Taking up the massive Goodlife Franchise in anyway from specialized workout facilities to gyms is always a challenge, but LA Fitness is kind of an anomaly in some ways. They seem to do pretty well in certain suburbs - and I've heard a great deal about them.
That is why I decided to check out the new LA Fitness when it just opened at Highway 7 and Woodbine. The studio itself is clean and open with plenty of equipment. I did notice some strange signs near the cardio area indicating that, "During peak periods, you may be requested to limit your workout to 20 minutes per machine".
Generally, my workouts are approximately 30-45 minutes on a cardio machine, and 20 minutes doesn't really cut it. While I understand the desire to put time limits on the machines, 20 minutes is frankly ridiculous if someone goes to the gym specifically to do a cardio workout.
I like that they have a basketball court - it definitely adds more excitement and interest to going to the gym. They also have better spin bikes than Goodlife with digital features instead of trying to figure out where my resistance should be during a spin class. Downsides are that they don't have a great deal of classes to chose from at any time. They are generally between 9:15 to 6-7pm.
They have a pool that is accessible via the change room, which is sprinkled with cautionary signage about juicing up. The changeroom lacks the most basic equipment for example they lack hair dryers. I can't imagine lugging one around in my gym bag.
La fitness is a satisfactory gym, but has a long way to go before it can be considered a satisfactory match to the Goodlife brand.