Life An Open Letter to the Gold’s Gym Above the Broadway QFC
posted by on February 13 at 11:44 AM
Dear Gold’s Gym Above the Broadway QFC,
It’s over. Were done. It wasn’t sad to leave you today. Matter of fact, I’ve been meaning to do it for a month and a half. But every time I called to cancel my membership, they said I had to come by in person, and every time I thought to come by in person, something else came up. Or you were closed. Sort of like whatever happened whenever I tried to come work out: something would come up, or you were closed. My new gym is farther away but guess what? Doesn’t matter. Because it never closes. For insomniacs, that’s a perk.
My new gym has other perks too. For example, the men’s locker room doesn’t smell like eggs and cheese. And the cardio room has windows. And you can actually listen to what’s happening on the TVs by plugging your headphones into these little devices they’ve strapped to each machine, rather than watching in silence. And broken treadmills don’t sit there broken for what seems like years on end. And there’s a swimming pool. And a hot tub. Neither of which you have. And there’s a steam room (whoa) and a sauna (ahhh)—again, neither of which you have—and they are coed, so… no crawly stuff.
Did I mention it never closes?
So, like, that one time a couple months ago when it had snowed very early in the morning, and I came to you, the grocery store gym, that night to work out, and you were closed, with a sign on your door that said that because of the unfortunate whatever and you were sorry for any inconvenience and whatever and et cetera? Even though it had been a very, very light snow it had totally stopped 14 hours earlier? That sort of thing doesn’t happen at a gym that’s open 24 hours a day every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas.
And guess what? Remember about a year ago I paid a million dollars for one of your trainers to show me how to make muscles happen and the results, after weeks, were inconspicuous, even though one of your employees constantly said to me, “We’re all about results, we’re all about results here”? Now that I’m going to a gym I actually like, results are resulting. Guess that’s what happens when you join a gym you actually like. You go more.
Anyway, see ya. The guy who handled my cancellation paperwork today was great—first actually good experience I’ve had there. Please don’t make any of your people call me.
cardiovascularly yours,
christopher
Okay, I am at the gym that never closes during the week after about 4 pm......
Seriously though, your new gym is not that much better but it does have a swimming pool in it. But the locker-rooms are super crowded...
Thank you. The only - ONLY - redeeming feature of that Gold's is how very close it is to where I live; having a gym within walking distance makes working out that much less of a hassle.
Everything else about it, though, is crap - the machines left unrepaired for MONTHS, the overcrowding come rush hour, the lack of space even when it's not rush hour, the guys who spend half the day chatting away on the bench I want to use ... ugh.
I miss the movie theater. That Gold's Gym signfied the death of Broadway moreso than Julia's, the "new" Deluxe or FedEx Kinkos.
What gym now, CF?
Is that the gym-that-never-closes that is close to the Re-bar? I get a discount there for my jobs and had been looking for a reason to join, if it is, it sounds nice enough to sign up.
Everyones experiences is different.
I've had good experiences at Golds / QFC, and really bad experiences down at All Star, where it sounds like he's going now (pool).
Regarding being closed during the snow days, its a crap shoot in Seattle, you cant blame a gym for having employees flake out and not be able to drive on the excuses for roads they have here.
Golds is not for everyone, but its cheaper than most, too. ALL gyms are crowded 5 pm to 7 pm. As for 'bug eyed gay people' that sounds more like your issue than anything reality based.
Glad you found a gym that works for you ... good luck with those muscles. Try using the one in your brain next time, and not whining about stuff thats mostly your own choice.
Ah D@6, it is 24 Hour he is going to. The hint is NEVER closes. All Star is not open 24 hours.
Ack! d-- you read the version of this post that I put up before I'd fixed a couple things. I took out the bug-eyed gay people, since I didn't really want to go into it. Although Gold's DOES seems sort of like a gay bar. And I'm gay.
It's 24 Fitness.
dear god yes with the stuff that sits there broken for months and months and months and months and months and months...
I went to 24 a few times with friends- it got too crowded for me, and Golds is that all-important few blocks closer (and I prefer the gayness). I just wish they'd drop the early close on Saturday and Sunday nights, and fix equipment in a timely fashion.
I had so much trouble quitting that fucking gym. Ugh.
