Goodlife Fitness clubs

[wayland]

What's the story with this place? Is it women only or not? I'm pretty sure I've known guys who were members, but they seem to have 70% female membership and there are a few women's only locations?

Is this place good?

I'm not looking for a steroid club like the old Gold's Gym back in the day. I just need a friendly, clean, club to work off a decade's worth of alcohol abuse in the midsection (mostly cardio with some light weight training).

mid-20 to 30ish age demographic is preferable.

but my biggest requirement is that it's not a condescending type of club.

I also don't want to get locked up in some super-long term commitment as I'm not sure which part of the city I'll be moving to this summer/fall.

thx

[racmbs]

Not this again, had to listen to this all the way from Belleville to Swainers place yesterday....you even had him convinced he was going to join with you and get into some "participaction-action" :D

Here Wayland, let me help you out:

Goodlife Fitness (http://www.grayironfitness.com/)

[thekathrynorchard]

That stings racmbs :)

I've heard fairly positive things about Goodlife myself. I've always just worked out in the gym in my building so I can't comment on personal experiences. I know a good deal of females who have joined and liked it and a few less males who have liked it equally as much.

Best of Luck.

[wayland]

racmbs, you're so active today. Let me guess, you've been off work since last Wed (golfing every day basically). so you get back in the office today and tell everyone you're busy catching up on emails, etc....meanwhile you've been posting on TGN all day long. LOL

now, please keep on topic.

[racmbs]

racmbs, you're so active today. Let me guess, you've been off work since last Wed (golfing every day basically). so you get back in the office today and tell everyone you're busy catching up on emails, etc....meanwhile you've been posting on TGN all day long. LOL

now, please keep on topic.

*meee-ow* :rofl: Yes sir....back on topic.

I'm off to work again now. :D

[dohboy]

What's the story with this place? Is it women only or not? I'm pretty sure I've known guys who were members, but they seem to have 70% female membership and there are a few women's only locations?
Goodlife has both co-ed and female only gyms. Goodlife tends to offer discounted memberships to various professional organizations which are predominantly female oriented, so this may explain your 70% ratio.

Is this place good?
All gyms have their pros and cons, but Goodlife isn't a "bad" gym. Although, some of their sites are older and pretty small whereas others are fairly modern. You should always go and take a tour of the gym you are planning to join prior to signing. Every gym will let you do this. If they don't, I would walk away.

mid-20 to 30ish age demographic is preferable.

but my biggest requirement is that it's not a condescending type of club.
The demographics of the gym will usually correspond to the demographics of the area surrounding it (eg Bally's downtown is predominantly 25-40, professionals/yuppies, 50/50 mix of men/women). Most people who go to the gym are nice and won't care if you pump 5lbs or 500lbs.

I also don't want to get locked up in some super-long term commitment as I'm not sure which part of the city I'll be moving to this summer/fall.
Most gym memberships are transferable, so even if you signed up for the Goodlife in Markham, you'll be able to use the Goodlife in Mississauga if you ultimately move there.

HTH! Good luck on your search.

Oh, forgot to post this. Given your avatar says you are located in Markham, here are my picks of gyms which I think are in order of your requirements:

Bally's - 404 and Finch - there is an older and yonger crowd here. Good facilities with a mix of machines and free weights. Relaxed environment as most people are there to work out and enjoy a couple laughs with friends during the workout.

Extreme Fitness - Yonge and 407 - predominantly a yonger crowd with great eye candy :hush:... I mean...motivation...with very modern facilities and an assortment of the latest machines and weights.

Goodlife - 404 and Steeles - mixed crowd, but sways toward the younger crowd. The facilities are nice but it is smaller than the two above.

The comments above are just my opinions so you should check out the gyms yourself and see whether it fits what you're looking for.

[mikejb]

All goodlife gyms in Toronto on the subway line are packed during peak hours. I am a member of the Yonge and St. Clair gym, but now consider the Mount Pleasant and Davisville gym home base. Which is a bonus of Goodlife. If you see one and have you card, you can go. The only restriction is the Plantnium level gym at Union Station and the Womens only club on Richmond St.

Most of the women only gyms are found in Loblaw Superstores.

