Lakeforest Sport&Health

The club is great for weightlifters, with lots of machines and free weights, and the cardio section is not too bad either.
Adam, the general manager, is doing a fantastic job!
Charles

The facilities are clean enough, there’s a good range of equipment that is pretty well-​kept. group class instructors are wonderful.

This is a great gym with awesome staff and everything I need to stay in shape as an athlete in the off season. Highly recommend!

Staff are all friendly and great. Trainers are awesome and all very good. My only complaint is, they need some better instructors for their classes. No offense, but fresh younger more high energy people that love a good burn. Many of the classes come off rehearsed. I do like the Body Attack class on Monday, Lisa P is awesome and kicks your butt! She’s different than other Lisa trainer. Lisa Tanya and Lauren are your fun upbeat people. One thing I dislike about classes is a lot of the classes in morning seem geared toward the older crowd that comes in and are run by the older instructors. I’d like to see some more fun group classes — more yoga and Pilates options — less ZUMBA which is everyday give me a break. It is way too festive. If you love ZUMBA join but I can only take so much. Cycle instructors are fair, I like Wednesday night teacher. There’s also an Abs class which is pretty good. Other than that, eh. Rio and Rockville offer WAAYY better options and run all day. On Friday there is nothing in evenings. On weekends the staff often cannot get their act together and come in on time in morning, this is pathetic. They should also open earlier on weekends. If not 6 then 7. ON TIME. Locker rooms are not maintained as well as they should be. There are no towels, price to pay for a cheaper rate. Bring your own. They used to have a small shop in lobby too but that’s gone. The steam room is good and good temperature. Weight room is good, equipment seems prevalent. Cable, free weight and standard machines here. The cardio theatre in my opinion is stupid, I hardly see anybody in there and it’s dark so you can watch movies. Turn on lights, and use space better with stairmasters and treadmills because the ones upstairs are always filled. One thing I will say is it doesn’t seem like the meat market of other clubs I’ve been to, people stay mostly to themselves and there’s not the «gym-​timidation» factor. Pretty normal people of all classes there to do their thing. The pool is good and seems pretty popular. Lots of good options here and normal negatives because no place is perfect, and I actually like that you have to use stairs to get back to your car because it’s an extra workout :) I’m saying no about kids because the child care center is small and not nearly as good as Rio.

5-​stars for the super-​nice staff, including fitness class trainers, front desk and kids club personnel. 0-​stars for the cleanness on the bottom level. The other day, I’ve noticed a dead cockroach floating in the pool. Gross. Women’s locker could be tended better too. I see the cleaning staff walking around with mops but still lots of hair on the floor in the lockers and studios. Shower section is very outdated, dark and smells of mold. You may want to bring your own hair dryer, the ones provided are very old. Sinks/​faucets are outdated as well and should be replaced. Main floor is much cleaner and better maintained.

