the athletic club ??

[steve_d]

So there is a new gym (2 of them actually) opening in ottawa (orleans + trainyards). My question is there anyone around here that knows of

http://www.theathleticclubs.ca/


Says there is locations in london, guelph, brantford, etc. I want to know if this is a worthwhile gym to sign up. I was offered employee pricing, so it would work out to about 500$ per year, but price doesn't matter at all. How bodybuilder friendly is this gym? do they even have dumbells? bench press? squat racks? how is the quality of there stuff?


Have until feb 18th to sign up at the discounted employee rate, but its tough to sign when they offer no information (child minding rates, equipment etc)...at leaast there is a 10 day guarantee refund after it opens.


and whats with the 50$ mandatory fitness assesment fee...

[Delt King]

So there is a new gym (2 of them actually) opening in ottawa (orleans + trainyards). My question is there anyone around here that knows of

http://www.theathleticclubs.ca/


Says there is locations in london, guelph, brantford, etc. I want to know if this is a worthwhile gym to sign up. I was offered employee pricing, so it would work out to about 500$ per year, but price doesn't matter at all. How bodybuilder friendly is this gym? do they even have dumbells? bench press? squat racks? how is the quality of there stuff?


Have until feb 18th to sign up at the discounted employee rate, but its tough to sign when they offer no information (child minding rates, equipment etc)...at leaast there is a 10 day guarantee refund after it opens.


and whats with the 50$ mandatory fitness assesment fee...

I workout at one the facilities and they have a no muscle shirt policy. Nicely equipped, but family oriented.

[O-Train]

If the location is great than maybe but Ottawa is a big city. I'm sure you can do better. It's a family/woman's gym...great equipment but forget about wearing a sleeveless shirt or bringing in chalk. I've worked for that chain of gyms and in Guelph I have the option of training at one but I don't.

[steve_d]

Yeah, I don't have too many options. I have to squeeze every minute into the day as is, so I can't really travel too far. I train at goodlife on walkley which is basically on my way to and from work, and only a short drive for weekends. This new gym would be further but at least close to work. It would be further for my wife since she works at home.

All and all I don't think it will work for us. I need chalk for deadlifts, but have trained at a gym in the past not allowing chalk...it was do-able, but not ideal. sleeveless shirt is not really a big deal either.

Perhaps my best bet is to hope both these locations will take away from the goodlife crowd and leave my current gym a little emptier.

[steve_d]

great equipment

perhaps it could be worth buying an extra membership, give me a change of pace once in a while, might be worth the extra 500$ a year, who knows. I have never trained at a gym with awesome equipment, not that I need fancy machines, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to have something difference once in a while.

Anyone else on here from ottawa considering this gym?

[Sean Summers]

Athletic Club in London will match another club's fees. If you pay less at Goodlife you may be able to get that same price at Athletic Club. I did - I pay $19ish per month.
SS

[PdH]

Anyone else on here from ottawa considering this gym?

I might have a look-see, though no chalk tends to be a deal breaker for me. Discretion can usually get you around that rule though. :)

[drdnj]

I trained there for a year in London Ont.---I would say that they are NOT BB friendly. They promote a more family or trendy type atmosphere (No tank tops etc).

D

[L3]

sadly there is only 1 bb'er friendly gym in ottawa, the Florida Fitness in the west end. The one in the east end went bankrupt.

I hear Carleton U has a brand new huge gym, might be worth it to check it out.

Ottawa U is decent, but no hammerstrenght machines

[PdH]

I hear Carleton U has a brand new huge gym, might be worth it to check it out.

I trained at Carlton for a couple of months last summer. Decent gym with lots of eye candy, but crowded as **** and lacking in DBs.

[natenator]

sadly there is only 1 bb'er friendly gym in ottawa, the Florida Fitness in the west end. The one in the east end went bankrupt.

I hear Carleton U has a brand new huge gym, might be worth it to check it out.

Ottawa U is decent, but no hammerstrenght machines
All FF's are closed as of right now. And for BB friendly I'd suggest New Body Dimensions. Lots of roids heads there. Even the 5 women that train there are all juiced to the gills. lol

[steve_d]

Athletic Club in London will match another club's fees. If you pay less at Goodlife you may be able to get that same price at Athletic Club. I did - I pay $19ish per month.
SS

Yeah price is a non-issue. The employee rate is 20$ bi weekly. works out to 520 per year, I can only imagine non-employee rate being similar to goodlife which is where i'm at now. since there are 3 of us on the membership, we pay 20 biweekly each. so similar regardless...It would be nice to pay 20 a month...I can't imagine any big chain going for that...Did you get that price a long time ago and then it just gets locked in? I know everyone at goodlife seems to be paying a different price.



All FF's are closed as of right now. And for BB friendly I'd suggest New Body Dimensions. Lots of roids heads there. Even the 5 women that train there are all juiced to the gills. lol

I used to train at NBD. around 3-4 years ago. Its small, and cardio was non-existent... at least back then. What happened to the other FF? Why are they closed?

