Fitness Formula Clubs South Loop

I’ve been a member of this location for about 4 months and am overall happy with the gym. I have taken many of the Group Fitness classes and love, love, love Adam for Yoga, Ron for ANY group fitness class esp. Fitcore, Arthur for Spin and Jamie for #312 and Fitcore. I’m not happy with Amy T. for Spinning (on Mon) which for the majority of the class just seems to yell and scream which after a long day at work, I don’t want to hear yelling and screaming. It doesn’t motivate me whatsoever. Her style of spinning has made me drop that particular class as part of my workout regimen which is a shame because I love to spin. The door is left open during her class. She should close the door when the class starts so others don’t have to hear her scream. If there is a Sub, I do attend the class on Monday. The personal trainers are great! The location is great!

The facility itself is fine, but I’m very upset after being led to believe freezing my membership was the way to go after I stopped by to cancel due to financial reasons.
Was told I’d pay a one time fee of $ 25 when it was actually a monthly payment of $ 25 + annual fee of $ 55.
Manager told me I should’ve read the fine print a little better. Yes, I should have. If you choose this gym make sure you ask them to print the contract (they only show it to you on a screen real quick) and read it in full, or else you may be fooled by their employee like I was.

I stopped in to get a smoothie, I do not belong to this gym and I did not come for a work out. The girl making the smoothie was on her phone the entire time, dropped the straw on the floor and still tried to give me the straw!!! I had to ask for a different one. She gave a look like, «Oh, yeah! I did just drop it» but never apologized. She was still on her phone and probably didn’t want to interrupt her conversation by having to explain why she was apologizing.
The smoothie was very good, (I ordered the wrong one, but still liked it anyway), but not worth the price for the tacky service.

Five stars, kids! It’s so familiar again, but I’d forgotten how great a consistent workout regimen makes me feel physically and mentally. Great people and fantastic workout environment. Just bought a package with Cliff. Every session I love the guy for about 45 minutes, but I tell you — those last 15 minutes are a bitch. Then I like him again when I realize I made it through the hour without falling over and accidentally tossing a weight through the window on to State Street. That would suck.
Then I’d have to go to LA Fitness.
And that would really fucking suck.

This was my first gym. It was small but it’s clean and the equipments are usually available no matter when you go so that’s good lol though when I first signed up I was supposed to have 3 free personal trainer sessions and I only got 1 and it was a really bad one… after that he just dismissed me completely. That was like 5 – 6 years ago tho lol

Solid gym. Not too crowded, enough machines for everyone. They do seem to be getting a bit «cross-​fifty» with lunkheads shaking ropes, but otherwise it’s one of the best gyms I have ever belonged to. Gym fees are a bit on the high side, but the equipment and facilities are all in good repair and kept clean, so I guess I’m getting what I pay for.

Monday evening yoga with Chrissy, is a great start to the week! i found another favorite yoga teacher at FFC

I was just in town checking out your gym, and had a quick question about your equipment. Your trainer Corey was super friendly and helpful. Top notch customer service, and he is the type of training personality that keeps people coming back. Tell him to keep up the good work!
Jeremy

So I’m not a gym person. The thought makes me shudder. But after having a baby, and being so frustrated with how I look I followed my friend and co-​worker there on her lunch break, and quickly joined. I love the variety of classes, and how clean it is. The staff is friendly, and the people working out are all shapes and sizes.
So far so good, Im going to go this weekend for the first time so we will see if my opinion changes at all.

I am so happy with FFC. I have been meeting with Brooke for my personal training sessions and couldn’t be more motivated! I never though I would enjoy waking up at 4 am for a workout but I am! She gives me advice for my eating habits, my work out habits and is getting me to the goal that I need. I highly recommend this gym and especially recommend Brooke for your personal training needs!
I also highly recommend the group classes that they offer! I have never had a bad class. I especially enjoy Keith’s spin class or Ron’s kickboxing class! As for Pilates, Matt is amazing as well!
Thank you FFC for standing out above the rest! Always clean, everyone is always nice and happy!!!

I’m torn between a 3 and a 4, but since I like the union station location much better and it’s still not getting 5 stars, I suppose South Loop gets a 3.
Pros:
— It’s huge! Especially for cardio equipment — there’re rows and rows and rows of them.
— Longer hours. Normally I prefer the union station location, but that place closes at 3PM over the weekends. So if I woke up late /​went to brunch I’d come here later in the day.
— Location is great. Right next to the Roosevelt CTA station (Red, Green, and Orange lines), and across from grocery stores. I’ve made gymming then grocery shopping a Saturday routine by now.
— People are more chill. IDK if it’s just me, but I feel like the union station location is full of super buff hardcore finance bros who are there to flaunt and it can be pretty intimidating. Here there are more «normal» people just trying to get a work out, like myself.
Cons:
— Price. FFC is definitely very expensive, and if you don’t use all of their benefits like attending classes all the time /​location hop a lot /​can get a great deal by hopping onto your employer or SO’s plan it’s not worth the $$
— Fees. Kind of rides off the previous point, but there’s also a hefty initiation fee. It kind of plays with your psychology that when you want to go to another gym you think «Oh but but I paid so much to join this one!!» Even though economically speaking it’s sunk cost and should no longer be factored into your decision making process.
— Equipment appears more run down than other locations. They are still very decent and high quality, but just somehow has an old dusty feel to them. Same thing with the locker rooms.
— No herbal hand towels?! Ok this is more like a personal thing. The union station location has this tiny fridge on your way out w/​some cool minty wet herbal towels. I love getting one after a hard work out. Didn’t find any such thing here though =(

I still don’t know why I am foolish enough to pay for a Premier membership at FFC. I pay for a locker– yet others camp out in lockers for free– if you belong to South Loop feel free to take any locker you want– any size– for FREE– don’t bother paying like me– the equipment is as old as time– laundry– I pay for laundry– yet they lose my clothes– they are never available when needed– I am a fool– if it wasn’t for Lisa and formerly Nazha (who moved to oak park– congrats!) I wouldn’t belong to this club– but they keep me– and it’s only because of them that I stay– I had hip surgery in December of 2014– and like others– they would not let me put my membership on hold for 6 weeks while in a brace– even under Doctors care– Clean yes– personal training awesome– the rest I am so disappointed!

