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| - TL;DR review: Sketchy management, old equipment, dank/claustrophobic space. Go somewhere else...
There aren't good gym options within walking distance of the BWV/High Park area--a few overpriced, small boutique gyms and some class-only gyms... and System Fitness, which must benefit from the lack of other nearby "normal" gyms.
Entering System Fitness is like descending into a mine shaft so you might want to bring along a headlamp. Both floors are in the basement and the reception desk near the entrance is the last place in the gym you'll see any natural light. Adding to the gloomy feel, the ventilation is not very good so there's usually an unpleasant feel in the air, and the smells are often quite bad.
The cardio and weight machines are all crammed into the space in an incredibly tight and haphazard manner, which can make it inconvenient even to add free weights to some of the machines when someone is working out next to you. Many of the machines are quite old and not in the best condition.
A wide range of people work out at System Fitness, but there are too many meatheads. Grunting/yelling/dropping weights is pretty common on the lower floor.
System Fitness has slimy business practices. When you sign up for a membership, you might as well be dealing with a used car salesman because there is no set membership fee--you need to come prepared to negotiate the price. And after you finish signing up (and providing your payment info), they inform you that there's a mandatory "fitness assessment," which is ultimately just a mandatory sales pitch for personal training.
The worst part, though, is that even after signing the contract, they do not hold up their end. While many reviewers have written that they make it very hard to cancel your membership, I actually ran into the opposite problem. When I first signed up, I didn't want to commit to more than six months and accepted a higher rate than if I'd committed to a full year. The sales rep wrote into my contract that after the initial six month period, my membership would automatically switch over to month-to-month auto-debit at the same rate. When I walked in at the end of six months, though, the receptionist informed me that my membership had ended. I explained that it was supposed to switch over to month-to-month, but a manager came over and told me in an extremely condescending manner that they'd done me a "big favor" by allowing me to commit to only six months. If I wanted to continue there, I'd have to renegotiate the rate and commit to another six months--clearly contrary to what the sales rep had written into my contract (which I still had at home).
Figuring that they'd done enough "favors" for me, I walked out and signed up the next day with another gym about 15 minutes down the road. For a fraction of what I'd been paying at System Fitness, I now have access to many locations where the equipment is newer, there's plenty of natural light, the spaces don't feel claustrophobic, and there's only a minimum amount of grunting/dropping weights. My new gym is also very up-front about membership fees.
While I wish I didn't need my car to work out, the inconvenience is completely worth it because I no longer need to deal with System Fitness and their sketchy business practices.
I strongly recommend that you pass on System Fitness.
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