Oh and to answer your question, i am a man and I go to goodlife. HA HA

[fresh]

Wayland...im a member of Extreme and have been working witha trainer for about 8 months now. You've seen the difference it has made. Other than the office, extreme and yonge/sheppard has become my 2nd home as I'm there 4-6 times a week. I love it there. It's a little expensive, but the atmosphere is great, the equipment is top notch (they are renovating the gym floor next weekend), trainers are knowledgable and will help out, and the BEST EYE CANDY of any gym.

I shopped around between the y, good life, premiere and some smaller places, but extreme had more BANG for the buck!!! :D

If you ever want, i have a ton of guest passes and i can get you into any extreme branch (yonge/sheppard or yonge/hwy 7). Be prepared for tons of lulu action!! HAHA

[wayland]

Wayland...im a member of Extreme and have been working witha trainer for about 8 months now. You've seen the difference it has made.

15 extra yards on your drive and now toting the TGN belt. :eek:

Now I know what Scott was talking about when he was admiring ur butt on the teebox that time at Highland Gate. Working the gluts too huh? :rofl:

Thanks for all the replies so far.

I'm disappointed about the comments on the woodbine/steeles one as I was considering that location. Yonge/7 isn't very close for me and neither is the Yonge/Sheppard one (for Extreme)

[justinn]

sorry to hijack the thread but i have a question for people. Does anyone know a place i can purchase a bench press with the weights and bar for a good price. Thanks!

[Leftygolfer30]

wayland,

Why don't you ask Sebastian where the female rugby player's work out?

I'm sure he knows! :eek:

[nobdyhere]

Try fitness depot sometimes they have clearance sales.

sorry to hijack the thread but i have a question for people. Does anyone know a place i can purchase a bench press with the weights and bar for a good price. Thanks!

[avidgolfer]

I was at the Woodbine / Steeles Goodlife location for a year. Two things annoyed me about my Goodlife experience.

I paid the same dues as the ladies but the ladies got access to more locations (women's only locations) and at the time, Goodlife was spending lots of $$$$ (which they got some from me) on opening new women's locations instead of upgrading the co-op locations.

Locker space and cardio machines were lacking and I figured the $$$$ spent on the new women's only locations, they could have upgraded the co-op locations for more locker space and cadio machines.

[neltron3030]

I was also a member of the Woodbine/Steeles location and thought it was ok, not great for the reasons everyone has mentioned.

Plus compared to the Y (where I am now), I found the value to be much much worse. The regular membership at the Markham Y is $42 a month (tax inc) and you can work out, take classes, or drop in for sports, which was the main reason I switched.

I also had my mp3 player stolen from me from right in front of my face at GL, so that put a damper on my experience there as well.

Neil

[dohboy]

I'm disappointed about the comments on the woodbine/steeles one as I was considering that location. Yonge/7 isn't very close for me and neither is the Yonge/Sheppard one (for Extreme)
I noticed that you didn't mention the Bally's at 404/Finch which isn't that much further than the Goodlife. Hmmm...is it because the crowd isn't as "sweet" :p

I also had my mp3 player stolen from me from right in front of my face at GL, so that put a damper on my experience there as well.
WHAT?!! How did that happen?

[laps]

Boy that is a big pet peeve of mine. GoodLife Fitness is a sexist organisation. Thye charge the same dues for men and women and they don't provide the same access to to both sexes. If the situation were reversed this would be front page news and womend would boycott not only GoodLife but Loblaws as well.

In my town I now have a choice of grocery stores - one is A&P and the other is Superstore (Loblaws) with a GoodLife that is only open to women. Because of that I boycott the Superstore as does my wife. I am also very comfortable in encouraging my friends to do the same.

In last week's newspaper there was an article that stated taht some U of T gyms were settign aside several hours each week for the exclusivity of women - no such provision was made for the men.

[wayland]

Where is the Markham Y? Is there a new one at Kennedy/407? That area is horrible for traffic.

Bally's at Gordon Baker Rd: I never considered this one because it's been there forever and I figured it'd be a dump or something. Crowd not as sweet huh? Ok, strike that one from the list :D

laps, you definitely have a point. we live in a double standard society. That said, would you decline an invitation to play at Augusta? I surely wouldn't.

[Bellyhungry]

On the flip side.....Women also pays more for haircut, and a lot of private clubs still only allow women on golf courses only at pre-defined time slots.

[corchard]

On the flip side.....Women also pays more for haircut, and a lot of private clubs still only allow women on golf courses only at pre-defined time slots.

