Gamble-Nippert YMCA

I have been a member of this YMCA off and on for over twenty years. The off and on comes from the amount of time it takes for them to repair broken equipment. Something I am using breaks, I get frustrated and cancel my membership and go somewhere else. The people are great, the amount of programs are excellent, but when things break, you need patience.

I’ve been a member at the YMCA here for 5 years. This is a few blocks from my house, has a great new (er) pool outside, recently underwent a color and paint update/​revival. It is a generally solid facility though not super huge, sprawling, or fancy; it certainly gets the job done.
The fitness staff is mostly hands off, which I enjoy, but they do interact with customers when they are asked for assistance, which is nice to know. In lieu of staff/​trainers there is the option to use the ActixTrax system, which seems relatively popular for assistance with goals and workouts. I’ve never taken the time to be ‘oriented’ so can’t say much about that myself.
The indoor pool runs warm– for the ‘silver sneakers’ crew I guess, but I used to swim here often. There is synchronized swimming in the evening so it has to be early in the day which my schedule doesn’t currently allow.
I tend to come to the Y later in the evening and enjoy being one of a few there. The weekends and earlier are too crowded for me. That is the way I feel about ALL facilities, it’snot a criticism here.
My only real complaint about this Y is that I don’t much like the pace, selection, or timing of the classes offered with my membership. In fact, I drive 30+ minutes from Zumba quite often to go to another Y or just go to the Western Sports Mall where the challenge is worth taking a class for. Every experience but one here has seemed slow, dumbed down, and not worth my time at Gamble-​Nippert, I’m envious of other facilities with more rigorous instructors/​classes, but just pay someone else for that.
The pricing structure for the YMCA used to be based on family size and income, but is now under a ‘Membership for All’ program I like this, but seriously need to ‘reapply’ because I easily pay twice as much as the SO with similar resources.
The staff here is nice, the facility is clean, and machines and décor were recently updated. For a gym up the street, I can’t complain.

I just turned 30. For me, this was a big deal. I hate to say it was a mid-​life crisis, because that would mean I’ll die when I’m 60. But still, it was tough for me.
As part of my realization that I was growing older and there was nothing I could do about it, I decided that there was, in fact, something I could do. I could get my ass off the couch and start getting in shape.
To that end, my family joined the YMCA. We decided on the Y for several reasons. It is very close to home. It offers activities for the entire family. It has onsite child care. And my wife gets a great discount through her job.
As a Y member I have access to all the greater Cincinnati Y’s, but unfortunately I’ve only been to this one. With that said, I’ve been very pleased with everything I’ve seen here. It has a huge outdoor pool with a slide and a water playground area, too. Inside they have a locker room, heated pool, hot tub, exercise room, 3 racquetball courts, a full size gym, and numerous classrooms for various activities.
The exercise room is well stocked with all the necessary machines to get a great workout whether you are looking for cardio or strength training. It also has a full complement of free weights.
The staff is always happy to help and the child care staff in particular seems to enjoy what they do. My daughter is always excited to go «play» at the Y while mom and dad get some exercise. Jason, in the exercise room, is always good for a quick tip on what exercises to do, and the proper way to do them. He is a great resource to help with your workout.
I’ve been really pleased with my YMCA membership and I love that we have such a great resource in my neighborhood.
Interesting note for this Y. This is where the award-​winning Cincinnati Synchrogators synchronized swimming team practices. They are an amazing group of athletes, so check them out (
).