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| - I just joined Fitness Connection (FC) last year while living in Charlotte.
JOINING and PRICING:
I will say, it was easy to get a 5 day pass online and come in for a workout. The sales team is standardly sales for the industry - a tour of the facility, talking about your goals, and then finally a visit to their office where you discuss pricing options. Having worked in rmany gyms before, I knew the drill. Basically, you're going to pay an "enrollment fee" most of the time, from $100-$200. I wasn't interested in this and the manager overheard me mention my history of working in gyms and offered me a $49 enrollment fee. Still not great but certainly better than $200. If you can join during a special, I'd advise doing so for a reduced or eliminated enrolling fee. Don't be pressured by their "today only" deals and be willing to walk away (to me, joining a gym is a bit like buying a car - the fees are a bit ridiculous and always negotiable if you do it right). There are no contracts and a 30-day cancellation policy, which is outlined when you join. Memberships range from $9.99 to $19.99 per month, depending on if you wish to use multiple locations and want to bring a guest. This FC has child care as well (never used it). Hours are good throughout the week - this facility is open early and closes late but others are open 24/7. When I joined, I went for the cheapest option as I don't intend to use multiple facilities and generally workout alone. This location does not offer towels or towel service; I came from a Golds and was use to this but I know this can be a deal breaker for some.
THE EXPERIENCE:
For $10/month, I have found that Fitness Connection offers everything I need at a good price - definitely better than a Planet Fitness. It's cheaper than a Y over time and certainly not as busy, though I haven't been to FC past 5PM so I can't speak to the end of day busy time. People are generally pretty nice, and there aren't a lot of stereotypical meatheads or body builders. It's a good place for people with all kinds of fitness goals.
The actual facility itself, as I said, has everything I was looking for. There is a mix of new and older cardio equipment from stairmasters to AMTs and treadmills. I've never seen them all utilized at once and they seem to be in generally good shape. There are also two areas for weight lifting including selectorized machines, plate loaded machines, a deadlifting platform, smith machine, squat rack x2, and benches. Much like the cardio, these pieces seem to be a mix of old and new. Some are missing pins and occasionally I've needed to track down plates, but they're not in awful disrepair. I'm more often annoyed that no one seems to re-rack their weights (but I can't fault FC staff for this).
In addition to cardio and weights, FC offers an indoor track, personal training, TRX training, and group exercise and spin studios with multiple classes. Other locations also have pools and sport courts, if that's something you're interested in.
THE FACILITY:
I'd like to point out that the location certainly isn't in South Park, even though the name implies it. This location is near South and Tyvola. Not inconvenient for me, but also definitely not in South Park.
Like I said, the facility itself is large and open. I've never had an issue with crowding despite going different times in the morning and afternoon. I enjoy the layout and think it works well.
I have used the locker rooms multiple times and although the women's locker room is a weird layout (there are ellipticals in there?), it's not awful. There's a dry sauna as well as full showers, mirrors, and changing rooms. The lockers are a good size and fit my very full backpack.
One point I will harp on is the general cleanliness of the building. Every time I'm there, I've seen a member of staff cleaning or taking care of trash. It's nice to see, but I'm not quite sure how thorough their cleaning regime actually is. I've never seen them cleaning the machines, and though you're encouraged to wipe them down after use it would be even nicer to see staff cleaning them. Additionally, the floors are usually pretty dirty (especially in the locker rooms - lots of hair everywhere) even early in the morning, and it appears the mirrors throughout the building aren't cleaned very frequently either. More importantly are the bugs. In less than two weeks I've seen cockroaches in multiple areas of the gym, from the fitness floor to the locker room. One remained on the floor every day for three days. I've spoken to management about it, and they have let me know they're aware of it and recently sprayed, but it's still concerning. Where there's one, there's more.
Overall, it's a good gym if you're willing to bring your own towel and don't pay close attention to the cleanliness. I knew what I wanted when I joined and this beat the Y in terms of price, location, and amenities. Just wish it was cleaner!
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