Balance Gym Foggy Bottom

The Good: LOVE coming to the gym through the Fairmont entrance – so luxurious and calming – flowers in the lobby, great front door men, beautiful windows and atrium; front desk rocks (particularly Ian and the Jennifer Lawrence look alike). They have some great instructors (yeah to Amanda who runs Pound for keeping it fun-​I LOVE this class; Lori in gentle yoga goes around giving people mini massages; Rob at bootcamp has us work in teams which keeps the energy moving).
The Bad: What is up with the lobby? I can live with the bad décor, but the mess, clutter and lack of professionalism is out of hand. They recently decided to drag their offices and break room out of the small side rooms (where they belonged) and into the lobby (I am not kidding)! Now they have two desks the size of Texas in this small room, piled with junk. Aside from computers and keyboards, on a good day it’s highlighters and ballpoint pens, pictures, inboxes 3 stories high, stacks of paper, shelving with 3 ring binders, kleenex and water bottles. On a bad day, add to that papers spread out, dirty gym clothes, overstuffed gym bags, backpacks, antibacterial wipes, shampoo, conditioner, empty boxes with wrapping strewn around. I’ve noticed members increasingly staying away from the lobby, as the staff have turned it into a staff lounge. I’ve now heard more about the club’s dirty laundry than I ever want to know – who hates doing expense reports, what bills are owed, when the online system isn’t working properly, what people are doing for the weekend, who got burglarized.
Upshot: This gym has huge potential. With a little more attention to their environment – this could be a really great gym.
UPDATE: I’m putting my membership on freeze, and moving on for a while. However, I did want to note that I finally get this gym. I was taking a hard core work out class, doing a move where we all stick our butts out, and I found myself looking at the instructor’s back end. You could distinctly see underneath his shorts in big pink block letters the word «CUPID». It was pretty hilarious. It hit me — this gym is all about sweating and BODY POWER. Because they do a great job with that, I’ve upgraded my grade from 1 star to 3. Also, they are making more effort to keep the desks clean, and while it’s still an office, the staff aren’t generally using it to hang out anymore. There communications director wrote me an email on Unilocal letting me know they were taking what I’d said into account, and I always appreciate that kind of response. And finally, they were super cool about putting my membership on freeze. Called in — got someone right away, she took care of it, gave me a discount, and sent an invoice, all on the same day. Impressive administration!

Overall, I am really happy with the gym as it provided the perfect avenue to incorporate exercising as part of my daily routine, and to gain confidence and keen interest in working out and getting fit. My only regret is that I did not join Balance gym years ago when I first moved to DC. In regards to my personal trainer, Olga, I could not be happier that she was assigned to me for my initial complimentary training session. I retained her as my permanent trainer as she was the perfect fit in challenging, encouraging, supporting, and bestowing a love of working out. I immensely look forward to our sessions, and have gained so much confidence and enthusiasm as I see my body evolving, getting stronger, and fitter. In short, I truly loved my time at Balance gym, with the variety of classes, the happy supportive staff, and the personal training

This gym is absolutely awesome. I have being doing CrossFit since 2009 and have gone to probably a dozen gyms. I’ve never been to one that has such a friendly atmosphere. The head coach Jim starts each class by having each person introduce themselves to one another so you can’t help but be friends with the other gym members. Class sizes are capped out at a maximum to keep the instructor to coach ratio pretty low. All the coaches are super friendly and have such amazing personalities. I haven’t had all of the coaches teach me, but I can personally attest to Jim, Olga, Trip and Aaron how amazing they are as instructors and people. All the coaches are also very experienced and are really helpful in teaching you some of the more advanced techniques that a lot of CrossFit gyms will shy away from. Another plus about this gym if you pay for a membership here you can go to all four of the Balance Gyms in the DC area. Foggy Bottom also has a pool, regular weights, hot tub, aerobic machines, and a lot of other amenities. All in all, it’s an awesome gym and I’m sad that I have to move away!