[natenator]

Yeah price is a non-issue. The employee rate is 20$ bi weekly. works out to 520 per year, I can only imagine non-employee rate being similar to goodlife which is where i'm at now. since there are 3 of us on the membership, we pay 20 biweekly each. so similar regardless...It would be nice to pay 20 a month...I can't imagine any big chain going for that...Did you get that price a long time ago and then it just gets locked in? I know everyone at goodlife seems to be paying a different price.




I used to train at NBD. around 3-4 years ago. Its small, and cardio was non-existent... at least back then. What happened to the other FF? Why are they closed?
can't pay their bills.

[kawikaratekid]

to much info...

[Sean Summers]

I got the Goodlife price about 10 years ago. Athletic Club matched it in December 2009.
SS

[billnc]

I trained in The Athletic Club in Thunder Bay. It was not totally bodybuilder friendly but it definatley had alot of free weights and machines. You were allowed sleeveless in the free weight area just not the machine area. I would still be training there if I still lived in Thunder Bay.

[prettymuscles78]

I'm from Ottawa and checked out the Athlectic Club on Innis for a couple hours at a cost $21 though.. Nice equipment but only 2 squat racks i think and a couple leg presses but lots of machines.. Life Fitness and Atlantis equipment.. and lots of Cardio.

Im currently at Goodlife at $37 a month.. I'm assuming its more at the Athletic Club and don't know if they will match or close to it. The only reason i'd leave goodlife because it overly crowded.. And there is tons of space at the Athletic Club.

Would you have access to the other Athletic Clubs if you sign up??

There a mandatory fitness assessment fee??? Seriously??

[bigtavi8]

I have had a membership at 2 Athletic Clubs in my area and they were nice, well kept, well equipped facilities. They are very family oriented, play gay music, no muscle shirts, no grunting policy. There nice gyms just got a very pussy atmosphere for a BB to get into.

[steve_d]

I'm from Ottawa and checked out the Athlectic Club on Innis for a couple hours at a cost $21 though.. Nice equipment but only 2 squat racks i think and a couple leg presses but lots of machines.. Life Fitness and Atlantis equipment.. and lots of Cardio.

Im currently at Goodlife at $37 a month.. I'm assuming its more at the Athletic Club and don't know if they will match or close to it. The only reason i'd leave goodlife because it overly crowded.. And there is tons of space at the Athletic Club.

Would you have access to the other Athletic Clubs if you sign up??

There a mandatory fitness assessment fee??? Seriously??

I haven't seen the club on innes, but will be checking it out this week or next. I signed up though, 19.95 bi-weekly. was a promo for goodlife members to switch if you had 5 guys. 'only' 2 squat racks is fine. I will only need 1. and a couple of leg presses is more then my goodlife. Which goodlife do you go to? I go to walkley, and trust me, any gym will be better equipment wise. For me, its all about location. I don't have much time in my day to drive to a good gym, so trainyards being next to my work is going to be convenient.

And yep- being a member of 1 athletic club allows all in the city, and the country.



I have had a membership at 2 Athletic Clubs in my area and they were nice, well kept, well equipped facilities. They are very family oriented, play gay music, no muscle shirts, no grunting policy. There nice gyms just got a very pussy atmosphere for a BB to get into.

gay music is fine...its what I listen to mostly. no grunting is fine too - I don't grunt and I'd rather not hear it either. no tanktops is a dumb rule, but I can get by it. no chalk is another one you didnt mention, but liquid grip is going to be my new friend.

pussy atmosphere, again, is fine - I hate listening to toothpicks grunt and pretend to be strongmen when they're not. I am there to workout, not to show off by yelling as loud as I can to be noticed, or throw the weights on the ground as hard as I can, again to get noticed....I will let the amount of weight I have on the bar be the reason to be noticed :)


Can't wait till it opens. Looking forward to the new gym - i've never trained in a gym that had nice equipment before.

[L3]

hey steve, can you please let me know how big the DBs go to? ive heard 150s....

[steve_d]

yep - 150s by 5 pound increments, all steel. other part of the reason I am making the switch is I have a feeling this is where the more competitive guys will end up. Not that it really matters, but its nice to be in a gym with like minded people. Of course 90% will just be family oriented, personally trained people etc - but its like that everywhere.

I'll let everyone know what I think of the Orleans gym when I go. Probably friday. Trainyars will be the exact same one, same floor plan, structure, design, etc. |So i've heard

[prettymuscles78]

I haven't seen the club on innes, but will be checking it out this week or next. I signed up though, 19.95 bi-weekly. was a promo for goodlife members to switch if you had 5 guys. 'only' 2 squat racks is fine. I will only need 1. and a couple of leg presses is more then my goodlife. Which goodlife do you go to? I go to walkley, and trust me, any gym will be better equipment wise. For me, its all about location. I don't have much time in my day to drive to a good gym, so trainyards being next to my work is going to be convenient.

And yep- being a member of 1 athletic club allows all in the city, and the country.

