketball court, pool, or racquetball courts like the Jordan, but it’s very clear on the website what they do and don’t have so you shouldn’t be surprised. It does have a few private rooms in which instructor led classes take place in, and they have a childcare area also. They have 4 TVs in there, but they are only viewable from the 8 – 10 pieces of cardio equipment in one row. Nobody in the other row of cardio equipment, on any of the weight machines, or anywhere in the free weight area can see any of them. I don’t know who ordered that setup, but it’s terrible and a waste of having that many TVs in your gym. My other complaint about this area is the section with mats that are set up for stretching/​core workouts. The mats are extremely soft and fluffy, which makes doing crunches or plank exercises or working with a medicine ball on them kind of difficult. The only other option is to kneel or lay down on the hard carpeted floors, which isn’t desirable. All the other Ys have better mats, so this one must have strayed from the standard for some reason.
The staff here isn’t quite as nice as at other Ys I’ve been to. The person who does check-​in is usually super nice and friendly, but that’s about it as far as interaction from any staff there, at least in my experience. Maybe I am spoiled form the Jordan and especially the IndyHub staff always saying hi and smiling when you pass them, but it makes you feel a little awkward here when they don’t. It seems like they spend a lot of time talking to the regulars who are there that they are friends with. The people that use this gym are also a different bunch than I am used to at the other ones I visit. It seems like it’s a small core of people that are here a lot, and they have no issue at all yelling very loudly to get an extra couple reps in, or talking over all the other noise to each other very loudly. That’s just basic gym courtesy to avoid doing. Cleanliness inside the gym appears good, but I don’t notice employees going around cleaning equipment that isn’t in use like I do at other places.
In conclusion, this is a decent gym with all the basic amenities you’d hope to find. Although, if I was going to buy a YMCA membership with the intention of solely using this gym and no others in the city, I think I would look elsewhere because of the price

Pike YMCA is symbolic of many of the issues I have with Pike Township. Lackadaisical attitudes, no real vision, and all they really care about is the money. Unfortunately, this describes many of the businesses in Pike and Park 100. Their what do you expect mentality is the reason why so much petty crime exists in Park 100 and why they put up with it. People are here to do the least amount of exertion possible and still feel good about themselves that they had a «workout.» People just sit on the machine that you are waiting for so they can catch their breath, rest and people watch while you try your best to not say something ugly. Their lack of vision is evident since they have had the breaking ground sign for years and their is no evidence that anything will come to fruition. And since they only really care about the money and those paid one on one workouts, you get kicked off machines that you are patiently trying to use.

This YMCA really annoys me. I stopped by here when we first moved into our house two years ago and they said the place was just temporary, that the new Pike YMCA would be breaking ground soon. That was two years ago and no ground has been broken at all. There is no pool, no basketball courts, I don’t believe raquet ball either. It’s pretty small and doesn’t seem very clean. What is more annoying is that the lockers are really weird. They are super narrow and my stuff rarely fits in there and the loops that you put your padlocks through are in a strange position so that you can only use teeny tiny locks on them. I usually have to check one out at the front desk and leave me keys with them to check it out. The entry and entrance is annoying too, you have to weave through the streets of the business park because they don’t have their own entrance. They close at 9pm during the week too which is not convenient for most Pike residents. Lots of us work late hours and some folks in this area work second or third shift. I’ll only go here as a last resort or if my husband wants to work out together. I have a blue access card through my health insurance so I can work out almost anywhere. The Y makes you use their card so you can’t earn blue points through working out here. Will they ever build the new one?

This YMCA is in a really obscure location… a business park.
I’m visiting from Charlotte and wanted to find a Y location that I could use while in town. My sister told me there was one close and I thought she was exaggerating about the location but nope, it’s really in a business park. It’s on the corner of 71^st and Zionsville so you can see it right there but getting to it is a bit difficult. After a few failed attempts that led to dead ends, I finally got to it and was happy to see it was a ghost town in there. They have a good number of treadmills, strength training machines and free weights but seem to be lacking on the number of ellipticals and treadmills. They provide towels to use and wipe the machines down with but only five or six water bottles for the entire workout room. This gets to be a pain in the butt when someone grabs a towel and bottle and hoards it, preventing others from wiping away their sweat. Friendly staff though and a very clean facility, I will definitely check it out again while in Indy.