Ever since Balance gym took over the Fairmont Hotels gym the service has been amazing and the facilities have been greatly improved. I would guess that 1 star review is from before Balance took over the gym (or maybe he was just bitter bc someone was using the squat rack when he wanted it? sorry dude but it’s a gym, that happens. If you can’t stand to wait a few seconds then build a private one in your home).
A gym for professional athletes, old foggies, and college kids a like! Everyone is accepted with open arms and it feels like a family. When I work out, I want to do just that, I don’t want to go clubbing. The other gyms in dc are either pathetic or made to be like dance clubs w techno blaring, douche bags and narcissists a plenty. This is not that. This place is just filled with normal friendly people who are trying to be healthy, it’s not intimidating at all.
They also have lots of social events which is pretty awesome, especially if you’re new to dc bc it’s so easy to make friends. They do these awesome «customer appreciation» parties open to members of all locations at least once a month and in the summer mroe. A few times they rented out all of Jack’s boathouse on the water front and the members could use all the kayaks and paddle boards for free, I went to a tequila tasting on their rooftop at another location (it’s paleo!), an olympics or world cup party where they had a huge jumbo screen and everyone came dressed up representing their favorite teams and they had a baby pool on the rooftop, they had another party where they had a giant inflatable obstical course, they had one with a giant inflatable slip n slide, they had one with a bike that had a blender attached to the back and yo ahd to ride it to make and recieve a margarita or daquari, they rented out a bar once for a party, they did camping trips, they did hiking trips to old ragg… the list goes on. I should add all the parties so far have been open bar w free food!
I also like that they do lots of charity events, in a city like DC where the gap between rich and poor is so big, it is nice to be a part of a place that cares so much about its community and gives back so much. And on my end, it’s a good excuse to do things like bike to the beach, the cupid undie run, and marathons and spartan runs because I have a group of ppl to do them with.
I’ve never done crossfit so I can’t speak to that (though the reviews seem to be good), but I can say the personal trainers are amazing. If you actually listen to the trainers and do what they say, you can do wonders for yourself. I lost 30 pounds in a little more than 4 weeks.
It’s the kind of place I can actually motivate myself to go to (unlike other gyms). It’s not a chore like gyms usual.
Oh and prob the best part is that when I went to take a tour and find out about it, there was NO sales pitch or pressure to sign up. I always feel uncomfortable when looking at gyms bc I feel like they lock me in a room and try to force or guilt trip me into signing up. This was nothing like that. I guess when you’re gym is that good, the results speak for itself and you don’t need to do those hard sales.
So to everyone considering I say, you’ll never know unless you give it a try. so try it for yourself!

Balance includes everything you could want in a gym — the staff is incredible and always willing to help, they know you by name and speak to you every time you come in. The locker rooms include showers, soap, shampoo, lotion and towels so you don’t have to bring anything with you and they are always clean and well kept. The classes are incredible — I love spin and barre, but have recently tried bootcamp and balance body, both of which were wonderful. The classes are small so you get personalized attention. I’m extremely happy with my choice to go to Balance and would recommend it to anyone.

I recently joined Balance Gym Crossfit and I absolutely love it. Aside from the workouts, the facility is amazing. The staff is friendly, the locker rooms are really nice, and the showers are the best. I can workout, shower, and walk to work since it’s right down the street from my office.
I was a little apprehensive about joining Crossfit. I heard stories about how people who do Crossfit are in their own world and are always trying to compete against others in the class. That is not the case for Balance. Everyone is so helpful in providing tips on form and technique. People were so friendly helping me get started and showing me how to do the workouts. Most of the classes are small so you can get the attention from the coaches. There is a level of competitiveness, but only to push you to do your best! I’ve referred many of my coworkers and they love it too. I would highly recommend!

I was here in DC for 4.5 weeks and was fortunate enough to be able to line up 8 personal training sessions with Brian Dunlap at the Balance Gym in the Fairmont at M and 24^th. Gym is a wonderful facility and Brian really helped me work on flexibility and strength. He taught me a lot that I can use on my own (assuming I can find some inner discipline to continue working without him encouraging, cajoling and challenging me.) I feel working with him was a great catalyst towards pushing myself to continue working on flexibility and core strength. Thanks Brian!

