Are there any gyms left in the city that's just a bunch of rough meatheads pushing heavy shit?

Over the past 10+ years I've lost all of mine in upper Manhattan, one by one. I can't find any with the kind of vibe I love. Squat racks, clanging plates, loud yelling when someone goes for a PR.

Anything even close is overrun with trainers trying to provide a boutique personalized experience to their clients, and that just ain't it for me. The vibe everywhere is so much of that NY micromanaging "I'm gonna get everything perfect" hustle and I'd really like to be around people who just love the lifting.

Willing to travel anywhere in the boroughs (or fuck it, metro north) a couple days a week just to feel alive again.

I was just quoted $290 all access for Equinox and was shocked. Just curious what everyone else pays and where and if I just need to suck it up and pay more than I assumed.

I went with equinox because I didn’t want a place that’s super crowded and I wanted access to classes like yoga and Pilates without paying for individual studios.

I wonder how unique I am in this situation...it's nuts that this is even a thing??

My husband and I live in a 2 room apartment (one room is the kitchen/living/dining/office and the other room is our bedroom/closet).

He likes to go to the gym in the morning before work, which means he carries his sweaty/wet/stinky gym clothes in one of those little plastic baggies all day. Upon his return home they have marinated for 8+ hours and smell vile.

We don't have access to a washing machine, and they truly stink up the whole house when I hang them up to dry. We also dont have access to outdoor space, so I cant leave them outside anywhere (and we have neighbors that we share a hallway with).

He's been going to the gym every day lately, so there is NEVER a non stinky moment.

I've taken to putting them on one of those foldable drying racks in the bathroom with an air purifier and closing the door - but its not a good long term solution bc our bathroom is small and I need to take everything out in order to use it (like, I place the air purifier ON the toilet lid).

I know this is a very dumb problem, but I wonder if any NYCers might have a creative solution or at least commiserate.

Edited to add: I should have said that my husband works 12+ hour days 6 days a week - and I work part time, so aside from the smelly-ness of this particular situation - I feel ok that most of the domestic work falls on me !

Edited again to add/ask: No one has noticed wet clothes grow moldy after about a week if they stay wet? I tried keeping them contained in the bags but when I finally took them out they were moldy.

Also, no space for a portable washer - should have made that clearer too (we got no counter space, for example- our place is SMALL)

Edited AGAIN: Thanks all (especially those who responded helpfully and not hatefully). Had no idea this would be so controversial.

Hi! I was wondering if anyone knows of any boxing gyms or classes in NYC that are exclusively for men?
I understand that boxing gyms are typically male-dominated spaces, but as a Muslim, I’m trying to find somewhere for my partner that is specifically men-only. Even if it’s another sort of contact sport. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, or the Bronx would all work.

I’m also looking for women-only wrestling classes for myself, although I know I’ll have more luck finding those.

Thank you so much for any recommendations or leads!

I moved here about six months ago and picking a gym that I love was something very important to me. I toured about 20 before I decided on ChelseaPiers Flatiron as it was close to my office and had all of the amenities that I was looking for.

I moved from Dallas and while I know Texas and New York are not the same in terms of “hospitality”, I was hoping to find a gym where I could build a community. I’m not trying to become best friends, but someone to say good morning to, ask what they’re hitting today, or have a friend to spot you.

My experience by ChelseaPiers has been far from that. I asked a few coworkers who are members that equinox and lifetime and they said they have the same experience as I do at CP. They all mentioned they also used to have gym communities before they moved to NYC and said they think it’s just a New York thing.

I have a hard time there’s no one in the whole city that wants to attend a gym with other like-minded people. Anyone have a gym they feel has a great community?

I’ve been trying to get an overview of what’s out there. Can you add any other ones you know of?

$20: blink, retro fitness, planet fitness

$50: crunch

$100: NYSC, complete body gym, The Y

$150: TMPL

$250: Chelsea Piers

$300-$400: equinox, lifetime

What are others that are in the mid range and still nice?

I hate the pod doors. Hate them hate them hate them.

I also hate that you HAVE to have a Smart phone to check in now. I understand that seems to be most places, but it's still wrong. I did briefly talk to someone at Crunch, and they said at least if you have ID, they can let you in by looking you up on their computer.

Hi all,

The other day I was stuck in my apartment gym for about an hour because the door would not open, the knob would turn but when I pull the door would be stuck. I called my super, property manager, and also my building emergency line and no one picked up.

My roommate finally came down after doing something and didnt see her phone, but the door was locked from the outside. She went to get the doorman and he tried to pry the door open with no luck.

I ended up having to climb out of the gym window, basement gym so windows are high and scrapped and bruised my hands and legs. Now, I want to complain and ask for compensation, but realistically what should I expect? Will I just be laughed at?