Wow that was your 2000th post? Weak. weak. weak. Do better for the 3000th.

[neltron3030]

Where is the Markham Y? Is there a new one at Kennedy/407? That area is horrible for traffic.

Bally's at Gordon Baker Rd: I never considered this one because it's been there forever and I figured it'd be a dump or something. Crowd not as sweet huh? Ok, strike that one from the list :D

laps, you definitely have a point. we live in a double standard society. That said, would you decline an invitation to play at Augusta? I surely wouldn't.

It is Kennedy and 407 but traffic isn't too bad. You can enter from Warden as well. The days are quiet there though, which is nice if you can get the chance to go in off peak hours.

Neil

[Bellyhungry]

Wow that was your 2000th post? Weak. weak. weak. Do better for the 3000th.

Damn it! Had I realized that, I would have written something controversial like 'slow play', 'play by the rules', or 'Michelle Wie' :rofl:

[wayland]

Followup...

I joined Extreme.

One thing I'm disappointed in is after doing my fitness eval, I quickly realized that the eval is a big push to get you to hire one of their personal trainers. That's ok, I can see where the benefit is but I was in shock at the prices. The price for a trainer was going to cost me more per month (and you pay for the entire year) than my membership itself.

I don't want to hurt myself and use the wrong technique but come on, I simply didn't budget for this.


Oh why did I pick Extreme? Well I didn't go checkout Goodlife but when I took a tour at Extreme, they had to have a kid follow me around to mop up the drool. :eek: Also, they had 2 locations both within 15min drive from my house.

[racmbs]

Followup...

I joined Extreme.

One thing I'm disappointed in is after doing my fitness eval, I quickly realized that the eval is a big push to get you to hire one of their personal trainers. That's ok, I can see where the benefit is but I was in shock at the prices. The price for a trainer was going to cost me more per month (and you pay for the entire year) than my membership itself.

I don't want to hurt myself and use the wrong technique but come on, I simply didn't budget for this.


Oh why did I pick Extreme? Well I didn't go checkout Goodlife but when I took a tour at Extreme, they had to have a kid follow me around to mop up the drool. :eek: Also, they had 2 locations both within 15min drive from my house.

I've got some buddies in Montreal that are personal trainers Wayland....let me know what kind of workout you are after and I can try to get some feedback from them for you that might help.

[avidgolfer]

when I took a tour at Extreme, they had to have a kid follow me around to mop up the drool. :eek:

I did warn you about that didn't I... Oh and the equipment and facilities are also pretty nice too. :D

My biggest beef with Goodlife was that there weren't enough lockers to go around. Never had that prob at Extreme.

[2muchclub]

My wife and I have been Goodlife members for almost 2 years - the gym in Burlington is nice and we never have problems with lockers, equipment etc...
I think it depends where you go - there are true Goodlife gyms (built from scratch to their standards) and others that they have bought from another company. The Eaton Centre location is one of them - it feels small and very busy - I'll never go there again. Goodlife recently bought over the old Bally's gyms in Canada...

[guitarman]

What's the story with this place? Is it women only or not? I'm pretty sure I've known guys who were members, but they seem to have 70% female membership and there are a few women's only locations?

Is this place good?

I'm not looking for a steroid club like the old Gold's Gym back in the day. I just need a friendly, clean, club to work off a decade's worth of alcohol abuse in the midsection (mostly cardio with some light weight training).

mid-20 to 30ish age demographic is preferable.

but my biggest requirement is that it's not a condescending type of club.

I also don't want to get locked up in some super-long term commitment as I'm not sure which part of the city I'll be moving to this summer/fall.

thx

This is the place I'll be checking out. It seems like a good deal. Not great if your looking for all the extras, such as fitness classes or trainers. If you prefer to do your own thing and don't need guidance then this is the place.

http://www.mcfit.ca/

Only 2 locations right now. Fortunatley the one location is 5 minutes from my house.

sorry to hijack the thread but i have a question for people. Does anyone know a place i can purchase a bench press with the weights and bar for a good price. Thanks!

Hmmm. I might be inclined to sell you mine. I paid about $300 for it 2 years ago and its hardly been used.