I first came across the Fairmont’s Balance Gym when the Sports Club LA in DC was being renovated and we were sent to the Fairmont for their swimming pool. The salt-​water pool and Jacuzzi are awesome! The locker room is a lot better and modern than the Sports Club LA but the layout of the gym is awful, very small and in different levels. The cardio equipment is also very old. Their membership is around $ 80 a month and their schedule of classes is not very convenient, as they have very limited classes.
I recommend this gym if you live nearby and want to do swimming all year round or are into crossfit.

Balance is a neat little gym inside the Fairmont luxury hotel. Friendly, unpretentious staff, good trainers, and an impressive menu of healthy Paleo food available if you’re into that kind of thing.
I LOVE the automated lockers. Never bring a padlock to the gym again! It’s as simple as entering a four-​digit code. Even cooler, you get a full-​size locker taller than you are.
Balance Gym is highly oriented towards Crossfit, so as a non-​Crossfit-​type, I’m not able to take full advantage of the amenities. What is available for the rest of us mortals is fairly sparse — picture a hotel gym with two floors, and that’s Balance for you. If your workouts are fairly simple (elliptical, stationary bike, treadmill) you’ll be happy with Balance. I ultimately ended up going to another gym that had a wider variety of workout equipment.
Biggest selling point? JACUZZI. And saltwater pool. But I just loved being able to walk over at the end of my work day, get a workout in and relax in a hot tub every day.
Perhaps the only thing I really didn’t like about Balance was that it seemed to be perpetually tuned into the Awful Music Station. I got Demi Lovato, One Direction, AND Justin Bieber all in a row.

Voted Best of DC because this place is the truth! Great staff! Excellent trainers Nancy is the best~ Amanda for Zumba and John for bootcamp. They have Piloxing here now also! You can order breakfast, lunch and dinner at this location. Its located inside of The Fairmont Hotel so you can get a skinny cocktail on your cheat day if you want ^.^

To start the gym is inside the Fairmount which does indeed make one think of glitz and glamour. However all the Balance locations are all about working hard and living the #balancelife.
The gym is full of the usual suspects; a cardio area and weight room, it also has a salt water pool (which I think is pretty freaking awesome for those of us with sensitive skin).
My review is more geared towards the Crossfit side of things since that is were most of my time has been spent…
The Facilities: The entire place has been gutted and updated. The floors have been rubberized for all your weight dropping and mobility pleasure and the equipment is top notch and constantly being added to. As the membership and management come up with new ideas they are attacked and added to the box.
Coaches: The programming at this box is mapped out and thoughtful. Too many of us have experienced coaches/​boxes that seem to pull from a hat on the programming side of things and take the ‘constantly varied’ side of Crossfit a bit too far. The head coach/​Crossfit Director, Jim Bathurst, has endless amounts of knowledge and is more than capably of leading a box of coaches and athletes that are continually progressing in their athleticism. When he is not showing people how to pick heavy stuff up he is teaching workshop around the world. Seriously though check this guy out at
. The coaches at this location are the types of coaches you can trust with your development.
Culture: Balance Gyms are pretty much DC famous at this point for having an awesome culture. Everyone is welcoming and approachable. If you are new to the area or looking to get out of your shell I can promise you the people at Balance will gladly help you out.
Bonuses at Foggy Bottom:
— If, like me, you struggle to get your nutrition in order CFFB offers a badass paleo menu through the Fairmont that allows you to order from before class so there is a yummy and healthy meal ready to go when you finish kicking ass.
— Bobby is right, Balance overall has been voted «Best Gym in DC» multiple times and Foggy Bottom just won «Best CrossFit Gym in DC»… and I agree, both very well deserved. These guys work hard to listen to their members.
— Bobby is also right that Balance does indeed sponsor a bunch of organizations such as Cupid’s Undie Run, Steve’s Club and Bike to the Beach. Which means its kind of a one stop shop for Balancing out your life from workout, social, nutrition all the way to philanthropy.