Can I get married here? Can we have an after-​hours party? Can we bring back the bar and popcorn?
Lakeforest Sport&Health is the best gym in the United States. Our staff and gym members create an extraordinary experience. The social value is this gym’s greatest asset. While we do not offer aerial yoga, pilates, or other fleeting fads, we provide more enduring things: incredible diversity, interesting people of sound character, and conversations that enhance the human condition. Where else in the world can you belong to a local gym where you’d rather get to know the other gym members than work out?
The diversity here spans socioeconomic and ethnic diversity. In this gym, we have Marine Corps veterans, former Olympic wrestlers, Iranian Army Rangers, Russan ping pong masters, Rock N Roll Marathon 3^rd-​place finishers, and gluten-​free, non-​GMO nutritionists. The average age of the clientele here is older than that of other gyms. From many of the older members, I have learned how to live a good life. They have great stories, too.
After I park my car in the Sports Authority parking lot (the fifth spot from the left in the middle of the lot, facing east), I head towards the small hill. Be careful when there is ice or mud as this hill becomes slippery. If you run down the hill in one fluid motion, you reduce your risk of falling. Going up the hill is more difficult. I recommend going up next to the lamp post with the E-​Force bumper stick, or you can go up to the right of the big tree.
On the weekends, I get to the gym at 7am so I can hang out outside with the other people. The gym doesn’t open until 7:30am, but those 30 minutes go by so quickly. The first part of the weekend experience consists of stimulating conversation outside. Then Lauren, who works at the front desk, lets us in. On Saturdays, I typically do leg day, followed by Lauren B.‘s spinning class. There is a mixture of electronic music, 90’s hits, and Top 40 songs.
On Sundays, I typically do shoulder day, followed by Lynn’s spinning class and Body Shred class. The spinning class consists of Top 40 songs, specifically «Centuries» by Fall Out Boy and «Sledgehammer» by Fifth Harmony. The Body Shred class is the most challenging class in the gym. It’s a high-​intensity 30-​minute workout that features remixes of «Shake It Off» by Taylor Swift and «Dark Horse» by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J. I highly recommend doing all of the aforementioned classes.
On both Saturday and Sunday, I’m at the gym for no more than 6 hours each day. My mouth usually does most of the workout. You can’t blame me though. I do many errands at the gym. I need to ask questions to one person, inquire if another needs a tailor, and walk around to see who’s here. Eventually I get lost in conversation.
Speaking of the people here, the personal training staff, management, membership consultants, janitorial staff, lifeguards, yoga instructors, and class instructors are excellent people. I am very grateful for each of them. Thank you! Adam, the general manager, is doing a great job. I met the CEO of Sport&Health a few months ago, and I informed him that Adam and the rest of the staff are amazing employees. Jeannie, Ali, Burnett, Enrique, Catalina, both Laurens, both Paiges, Daniella, Joyce, Dorinda, both Bens, Zach, both Mikes, Andrea, Christy, Lindsey, Joanna, Johanna, Joanny, Heather, Melanie, Shannon, Alex, Haley, Lucinda and others are good, hard-​working people. I appreciate them.
I do yoga at Lakeforest on a regular basis with Dorinda, Mike, and Joanna. Dorinda’s practice is a tough workout. Joanna’s is 75 minutes and is even more challenging. Mike’s sessions produce a lot of zen, and one can learn about the many different sanskrit names. If you do Joyce’s class, you feel really warm and fuzzy. Heather’s class has many deep, intense stretches. Melanie offers a gentle version.
The gym offers WIFI (in case you’re interested in creating an app that helps start-​ups start start-​ups), a sauna, steam room, massage parlor, ping pong table, racquetball courts, and a swimming pool, in addition to the standard (weight-​lifting machines, cardio equipment, and free weights). A common complaint of this gym is the equipment is «old,» which may lead one to infer that the equipment is inferior. The equipment is actually high-​quality. Even if the equipment is actually older in age, I don’t see why it matters. You can get into the best shape of your life here.
I have noticed a trend among millennials to join LA Fitness instead of Sport&Health. I do not know what they’re thinking. They must be following the herd. LA Fitness is the least-​inviting, most drab gym I have ever stepped foot into. I’m sure that other gyms are okay, but Sport&Health is better.
This gym is the place to see and be seen. Many beautiful people work out here. The gym never becomes crowded. I give my highest recommendation. You should join!

This location is by far the worst gym I have been to. The customer service is atrocious, the equipment and facilities are out dated. I was a member of the gym about 7 years ago. One of the membership consultants made a racist remark to me and later denied it. I decided to give it another chance thinking that management had changed over. The managers tend to behave like frat boys instead of professionals.
I was a part of Rio Sport and Health for 3 years and it was spectacular. The customer service agents were out of this world. The management and membership staff were pros.
However, the Lakeforest location is the complete opposite.
Corporate Sport and Health are also unresponsive. They never called me back or responded to my numerous emails. They need to hire female gym directors. I’ve noticed that they’ve never had a female manager on staff anytime of the years I’ve been a member.
UPDATE
Lakeforest Sport and Health still has not responded to two emails and one phone call from last month. They have not stopped the automated payments. They’re literally stealing money. I don’t know what else to do except file a BBB report and use social media.