[dohboy]

well that Bally's now IS GoodLife. So are a handful of other Bally's Locations in GTA and a bunch of Sports Clubs o' Canada Locations.
I posted my comments about 3 months ago, before the buyout :p

All goodlife gyms in Toronto on the subway line are packed during peak hours. I am a member of the Yonge and St. Clair gym, but now consider the Mount Pleasant and Davisville gym home base.
Can anyone comment on quality, crowding, etc on this gym? I may consider using this one instead of the St Clair one during lunch.

[jmc13golf]

Look at the preceeding comments, ..eye candy, ..drooling for a couple hours. And you wonder why women are looking for women only clubs???

[wayland]

Look at the preceeding comments, ..eye candy, ..drooling for a couple hours. And you wonder why women are looking for women only clubs???

I couldn't care less that they get women's only clubs. I only ask that it's reciprocated for the men.

All those girls were drooling over me, you don't see me complaining and wanting to join a men's only club. :cool::rofl:

[mccho]

I joined Good life. The one thing I can tell you is that since they have so many locations, you can pick and choose the one you want to go to.

Versatility above all else because frankly, for me the fight begins when I contemplate going or basically donating the year's fees...

[slicendice]

the former Ballys at Eaton Centre (now Goodlife) is quite busy, especially during lunch hour, but if you go after 1, it's pretty decent. Even during peak times though, i've never had an issue getting a machine - I usually go with my wife, so maybe we can't get two together but we always get one each.

what's with all this going to the gym to check out the eye candy - aren't people at the gym to work out? buy an ipod for god's sake and learn to pass the time without trying to pick up. Relationships fostered at the gym never work out anyways... j/k!!! - but seriously, I hope people who are checking out other people aren't doing it in an obvious way, there's really nothing more pathetic.

[Leftyhacker]

Just an FYI --

McFit is also Goodlife.

You wont hear alot about it for a while... sort of a new concept they are trying. We have the GL Home Office here in London and I have some friends who are 'in the loop' via their 'IT' Dept.

Nothing more to add... cant tell you if its good or bad, just some info.

LLefty



This is the place I'll be checking out. It seems like a good deal. Not great if your looking for all the extras, such as fitness classes or trainers. If you prefer to do your own thing and don't need guidance then this is the place.

http://www.mcfit.ca/

Only 2 locations right now. Fortunatley the one location is 5 minutes from my house.



Hmmm. I might be inclined to sell you mine. I paid about $300 for it 2 years ago and its hardly been used.

[golf-QXR]

I quickly realized that the eval is a big push to get you to hire one of their personal trainers. That's ok, I can see where the benefit is but I was in shock at the prices. The price for a trainer was going to cost me more per month (and you pay for the entire year) than my membership itself.

I don't want to hurt myself and use the wrong technique but come on, I simply didn't budget for this.

I'm interested in what gym memberships with personal trainers cost. Can you give us an idea?

[wayland]

I'm interested in what gym memberships with personal trainers cost. Can you give us an idea?

It varies with options obviously. I opted for a single location membership (any location costs like $8 extra a month) and with my corporate discount it's like $52/mth for the gym membership alone. That includes towel service.

Their training goes something like this

32 sessions + 8 nutrition sessions. more than $200 extra a month (for a year)
24
12
8 sessions +2 ...$59/mth for a year
6+2...$46/mth

I gawked at the 32 session one and told him that I was only looking to get in better shape, not train for UFC...and that I could lease a car for that amount.

BTW, I got the inevitable followup call today "Hi...I was wondering how you were doing and if you decided about which training program you wanted." I brushed her off for the meantime there's almost nothing I hate more in this world than a hard sell.

[Kace]

Hey guys...before you start looking at over-priced personal trainers, let me introduce some of you to something that anyone that hits the gym regularly, man or woman, should read and possibly own.

It's the The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger. He wrote it back in the 80's. Yes it can help you become a professional bodybuilder but it is also great for any gym go-er.

First, it has tonnes of various exercises in it. It covers everything from diet, to training, to tanning.

It is great for someone looking just to firm up, someone looking to bulk up or someone looking to lose 50 lbs.

And let's talk about motivation. Arnold does an amazing job with writing this book to the point of making you want to visit the gym all the time. It's so good, I would often find myself reading it in between sets and workouts at the gym.

I really hope that some of you take a look at this book at the public library or Chapters for free and realize how much money you can save by purchasing it and not using a personal trainer.

http://www.amazon.com/New-Encyclopedia-Modern-Bodybuilding-Updated/dp/0684843749

I hope this helps you guys out.