I have been a member of Balance Gym for 3 years and cannot speak highly enough of their staff, training and facilities. Of the (now) 4 Balance Gym locations, Foggy Bottom is hands down the fanciest and most state-​of-​the art. I mean, hell, it’s located inside the Fairmont Hotel!
Aside from the glitz and glamor of the Fairmont, the actual fitness facilities are fantastic. Fully stocked weight room, machines, cardio area (including Airdyne bikes, C2 rowers, C2 SkiErgs [the only gym I know of with these] and stationary bikes with interactive courses), salt water pool… and the icing on the cake, a brand-​spanking new CrossFit studio.
To speak a little bit towards their CrossFit studio, the space lies in what used to be two racquetball courts. Earlier reviews dinged Balance on the poor amenities down here, but that has all since been upgraded in the past year. New rubber floors, ALL new equipment (including some funky grip stuff, lifting platforms, chalkboard walls, etc)… if you can think of it, it’s there.
Not only is the space and equipment top notch, but the programming is the best I’ve come across (I’ve been a member at a handful of boxes in the DC area and visit others when traveling). The head coach and crossfit director, Jim Bathurst of
, is a former gymnast and competitive Olympic lifter who travels the world giving workshops on hand balancing, muscle ups, Olympic lifting, and a variety of other feats of strength. His programming doesn’t drink the typical HQ koolaid of long and brutal metcons, but rather there is a strong focus on strength and proper technique (no kipping!), and the metcons are kept to a reasonable length. Each day of the week is dedicated to a different lift (right now it is Monday squats, Tuesday cleans, Wednesday jerk, Thursday deads, Friday snatch and Saturday grab-​bag) and the effort goes up over the course of a 4 – 6 week period while the intensity of the metcons go down so you aren’t destroyed come PR week. I’ve seen the best strength gains and olympic lift progressions following Jim’s periodized programming.
Some other cool facts about Balance Foggy Bottom:
— The regional VP & GM of Fairmont works out here… and coaches some classes now, too!
— There is a Paleo Menu that you can order from when you arrive, so you have a nice healthy meal waiting as soon as you finish.
— Balance overall has been voted «Best Gym in DC» multiple times and Foggy Bottom just won «Best CrossFit Gym in DC»… both very well deserved.
— They are sponsors of a bunch of really great local organizations, most notably Cupid’s Undie Run, Steve’s Club and Bike to the Beach.
…oh yeah, and Balance throws the best parties. #balancelife

For a $ 90 monthly membership, you would think you’re at one of the top end of the gyms in the DC area, think again.
For $ 90, you get to be in the basement reminiscent of Las Vegas casinos in the 1980s — no clocks, poor air circulation, and just really old floors.
So why 1 star? Well, if you need a pool, 3 squat racks (of which 1 is a weightlifting platform), then you’d think you’re happy, but here’s what drops it from probably at best a 3-​star to a 1-​star. Service absolutely stinks here. The front desk is rude and incompetent (perhaps not everybody, but enough to annoy the bejesus out of you). The space is cramped, there’s a couple of tools who hog up the squat racks and lift for hours, and the crossfit component downstairs really creates an atmosphere that divides those who got ripped off at $ 90 to those who really got ripped off at $ 220, and trust me the crossfit space is the nicest area of the gym, but you can’t have access without paying another $ 130.
My recommendation is that if you’re debating between this and other gyms, think hard if you want to entrust your credit card to these fools.

Remember that Friends episode where you quit your bank to quit the gym. That’s me I need to declare my credit card stolen to get away from this gym.

Balance is an amazing gym & great community! Devin is a friendly & helpful manager … The gym is clean & has fun/​creative classes …

This place is awesome! Super friendly staff that is helpful and never makes me feel inferior like I have experienced at other gyms. They remembered my name after one visit and each time I go in I feel genuinely welcome. Especially noteworthy are Cassia at reception and James who is a CrossFit instructor.
Facility is always immaculate and well run. Great amenities (lap pool, sauna, etc…). If you are looking for a place to work out without a lot of attitude, this is it.