Very true, any gym will be better than Goodlife.. Right now i'm very tempted to join this will be a motivation for a contest prep lol.. I train on 10th line Goodlife but we will be moving soon in the south end and TrainYard will be the closest to home by next year. Well if you know anyone else wanting to join as a group we're 2 goodlife members here :)

[steve_d]

we already joined with a group of 5 last sunday...I was about to post on this board but we had 5 pretty quick!

if your moving south, then walkley is probably the closest, or new body dimensions...and I heard goodlife on 10th line is awesome...so you might not be as blown away as I will coming from walkley. but since you'll be away from orleans, and used to that gym, you'll probably need to make a switch, unless st.laurent is nearby. they have 19$ biweekly for st laurent only goodlife. opens the 21st.

But the more people at the athletic club into competing the better. I'll be prepping for nationals, come spring / summer.

[bigtavi8]

Happy u signed up steve and plus close to where ur at so its convenient. Didnt mean to hate on them but im really biased. lol. Worked at one for 2 yrs and got treated like a goof. All in all good gym i guess its my young immature side that drives me to go to a meathead gyms.lol.

[steve_d]

lol...I have a feeling the athletic club will be the meat head gym of ottawa. We don't really have much options here, so the meatheads end up just caving to the rules of the bigger commercial gyms - or they go to an unequipped gym and grunt on the machines that fall apart behind them! :)

[natenator]

lol...I have a feeling the athletic club will be the meat head gym of ottawa. We don't really have much options here, so the meatheads end up just caving to the rules of the bigger commercial gyms - or they go to an unequipped gym and grunt on the machines that fall apart behind them! :)
Did Rob switch already? LOL

[steve_d]

Did Rob switch already? LOL

yep, he was part of our 5 + a few extras. what about you? Are you going to come over to the new meathead gym? lol...I figure if enough of us become part of that gym, they wont be as inclined to piss us off, since they are basically just concerned about sales.

Usually they kick us guys out to satisfy the regular gym goer. but if we become the 'regulars', we rule that gym.

[O-Train]

Just try to get in good with the staff/management. Otherwise you'll be bending to the whims of the old people. They complain about everything and always want the music turned down and changed to something as unmotivating as possible. I guarantee dedicated lifters will still be a minority at these gyms. Your only hope for a lifter-friendly atmosphere is to all come consistently at around the same time. I miss their Ivanko dumbbells but most of the machines are unneccessary and you have to be careful not to get caught up doing fancy workouts in place of something more effective.

You guys seem to be getting great deals. The one here is way too expensive for me. I only had a good rate their when thy bought out my gym so I was training for less than 30/mth. Then I worked there and it was free but I'm not sure I'd want to go back. It reminds me too much of Globo Gym lol.

[L3]

i'll be seeing you boys at the athletic club then :)

[steve_d]

Just try to get in good with the staff/management. Otherwise you'll be bending to the whims of the old people. They complain about everything and always want the music turned down and changed to something as unmotivating as possible. I guarantee dedicated lifters will still be a minority at these gyms. Your only hope for a lifter-friendly atmosphere is to all come consistently at around the same time. I miss their Ivanko dumbbells but most of the machines are unneccessary and you have to be careful not to get caught up doing fancy workouts in place of something more effective.

You guys seem to be getting great deals. The one here is way too expensive for me. I only had a good rate their when thy bought out my gym so I was training for less than 30/mth. Then I worked there and it was free but I'm not sure I'd want to go back. It reminds me too much of Globo Gym lol.



30 / month is nuts. the regular rate right now for athletic club in ottawa is 24 bi weekly. which works out to 52 a month.

And I know what you mean about getting in good with the staff...I don't grunt at all, nor am I noisy with slamming weights...I am like a little ninja mostly when I lift. My thought is that even if you've hit failure, the eccentric part of getting the weight down should still be easy to do without throwing a weight. But regardless, I've had complaints about my lifting...mostly its: I could hear the plates ding when he was loading them up. C'MON! People just "notice" when someone is strong or big...and that's when they basically get annoyed for anything.

At my gym now, the noisest people is 1 in particular, about 70 years old, screams while doing pushups. Yet they will likely never complain about him.

And yes, no matter how many meatheads we get, we'll still be a minority...oh well, our collective squat total will be bigger than theirs even though we will only make up 5% of the gym.

[O-Train]

Yeah, I wish I still got that rate. I pay 21 bi-weekly for a Goodlife in an old building with average equipment. What pisses me off the most is that female members have access to the women's only facility at the mall but I don't. I think for that reason men's rates should be discounted. Blatent discrimination.


30 / month is nuts. the regular rate right now for athletic club in ottawa is 24 bi weekly. which works out to 52 a month.

And I know what you mean about getting in good with the staff...I don't grunt at all, nor am I noisy with slamming weights...I am like a little ninja mostly when I lift. My thought is that even if you've hit failure, the eccentric part of getting the weight down should still be easy to do without throwing a weight. But regardless, I've had complaints about my lifting...mostly its: I could hear the plates ding when he was loading them up. C'MON! People just "notice" when someone is strong or big...and that's when they basically get annoyed for anything.

At my gym now, the noisest people is 1 in particular, about 70 years old, screams while doing pushups. Yet they will likely never complain about him.

And yes, no matter how many meatheads we get, we'll still be a minority...oh well, our collective squat total will be bigger than theirs even though we will only make up 5% of the gym.