Prairie Life Center

I love Prairie Life. I ride their bikes, occasionally do their stair machine, work out with free weights some. I can always get some equipment. I also, more than anything else, is there swimming pool and hot tub. I haven’t been a member of long enough to use their outdoor pools but their indoor pool always have a lame available or one comes available fairly quickly. The hot tub by the pool it’s hot enough. It is hard to find a hot tub that is hot enough these days. Staff are always friendly and greet you as you come and go. Occasionally, they have member events. I appreciate the effort they put into these!

I don’t know why the reviews are so harsh. My family and I enjoy this facility very much. Plenty of space. Yes it’s a bit outdated but not terrible and it has everything you need. Zumba with Rodney is AWESOME! My kids like the daycare and their pools are wonderful. Never too crowded and the staff is great. Ask for Kelcie or Brad to give you a tour.

Whatever you do, do not give these people your email address. I’ve wrote them five times trying to get off their list with no luck. It’s infuriating that this gym doesn’t have enough respect for the people who visit them to leave them alone when they ask not to be contacted.
Regarding the gym, I tried it out for a week to see if I liked it. What I found was the equipment was old and worn, showing its age. The facility was crawling with kids. Overall I was sufficiently underwhelmed and ended up down the street.

PLC is a fairly large gym and it’s a busy place on weeknight evenings and sometimes available cardio equipment is a bit scarce. They need to replace some of their older recumbent bikes, but the newer ones they do have are great! They have a fair amount of two different brands of weight machines as well as lots of free weights. The weight machines do appear to be clean and properly maintained which was a problem at my previous gym.
The locker rooms are fairly big and there are whirlpools and really really old saunas in them. The carpeting is pretty dingy and gross, but frankly, I don’t think there should ever be carpeting in a locker room, anyway. Yuck. Shower pressure is generally not good, either. Since the locker room is kinda bad, I rarely use it except for as a place to stash my stuff during a workout. I generally come to the gym in my workout gear and go home to shower in order to avoid the locker room as much as possible.
There are indoor and outdoor pools that seem to be fairly well-​maintained and there is also a gym area with basketball hoops. The only thing we really miss about Matt Ross is they set up badminton nets for a couple of hours every weekend. I wish PLC would do that, but there would probably be a lot of basketball players who would be grumpy if they lost any of their open hoops gym time.
There are a fair number of classes that are included in the membership, but those classes that are not included are very pricey and are certainly outside of our budget. A great example is they have a fabulous little room with Pilates Reformers but the Reformer classes are ridiculously expensive, so they’re probably not getting a lot of attendees. There aren’t many of the included classes that I can attend because the times during the week are typically too early for me to get to after work. But when I have been able to take classes, the instructors have always been incredibly good.
They do offer personal training as well, but my experience with one of their personal trainers wasn’t great. As part of our membership, we were supposed to get two personal training sessions each. My hubby’s sessions were both cancelled and rescheduled multiple times. Once, he went to the gym and the trainer hadn’t bothered to show up and had never made any effort to contact him ahead of time. I never got my second training session as my sessions got cancelled and rescheduled so many times that I finally gave up.
My favorite thing about this gym is that it is not over-​run with children. Not that I mind children, but at Matt Ross, they were everywhere all the time! Little kids should never ever be in certain parts of a gym for safety reasons, so I like that PLC enforces their safety rules and therefore it feels safer and also a bit more serene as one can workout without having to deal with little Timmy running around throwing hissy fits. They do offer childcare at PLC and I think that’s just great!
There is a snack bar available that serves up food and smoothies.
Overall, the gym is clean and well-​maintained, but it’s definitely nothing special to look at. In general, the décor has an outdated and drab feel.

Clean, lots of equipment. However, has one of the strictest cancellation policies — must tell them one month before canceling (at that’s if you do it at the end of the month — otherwise, if you cancel in the middle of the month, they fully expect 1 ½ months notice). Couldn’t find any other gym in the area that ever expected such a long time. And be sure to get it in writing! I simply talked to someone, and since I didn’t remember her name, that didn’t count and was stuck with yet another month’s dues. When I complained, no one cared and I was told I absolutely had to pay.

I came here once for a Aqua Zumba event. I was really impressed with all the extras they provide their customers. However, I was fearful to ask what the monthly membership would be for all those «extras». I am still happy with my basic workout at the y. No need for a gym bar when there are plenty of options outside the gym. Also the pool had to be a little off in the chemicals because it was making my eyes burn some.

