Good gym?

[tisana.livejournal.com]

My boyfriend are moving near the Tufts campus in Medford--not necessarily close to Davis, but much of what we do is centered in Davis--what's a good gym in the area?

I understand it's more difficult to find a gym that's good for women, and he's more interested in weights anyway and this is mostly for him, but we'd like to find a gym that would appeal to both of us (I'm not even going into what sexist stereotypes that invokes, but work with me).

Comments

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Their advertising methods are a little misleading, but I've been going there for a bit over a month and I'm content with it. If you decide to join, email me at jen at jenniferhunter dot com so I can get a free month out of the deal?

[deadwinter.livejournal.com]

Hi. I am ze boyfriend. Do tell me more about the misleading. I have friends who would gladly burn Bally's to the ground for pretty much the same thing.

Can you elaborate?

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Sure thang.

My housemates go to WoW, so I figured it was an okay place, but I knew that they paid $30/mo. and I didn't think I could swing that. So one day I got a WoW "coupon" in the Valu-Pak mailer that said:

$200/year
No registration fee

So I thought, great, $16.66/mo., I can handle that. So I went in. And that's when they pointed out to me the teeeeeeny little asterisk after "$200/year" and the teeeeeny little cross after "No registration fee", and on the back, hidden amongst the list of gym features, the asterisk led to "plus registration fee" (which turned out to be some huge fee like $500-something), and the cross led to "with $50/mo. membership".

So in other words, it was EITHER $200/year OR no registration fee, but not both. Then they did some sort of stupid gimmick where they gave me a plastic egg to open (it was Easter time) and it had a coupon inside which gave me a discount on my registration fee, and there was various other crap they did with the numbers, and I wound up paying about $150 to join and $30/mo. It's a two-year commitment, and I can only get out of it by either paying $100, getting a doctor's note, or moving more than 20 miles away.

I'm embarrassed because not only did I fall for their scam, but even when they came clean with me, I didn't storm out of there but instead actually signed up, so I was giving them positive reinforcement for their sneaky marketing practices. I am glad I joined, though, because I'm exercising regularly for the first time in over a decade, and that's worth the money.

[whodameg.livejournal.com]

Haha, I stormed out of there after the Val-Pak coupon thing... I went back and gave'm hell a second time and signed up at $0/down, $29.99/mo. I just wanted them to match what I was getting at Gold's Gym on McGrath (I moved from East to West Somerville).

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

My hero! You indeed da meg.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Bally's is a hard-sell corporation and they will go to any ends to sell you things above and beyond your membership. When you join, you are effectively joining for 3 years, though they won't tell you this if you don't read the fine print. There is virtually no way out of your contract unless you move somewhere where there is no Bally's for 50 miles.

I've been a menber for almost 10 years, because my monthy fee is now so low that it's almost free. But when you join, it's imperative that you either make SURE you are taken off their telemarketing list, or give then a fake phone number. Otherwise they will plague you with ceaseless telemarketing calls, trying to get you to upgrade your membership or buy the worthless crap they sell.

In spite of all that, it's worked out for me once I got off the telemarketing list. It's your cheapest option in the area.

[deadwinter.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, price is not so much the issue, convenience is. I am a member of CRFC in Cambridge, which I am plenty happy with. But after the move, going there will mean driving backwards to Cambridge in the morning, from Medford when 93 N is practially in our new backyard.

I despise the hard sell. I have been known to walk away from good deals because of it. And the amounf of complaints I have seen with a simple Google search is insane.

[signsoflife.livejournal.com]

Years ago, I joined Bally, and managed to get a one-year membership by making it utterly clear that 1) I *would* sign up for one year and 2) I would *not* sign up for three years. I'm glad I managed that, because I really found that gyms in general and Bally's in particular are not for me.

[joifulgurl.livejournal.com]

i joined about a year ago, and i talked them down to $19.99/mo and a $150 reg fee. just talk and talk and talk, and it'll pay off. they're in business, and in business, they want to make as much money as they can. so - talk em down. they'll work with you.

[bettyw.livejournal.com]

What they said - the trick @ WoW is to reject the first pitch and then come back (or, as I did, sign up but then come back within 3 days and say you've changed your mind and want the contract cancelled). Then you get the no reg./$30 a mo. offer.

The sales guy I interacted with fulfilled every used-car-salesman stereotype imaginable...