Bad contract, bad staff, bad times.
Good luck with that cancellation paperwork Christopher; I quit Gold's a little over a year ago (in person at the gym). It took months before they stopped charging me, and they actually went as far as to send me to collections 3 months after my membership was cancelled!
But Christopher, you left out some important details. Which one is better for getting your cock sucked by a complete, but attractive, stranger?
Uhg, I just moved and I have to quit QFC/Golds myself and it's the exact same thing... whenever I wanted to go do it they were closed.
Yes, broken machines forever. The hand written signs telling me they're broken is a nice homey touch though.
Yes, social hour machine hogging. I go to gay bars when I want to cruise dudes and I go to the gym when I want to work out. I wish everyone was the same but I understand that's not Gold's fault.
Yes, NASTY locker rooms. Are paper towel dispensers really that expensive?
I really need to get in there and cancel my membership.
Word. Gold's only redeeming features are that it's close to my house, it's cheap, and it's convenient to go QFC, or dinner on Broadway afterwards. I can handle no amenities - I'm not paying for them, after all. But the many, many broken machines sitting there gathering dust for *months on end* is totally ridiculous.
Last time I checked out 24-Hour Fitness, it was full of steroid queens throwing barbells down on the floor so hard it felt like an earthquake, and letting out musk-ox-in-mating season grunts and groan. But maybe I should stick my head in there again and see what the atmosphere is like.
While I like the *idea* of 24 hour access, late night workouts are usually bad ones, so that's not much of an asset. On the other hand an 8:00 closing time on Sunday is mentally challenged.
CF: quick advice for putting on muscle - squats. So many guys figure that they want pecs and such and skip the squats, but the big muscle group high weight exercises are what kicks up you testosterone production.
You might be able to achieve similar testosterone boosts from say running away from a bear every workout, but you've apparently tried that at Golds and found it didn't really work for you.
Joke of the Day goes to kinaidos
Gold's must be really bad if 24 Hour Fitness is better. Assembly-line fitness, more like it.
Since I work downtown, I prefer the YMCA. Odor-free locker rooms (complete with sauna and steam room), tons of classes, new weight machines, non-cheesy atmosphere, no high-pressure sales people, nice staff, and members get some free personal training to get them started. However, it's not really a pick-up joint, which is something I like, but I know some folks go to the gym to meet people.
I second the motion for the downtown YMCA. I used to go to 24-Hour Fitness, but the "fitness assessment" left a bad taste in my mouth. It was bad enough having fat calipers applied to my bits in full view of cardio room patrons and any passers-by who cared to look in the ginormous windows, but the icing on the cake was the hard sell for $60-something-an-hour personal training services (by a "trainer" who quickly changed the subject when I asked about her qualifications). Fuck that. The Y rocks. For me, the price was the same as 24-Hour Fitness, and there are way more amenities (towel service, locker loans, more machines, a wider variety of classes, plus the aforementioned sauna and steam room.) And since the Y is non-profit, they don't try to sell you stuff you don't need (supplements, crazy overpriced work out gear). And I have a soft spot for the ancient Korean ladies who confidently wander around naked in the ladies' locker room, although I recognize that such behavior may not be to everyone's taste.
Broadway Gold's! Blah! Last year, a shower in the women's locker room ran steaming hot water for at least a week straight. That made me angry. I thought about calling them a plummer.
What about the servere lack of good classes? Does the management at Gold's realize no turn out for classes means the instructors they have hired suck?
Good luck the cancelation CF.... I battled for a week over $15 because thier system is so retarded. The stupid high-schoolers that sit at the front desk trying to look cool are useless along with the onsite "management".
Ah, those Korean ladies at the Y are wonderful. They are all about 70 years old and each seem like they'll live for another 30 years.
I also like that the Y has a bent toward lifelong fitness. My trainer yesterday said something like: "This move will keep you from having to replace your hip when you're 70". I want to look nice, but I REALLY don't want to replace anything when I'm older if I don't have to.
And they change up classes all the time, based on what the members want. There are on-going favorites, six-week classes that target one issue, ski season prep, field trips for the yoga freaks to go do yoga on a mountain somewhere, whatever the staff dreams up. It's neat.
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