This review is purely based on the staff and facility at Lakeforest, NOT the sacks of s*** at Customer Service Headquarters.
The facilities are clean enough, there’s a good range of equipment that is pretty well-​kept. The trainers are very nice, and group class instructors are wonderful. I fully recommend a class with Margaret!
The lockers are nice and simple. Towels aren’t available because there was a problem with people stealing them (surprise). Simple, nice gym, no bells and whistles.
Unfortunately, I wanted to transfer to another location because I got a new job and it worked better with my schedule, so I did a trail at the Worldgate location. At the end of my trial, I wanted to transfer.
The cost of a month-​to-​month membership was DOUBLE what I was paying at Lakeforest. When I asked why, I was thrown a «you can get a 6% discount if you sign up for a year and pay all your dues up front!»
Yeah. No.
So I said that I wasn’t interested and wanted to cancel. Up to this point Customer Service was very responsive and helpful. But I say the word «cancel»…well, apparently when I signed up on my month-​to-​month membership, there was fine print on the contract that I never got a copy of because their printer was broken. I have to give notice to cancel the month before by the 25^th of the month before I want to cancel. It was June 1^st. They wanted to charge me through August.
An hour on the phone with a nasty and apathetic woman and multiple emails snarky emails from Customer Service later they claim they’ll waiver my July dues. I’ll wait and see.
A nice gym, but TERRIBLE Customer Service who are rude and throw that contract in your face. At least give me a copy of it before you try to pull that crap.

Good gym with with clean working equipment Most users do wipe down the equipment after use.
Showers and locker room is always clean and neat. Lockers are always available. No long term locker use allowed.
Steam spa is hit and miss. When down for repairs takes them a few days/​week to get back up and running. Steam spa could be bigger. Dry spa is mostly in good working condition
Plastic bags for your sweaty workout gear is another item this gym seem to not keep in stock
Overall a good gym. Gets busy during peak hours. Parking can be an issue.
Pool area is always clean, not a pool user myself but always seems most lanes are being used.
Very friendly professional staff, eager to assist you and your workout goals

After moving to the area, I wanted to find a new gym that would be convenient for after work and near my house. I commute to work in DC regularly so this place was near my house and had a good website.
I stopped in randomly after work to see if I could get a tour of the place. The women at the front desk were nice and I signed in. An older man in his late 50s had been waiting for a while so I settled in to wait till he was taken care of. About 3 minutes later one of the new-​member mangers came out and introduced himself to me. The other man that had been waiting left in somewhat of a huff, leaving me feeling a little uncomfortable that they clearly had skipped over him. I hate to think that they were judging me because I was younger and still dressed from work (shirt/​tie) but that was the vibe I got.
Anyways, the new member manager was nice, we talked about how I found the gym and such. I explained explicitly that I was looking at several gyms in the area and was only here for a tour. I was not planning on signing up today. We proceeded with the tour. The space is actually quite nice, plenty of equipment though some looked a little worn. I was there at the typical «rush time» and it wasn’t overly crowded. The pool which I was excited to see was a let down. It was only 3 lanes and the whole space looked somewhat old and dirty. I’m not looking for a spa, but it just wasn’t consistent with how their website presented it. Overall though everything looked descent and the manager was knowledgable.
After the tour, the problems really started. The manager told me about these incentives that if I signed up today I would get a month free etc. I explained again that I wasn’t planning on signing up today, I appreciated the tour and really liked the gym. He seemed to not understand this and continued saying that it wouldn’t cost me anything right now and my next payment wouldn’t be till April. I tried to explain several times that I was interested in just a tour and how much a typical membership would cost. He continued to be pushy, asking me why I didn’t want to sign up today sometimes insinuating that I was wasting his time. I finally had to say that I didn’t care about any incentives or a free month or whatever, that if I liked the gym I would sign up when I was ready and pay whatever new member fees there were.
By this point it was clear that he was disinterested in me and was clearly glancing over my shoulder at other new clients in the waiting area. I thanked him for his time, shook his hand (which he clearly wasn’t planning on doing unless I initiated it.) No business card was given, no «we hope to see you back» or anything.
I felt like I was at a car dealership and they may been even less pushy. Of course his job is to make sale for new members and give incentives to help them sign up right then. But I was clear from the beginning of my intentions. His pushy attitude left me with a bad view of the gym and will not be joining. The gym itself is descent, not spectacular, but customer service seems to be poor. I could only imagine the hassle it is to cancel a membership. Luckily I will not have to find out.

I’ve visited several gyms in the Rockville/​Gaithersburg area. both the expensive ones and cheap ones and decided to stay on this one.
It has an indoor pool (big plus for me) which was recently renovated and is never too crowded. the rates are reasonable and includes free weight (unlike a cheaper/​newer company in the market). The staff is nice and the place is clean.
It is not the newest most modern gym but it has all i need and considering my hose and work place location, is just the best option for me. and I am enjoying it so far.

