Well, the first week of trying out commercial gyms here in Gilroy is done, and after spending a week lifting in Gold’s, I have a few things to say about it.

First and foremost, the signup process for the one week free trial is simple and quick. You basically go to the main Gold’s Gym site, sign up for the free VIP pass right on the front page, and print out the little coupon that comes up. However, since the coupon appears to be completely static, I suspect you can simply walk in and ask for the pass without bothering with the online signup.

Anyhow, once you get to the gym, you talk to the attendant at the desk, and they ask for your basic info and put you in the system. Then, every day you come in you just stop by the desk and tell them your name and they log you in. Overall, the daily routine was painless, and there was always someone at the front desk to sign me in.

As far as the gym itself, Gold’s in Gilroy is brand new, and looks the part. All of the equipment is shiny and modern, there’s plenty of open space, and it’s bright and airy. It’s also very, very clean, and completely climate controlled.

On entering, to the left is a lounge, the entrance to the locker rooms, and a kid’s play area. Directly ahead is a bank of cardio machines (the largest I saw at all the gyms) facing a bank of flat panel TV’s mounted high on the wall. Past the cardio gear is all of the weight training equipment. Most of it is (predictably) machine-based, though there is a nice selection of plate loaded as well as selectorized machines. Also, the selectorized machines are completely gizmo-ized, and they have a little do-dad which tracks your ROM, weight, and reps and can save it to a little fob for you. Kind of cool, but totally unnecessary.

On free weights, they have a reasonable set of dumbbells, though the largest I remember seeing was in the 100 lb range. They have three squat racks, no power racks, one or two flat bench stations, and three Smith machines (in case you want to completely maim yourself). The weight selection was decent, except for a predictably nearly non-existent selection of 2.5’s, and of course a complete lack of micro-weights. I do imagine, however, that during peak periods free weights could become scarce.

Speaking of peak times, I’ve only been there during the mornings (pretty dead), but I’m already not enamored with the atmosphere and clientele that visit. Some seem fine, just going about their business, but a large percentage seem to be doing ‘show work’, and it kind of has a ‘meat market’ feel to it. Also, on Friday, a pretty jacked curlbro in a cloud of cologne was doing cable rows with some moderate amount of weight while throwing out ‘look at me’ grunts. I don’t really have a huge issue with mild grunts when pulling a PR or something, but when Andy Bolton and Benedikt Magnússon can pull 1000+ lbs off the floor without even grunting, I fail to see what all that noise gains you, other than attention.

Back to the Gym review, on pricing, I was quoted three rates:

1. $19.99 per month, with a $374 signup fee that includes 5 PT sessions. I believe this was a 3-year contract, but I was so uninterested in the PT sessions part that I didn’t bother to write it down.
2. $32.99 a month, with a $49 signup fee, and a 1 year contract.
3. $36.99 a month, with a $99 signup fee and no contract.

Honestly, there’s very little advantage to plan 2 if you run the numbers, so 3 will be the plan I go with if I decide to use Gold’s.

Gold’s has one major advantage that none of the other gyms I’m checking out do: It is a chain, and that means I could lift at other locations while travelling. However, Gold’s policy on this is a bit on the miserly side: You can only use the facilities at other locations for 2 weeks out of the year. One good vacation would kill that, so it’s not weighing on my decision as much as I thought it might.

Overall, Gold’s is pretty much everything you would expect from a modern ‘big box’ gym, which is both good and bad.

For what it’s worth, the staff at Gold’s seemed to be the friendliest and most interested in my injury situation of any gym I’ve been to. When they asked why I was checking out gyms and I told them I was recovering from surgery, they paired me up with the resident trainer and had him take me around to find the machines I was looking for. This is in pretty sharp contrast to the other gyms, which just let me look around and offered to answer questions.

Anyhow, I’m checking out one other gym this week, so I hope to post a wrap-up along with my decision next week. See you then.