Currently I work out at a Retro Fitness in NJ. Most of the time I go to the one in Matawan it’s ok but it’s small and lacks some gear. None the less I call it home. On Saturday I work out at the Retro in Woodbridge. That gym is a hardcore gear filled monster. It’s sad that I can only get there on Saturday.
There’s a new gym opening in my neighborhood so I had to check it out, it’s in the same 30,000 square foot location as the old NYSC before they closed. Oh how I miss that gym. I went to the sign up office for this new Club Metro and they told me how great they would be (The gym opens in September). They said they would have multiple leg press machines, multiple squat racks, Smith Machines, platforms and they would even have bumper plates. The guy said that this gym was going to be for bodybuilders, Power-lifters and of course the average folk that want to just try to stay in shape. The sales rep told me this and I was stoked. My initial thought was sign me up but I stayed reserved. The guy said to visit the East Rutherford location and that this new location would be the same as East Rutherford except bigger. So over the weekend my wife and I hopped in the car and drove forty miles to East Rutherford to check out the gym. It was obvious that this guy never expected us to do that. Not only was this gym very small there was no way it was geared to bodybuilders or power lifters. They had no bumper plates, they were short on additional bars and they didn’t even have a decline bench. What they did have was a rep that was proud to say that their weights are rubber coated so there would be no sounds of pots and pans in the gym. I just wanted to scream I like my clank! The clank is the music of the gym. The clank is the sound of hard work; the clank is part of the spirit. My wife and I were very disappointed.
After that I decided that we should also investigate the Gold’s Gym in our neighborhood. That gym was sad. This gym only had pin loaded Hammer strength machines, they hardly had any plate loaded gear, everything was carpeted and their fixed weight EZ bars only went up to sixty pounds. I’m not big, I only weight 150LBS (trying to get to 160) and I do a standing curl with seventy pounds. How can sixty pounds possibly cut it? There leg press machine could only hold about 400 lbs of plates. My wife and I each do up to 800lbs on a Hammer Strength plate loaded leg press. Again, we are not the biggest or remotely the strongest. It’s shameful that this Gold’s gym dares to use the same logo that Ric Draisen designed. This was the moniker that so many great ones worked under and strived to build an awesome culture and now it’s brought down to the perfect housewives of NJ spa with some weights tossed in for extra measure.
I believe that there is a place for Snap and for Curves. Those gyms look for a specific market and cater to it but too many gyms have lost their way. They rent all this space but don’t use it properly. They just want to say that they have a spa like atmosphere. All they want is for people to sign up and then not show up. The less the gear is used the less work and maintenance they need to do, meanwhile they collect their monthly dues. Well I don’t want a spa at my gym I want harcore machines and weights. I don’t need towel service, I own my own towels and I sure don’t need anyone telling me not to grunt (Planet Fitness) when I’m going heavy.
When did the gym industry become so soft? I know that there will not be a dungeon style gym opening up in the near future but I think these gyms should at least allow us the chance to feel hardcore and give us the chance to push ourselves. For now Retro will do the trick. I still hold hope that the Club Metro will be amazing but I’m not holding my breath.
I WANT MY CLANK!
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