Well, it’s been a while since my first review, and I think some things have changed for the better.
To begin, equipment has been updated, with several new elipticals and bicycles. New flat screen televisions are nice! Carpet has been replaced in the lockerrooms (although I still think carpeted lockerroom=mildew galore), showers updated, tacky plants removed upstairs, and fewer teen workers either standing around doing nothing or «cleaning» at inopportune times and locations. I don’t know if management has wisely decided big cleaning should occur sometime other than busy hours or what, but I am happier now!
Also, it seems like more group classes are offered, and after observing the people participating and viewing their «before» and «after» pictures, I am thinking I might try one out!
Still the occasional parent with the «my child is exempt from the rules» mentality allows their kid to play on the workout equipment upstairs or like one mom, just leaves them to run free in the lockerroom. I wish management would either require these people to check their tots into the child care or have them leave.
Still no plans to go elsewhere, as I think Prairie Life is a good deal, and it is convenient for me as far as hours and amenities. I am looking forward to the outdoor pools opening for the summer!

Love this place!
Big, clean, not too crowded, friendly staff.

I have been using a groupon for the last month. I used to go to Scott Fitness when I lived downtown, so it was nice to be at a place where all the TVs worked and transmitted signals to treadmill’s. It was also nice to finally experience classes that took place in separate and private rooms. I was also happy to see 3 pools (one indoor) and a snack bar area.
Things I wish I could change? The Pilate’s Reformer class should not be an additional cost. What the hell is a membership for? I would also love to get rid of all those energy draining florescent lights. Yes, they are eco-​friendly but very distracting and depressing.
Yoga studio and Pilate’s studio are in the same room, so you are downward dog while wedged against a reformer machine.
I refuse to shower at the gym, so I can’t comment on those facilities.
Really, I am still processing my opinion since I haven’t tried everything out just yet.

Right after I wrote my last review the management changed… for the better! There are have been a ton of updates to the facility since Dustin arrived and things seem to be constantly changing for the better. I look forward to all the new that is to come.
Again, the reason I stay at Prairie Life (I just signed a 2 year contract) is because of the amazing people that workout and work there. I was gone for a week and the manager asked if I’d been on vacation — they notice!
If you need a top notch trainer or massage therapist, Cassy Smith is your girl! She kicks my butt on a daily basis! Rosemary also teaches a fabulous weights class, Mari is killer in spin class and they’ve added k-​band training as well.
It’s worth the money!

I totally agree with Jennifer. The staff makes you feel more like a person and not just a number!!!

Fantastic facility! I have been a member for years and the club has never looked better. My kids absolutely love it and I can’t say enough great things about their staff. They have a new manager that is extremely attentive and everyone has a very positive attitude. I consider myself lucky to have a Prairie Life in OP!

My husband and I have been members at praire life for a year but just cancelled our membership. We feel they are over priced and need some updates and not very clean .and they recently increased their prices on their volleyball training !
There are some great people who work there tho– it just needs better management and updating. There’s a lot of up-​to-​date gyms to compete with that offer more for less $$

I had a membership at Prarie Life on Barkley for two years. During my membership the place seemed to become more run down. The woman manager never seemed to address my concerns. The womens locker rooms were dirty and so were the showers. They needed updated equipment too. I am now a member of Scott Fitness and believe me I have been missing out on quality.

Prairie Life Center is a full-​service fitness center located in Overland Park. Prairie Life is a great option for those that want something other than the cold, characterless chain fitness centers in town. While it is a little more expensive it offers all the same features of a chain fitness center with a personal touch. The lighting is gives the entrance an ambiance that stale fluorescent lighting of a regular gym can’t achieve. There is a smoothie bar overlooking the indoor pool, and the weight/​cardio areas upstairs overlook the basketball gym.
Everything about this fitness center says clean, upscale and expensive– and it is. While the prices are higher than other gyms you get what you pay for– the feeling of a chic, exclusive fitness center. Another nice feature is that it is just across the street form the Indian Trail running and bike trail, so if you want to run outside before or after a work out or massage– the (36+ mile) option is at your finger tips
The best feature of this gym is the smell; it doesn’t smell stale, dirty or light sweat. I got the feeling I was at a resort of some kind when I was there. The only downsides are that it is not open 24 hours and it is slightly more expensive than the chain fitness centers. If you live in the area and are looking for a better fitness experience. I highly recommend Prairie Life Center