Pretty decent location. I wish the lockers were cleaner on the inside. I also wish the shower heads could all be replaced. Half of them are falling apart. Otherwise, classes and equipment here suit my needs just fine,
Fyi, the elevator to floor one from the parking garage is suuuuuuper slow to close/​open. So if you’re paranoid about getting shanked in a vacant parking garage, this may not be a good fit for you. The doors lit-​trally take 3 mins to close. This is more of a property management issue rather than FFC though, I’m assuming. Just beware and watch yourself in the garage.

I have been an executive in the fitness industry for over 10 years. Recently I opened my own company which led me to search for my first membership in roughly 15 years. First, I would like to give kudos to Mikey whom did my tour. It is not easy handling handling a client that’s has extensive experience in health clubs. He was professional, built rapport, and did not high pressure me and did an amazing job following up. The facility is clean, not busy, has some top notch equipment, and it is a place I would actually feel safe to leave things in a locker. For those complaining about price in comparison to XSport I challenge you to take all you valuables out of a wallet and leave it in a locker at one of the XSports. It will not be there when you get back. There is a $ 99 enrollment which you get back in services when you workout 36 times. All gyms have enrollments and this helps keep a place clean and allows to higher great staff which FFC does with employees like Mikey. I own a medical weight loss clinic and from now on will refer my patients to FFC so I know they will be treated with the same top notch service I received.

I’ve officially cancelled. It is just too expensive, especially considering the price increases and additional fees. Not enough bang for your buck I tried to negotiate price with them before I left but they just wouldn’t do it. To me, that is just poor business.
Considering the lack of space and amenities at the South Loop facility compared to others, they really should offer a membership to this location only for a substantially discounted price.
Back to gym shopping…

Went for a Thai massage with Tayo Sampson and I cannot explain how amazing the experience was. I feel like a new person just in time for the Chicago Marathon. Thank you FFC

a cautiously optimistic update.
I still contend the physical appearance of the club, equipment, clientele and general workout experience is nice – and I have enjoyed. The general manager did contact me and address a specific concern. We did not have a follow-​up conversation when I returned her call-​but I can’t say that was utmost importance to me – a specific matter I requested was addressed effectively. My concerns remain that the administrative/​management services (my experiences have been in the PM) have not been proactive – and the situation required a Unilocal complaint for it to be addressed. Issues have not been extensive – but I wouldn’t say isolated. I have chosen to stay with the club related to their response to my concern and am open to noticing signs that they are taking a more proactive and service oriented administrative/​managerial approach – I will update accordingly and fairly if and/​or as I see improvement.

to poorly paraphrase a quote from the actor who plays Jaime Lannister: «i don’t like going to the gym… but it allows me to do fun things.» this also sums up my thoughts on the matter, though i suspect his notion of fun (making millions of dollars in acting and modeling contracts) is a little different from mine (eating lunch while running up 3 flights of stairs without getting too short of breath so no one realizes how almost-​late i am again)
i have been coming here for over a year now and am still happy about it. my requisites for a gym are that it’s not swimming in MRSA, has towel and locker services, and offers good group abs and spin classes that are attended by more than just me. though FFCSL is definitely the most expensive gym in the area, it’s also definitely the nicest gym in the area. everyone really is ridiculously friendly, especially the trainers – especially Princess!!! despite my always being super rude in return b/​c i 1) hate working out (see above) and 2) hate sweating
do i wish they had more cable channels so i could guiltily cardio to SpongeBob Squarepants in relative anonymity? of course. but i more appreciate the diversity of age, race, body shape and size, income, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. in the people who come here to work out. this is a gym for grown-​ups, not for people to cut each other w/​their excessively prominent 10^th ribs while bemoaning how fat they still are and clandestinely popping an ipecac/​anabolic steroid-​laced laxative in preparation for a night on the town

I have been a member at this gym for the past 2 years and am very satisfied with the gym. The negative review is ONLY related to the practice of assessing a one-​time fee on (what seems) an annual basis.
New members should be aware that after 1 year they will start receiving letters from FFC that modifies their membership agreement and assesses a one-​time fee (~$ 60.00) in addition to your monthly membership rate. In my opinion this is not a fair or honest practice and should be clearly disclosed when you sign a contract.
This practice purposely lowers your membership fee to make it more competitive. However, it is not an accurate total.

When I lived in the South Loop, I belonged to FFC. In my opinion, it is the best gym in the area. Like most girls, I feel uncomfortable in a gym packed with tons of guys. FFC is a little less ‘meaty’ than other gyms in the area, and has a good mix of people.
The staff is extremely nice, and the trainers were as well. I got a free personal training session for signing up, and I never felt pressured into buying additional sessions. It is a smaller gym, so the personal trainers were always available for questions or advice on working out. The best thing about this gym was the yoga classes. Hannah was one of the teachers who taught yoga at FFC, and thanks to her, I fell in love with yoga. She has a great energy, and her classes were fun, challenging, and relaxing.
The cardio classes are also awesome and they really do kick your butt. The only class I took that I didn’t love at FFC was pilates, which was taught by personal trainers who didn’t do the exercises with the class. Also, they didn’t play music in the pilates class, so it was a bit awk.