STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Lilykind · Hermes

LA Fitness vs. Equinox

crystal · Kate Spade

u know, that's true, i think i like working out w/ other people better too! i walk/jog every morning before work (well, except this morning cuz we were out so late last night) but it's SOOOOO boring!! i already belong to 24 tho & my work pays for it so i have no incentive to switch. too bad cuz i would love to go to the gym w/ u!! we'd make the time fly by! sorry i was no help, i haven't been to either one. they just put in an equinox on the promenade too tho... not sure if that means anything to ya!

member · Hermes

I'd look into Equinox's fees just to be positive it's $120 a month - it may be more than that. The only reason I say that is because my BF went to school at the Equinox in Chicago to be a personal trainer and I swear it was even more $$. I can tell you that the clientele at the one in Chicago is very high - people w/money and he even saw a lot of celebrities. The nice thing about the one here is, it's never that busy, because a lot of people can't afford it, and they have a ton of machines. It is a very nice, clean gym though. HTH!

Tara · Dooney & Bourke

LA Fitness sucks more than anything in the world. They are horrible. And you can get cheaper than $35 a month - I was paying $29, and that was more than any of my friends. I think my friend signed up for $600 down, nothing for 18 months and then like $99 a year.

Anyway, I am a 24 hour fitness member, and it is much better - though I guess that isn't an option for you?

LA Fitness is EXTREMELY crowded all the time. Their weekend hours are awful. And when I tried to quit, it was next to impossible. I have had the worst time with them - please stay clear!!!

honey · Gucci

can't speak for la, but in nyc equinox is like hands down the priciest gym, with the exception of the really exclusive places that are for the celebs/filthy rich. my co-worker goes to equinox and i believe she pays b/t $120 & $150 and that doesn't include the initiation fee. she loves it, and i believe that they have amazing amenities, but if you're not a fitness freak it might not be worth it. i would try and get a guest pass and check out the classes b/f making a commitment.

ime, gyms vary tremendously from location to location, so if you're looking at a chain check out several different locations. also i don't know if there's one near you but crunch offers really good classes (pretty much every cool class you've read about at in a magazine is offered at crunch) so that may be an option too.

shopgirl82 · Chanel

i've lived in a bunch of different cities in the last couple of years and if you have a 24 hour fitness i highly recommend that. i loved it. equinox is a great gym, but i felt guilty spending $68 a month at philadelphia sports club, so i can't imagine spending $120 a month. that being said, i have gone to equinox and it was really nice, but in my opinion, my gym $33 a month is nice too, especially for the price. being cali. i would think you might be able to find a gym that's nice but not $120 a month. one more thing...make sure whatever gym you decide on is close enough that you will actually go to it. i had a $30 Y memebership, but it was 20 minutes away, so that's 40 minutes commuting so times that i had just enough time to work out, i didn't cuz of the commuting, that's when i decided $68 a month was worth it. HTH and didn't confuse you even more. also, make sure you don't get sucked into a package that makes it almost impossible to quit (i heard L.A. Fitness is like that). Bally's is also kinda like that. one more thing, some health insurance companies help with the cost of gym memberships if you show that you go a certain number of times a year. i know that blue cross paid for my friend's membership to the Y, so you could look into that.

sorry for the rambling, good luck and it's great that you are deciding to hit the gym.

Lilykind · Hermes

I wish there was a 24 Hour Fitness near either my apartment or my workplace, but that's not the case. All of the locations in Los Angeles are incoveniently located so I know realistically I'd never go.

Basically if I can't walk to the gym, I won't go. If I can walk to the gym, I will be up every morning and take classes and do my workout before work. The only gym where this is the case right now is the LA Fitness on Wilshire Blvd by UCLA. The Equinox will open in November/December (and it won't require me to cross Wilshire ). Until then I will run and I will not enjoy it that much but yeah...

The rate right now is $110 because they're doing charter memberships. Plus if two people join at the same time, the initiation fee is waived.

lsubatgirl · Gucci

I don't have experience with either gym but I swear that people posted under toasts and roasts about LA Fitness being the devil and impossible to get out of since there is "no corporate office". Just be careful!

Tara · Dooney & Bourke

lsubatgirl wrote:

I don't have experience with either gym but I swear that people posted under toasts and roasts about LA Fitness being the devil and impossible to get out of since there is "no corporate office". Just be careful!

Unfortunately LSU, that was me.....when I tried to quit LA Fitness ~Feb this year, I ended up having to pay my membership through May...BUT even though I paid my monthly membership through May, I could not use the gym after Feb. Basically, if I scanned my membership at the gym from Feb-May it "renews" my membership, and I continue to be charged my monthly membership. It was Bulls**t! So if you DO decide to join LA Fitness - join for life b/c quitting is horrible.