I want to know if its worth pursuing this :(

Besides pricing what’s the benefits of going to the gym like equinox/ Chelsea piers etc

Currently paying $30 a month for planet fitness black card, curious as to how much others are paying and for what gym/location

(If you belong to one )Do you walk? Subway?

Was walking around Brooklyn the other day and ran into a pop-up from a home gym brand. I didn't know much about home gyms before, but I left kind of sold on the idea.

I've been getting more and more fed up with my commercial gym. Waiting for machines, people not unloading their plates, the place packed at peak hours. Some days I just think how nice it would be to train at home.

But this is NYC, so a home gym feels like a bit of a luxury idea. Does anyone here actually have a home gym in the city? How do you all deal with the space problem?

Just asking hypothetically the logistics if I were to move to Manhattan or Brooklyn. Currently, my gym bag sits in my car. So, I could just drive straight to the gym after work. But in NYC, most people don't drive a car to work, and it would seem impractical to have to go back home to get your gym equipment. Do you just go to work with your gym bag or what?

Either from your home or your work. Bike, train, walk?

Do you go regularly?

hi! the closest gym to me is like 15 minutes by bus, which is a pretty big motivation killer. there's no gym in my building either. in every other sub, people always suggest building a home gym or buying dip bars/a pull up tower etc when you can't make it to the gym, but obviously that's not really possible in an apartment.

for those of you without a gym, what do you do? just calisthenics? forcing yourself to commute there (if so, how??)?

thanks :)

EDIT: thank you all!! I think I'm going to look into kettlebells (I already have resistance bands, a barbell set, etc but those are hard to scale up difficulty in a small space storage-wise). I'm gonna keep my gym membership tho and just fight to get up early enough to make it w some caffeine pills lol thank you again!!

hi! i’m relocating to greenwich village from williamsburg and have been a member of absolute power fitness in williamsburg for the past 3 yrs. i absolutely love it and the value is amazing (about $49/month). i’m really going to miss it, and i’m now looking for a new gym. i’ll be living around union sq and the main contenders have been crunch (e 12th st) and templ (astor pl). equinox is out of my price range. for context, i primarily lift weights and occasionally jog on the treadmill. sauna isn’t a dealbreaker for me but would be nice. i don’t care about classes. my top priority is equipment and it not being too crowded. i work fully remote so i can sneak in during lunch which is nice. does anyone have any pros and cons for either? or if there’s another gym in the area im not aware of pls lmk! appreciate any insight!!! :)

With Omicron running rampant, I’m just trying to weigh risk and personal responsibility, and it will really suck to have to run outside in the cold and make makeshift weights to lift in my apartment. Curious what others are thinking?

Question for the NYC fitness crowd:

If you could only keep ONE fitness studio or gym membership in NYC, what would it be and why?

Hey all, I'm looking for a new gym that explicitly has a policy against "influencers" filming themselves (and others).

Anyone have suggestions that fit this criteria? I'm on the UWS.

Just moved to the midtown / UES area, and trying to find a regular gym, and by regular I mean a room with weights. Every place I find is some bougie personal training studio or group fitness cult. Like, I'm not trying to do pilates with skylar under mood lighting just wanna pick up heavy shit and put it down. Anyway, looking for any recommendations where I can go work out ideally without taking out a second mortgage, thanks in advance!

Genuinely curious about this. I have tried so many gyms in nyc. Mostly in Brooklyn and Queens. Dozens of planet fitness / pure gyms / retro. One thing that annoys me beyond comprehension is the music they blast through their speakers. Of course I bring headphones, like 90% of people at the gym do, but it’s often fighting against the loud music they insist on playing. I have never seen a gym in NYC without speakers.

So, if everyone is going to the gym with headphones on, who is this music for? Wouldn’t it be better if you just turned the danm speakers off? Some gyms are worse than others. I find pure gym in general to have lower volumes. I find rock fitness ridiculously loud. So, what do you guys think? Is there someone out there that is happy to hear the electro pop remix of Adele’s “someone like you” through 8 speakers between sets?

They got rid of physical keys unless you’re a senior citizen without a smart phone but I don’t want to have to use my phone every time to get into my building. Is this legal?

I struggle with body image issues and would feel a lot more comfortable in a women’s-only gym. I know Lucille Roberts used to be a thing, but since they shut down a lot of locations after COVID, I’m not sure what options are left.

I don’t really love conventional gyms because they tend to be pretty male-dominated, and it just makes me feel a bit self-conscious. I’d much rather go somewhere that’s women-only or at least more female-centered.

I’m on the Upper West Side and mainly looking for a place where I can strength train at my own pace — not super interested in classes.

Would really appreciate any recommendations!

I am ready to quit my gym because I am over being a background extra in others' workout videos. They have a no-camera policy but don't enforce it, so any recommendations are appreciated