Staff is always very friendly and attentive, everyone from the membership manager to the janitor is willing to greet you with a smile and makes an effort to get to know you. The trainers are very professional and knowledgeable and attempt to assist and encourage you when possible. Gym facilities are usually very clean and not terribly crowded which is much appreciated. Everyone is very good about answering any questions or helping whenever possible. Thanks!

PROS:
* very clean gym area. not too over-​crowded before 12 p.
* staff was very friendly + helpful.
* LOVE the lounge area w/​leather furniture /​magazines /​kerig coffee machine /​tv. located in between the front desk area + the downstairs locker-​rooms.
* the locker-​rooms were spotless. IMPRESSIVE.
CONS:
* only 4 showers were working properly out of 10. they kept turning off every 1 minute. it started to feel like ‘shower roulette.’ i felt VERY uncomfortable.

This Sport & Health and smaller and older than the Rio Sport & Health. It has a lot less equipment.
The pool area is pretty small, and of the times I have been there, they did not designate lanes for lap swimming so there would be people just standing in the water conversing.
The women’s locker room/​showers are NASTY. The water would randomly stop running in the showers. They also do not give out towels.

They get it done. I am biased because we left a stellar gym up in CT when we moved here. And this was the best option for where we live and what we can afford. They DO offer a discount to MCPS employees, so I scored on that count.
So yeah… the price is right. I hate this location for having those treacherous stairs and a lousy parking situation. But once you get inside I’m OK with it. They have plenty of cardio machines, and I like their darkened cardio theater room as an escape from the upstairs hustle and bustle.
The staff are usually nice. We also partook of a couple random classes (the free types) and they were laid back and totally welcoming to us as newbies wandering in for the first time. The Body Pump instructor (I cannot remember her name, but this is a class with weights and stuff, so I MAY have the name wrong) was especially helpful and recommended starting weights for us and kept an eye on us as we went through the routines for the first time.
Overall it fits. It isn’t perfect, but for what we need it suits.

Pros: They have all the necessary equipment needed for a good work out.
Cons: Some of the male staff members come off as douche bags. There have been numerous occasions where I’m trying to check in and they stand at the front desk in the way chatting with the front desk staff and never have they acknowledge me, apologize for being in the way or even greeted me. As for the female staff members they all have sticks up their butts. They’ll say hi, but no enthusiasm. I think the only friendly people there are the custodians.
The parking sucks, to the point that it over flows into the parking lot of another business (sports authority). Management doesn’t enforce the «no parking» zones. I mean seriously people, parking in a no parking zone shows how truly lazy you people really are. What’s the point in going to the gym if you’re gonna be lazy about walking an extra 50 – 100 ft? Think of it as a warm up to your warm up walk on the treadmill.
I used to play racquetball a lot till they started charging extra on top of your members fees to be able to use a room for an hour. Soon they will start charging us hourly fees to use the equipment on top of monthly fees.

I really like this gym. It’s not perfect, but for $ 40/​month you get a lot for your money since they have a pool, sauna, and steam.
The pluses are that it is very clean, there is a lot of equipment and it is not cramped. The new cardio theater is great and helps the time pass by quickly when doing a cardio workout. The staff are friendly and there is a real mix of people there of all ages, which makes it not intimidating.
They also offer a really good class schedule including Zumba.

This is one of the best gyms in the gaithersburg area because it has the most offerings for the price. Pool, racquetball, classes, sauna steam, hot tub. Its is not the most expensive gym, and not the least, but just right. Brand new renovations, with lots of equipment, and new Cardio Theater, where you can watch movies.
I find that the gym is busy after 5pm until about 8 or so, but that is the case with most gyms in the area, but not busy at all from 10am– 4pm, which is night and day compared to fitness first.
The staff is friendly, and eager to help. Most of what they can and can not do to accomodate members comes from their corporate office.
In this industry you get what you pay for, and you should certasinly get your moneys worth at this location.

This place has it’s highs and low. Membership I pay is 40 a month, very fair I think. General manager seems like a nice enough guy and is always friendly to the members when I see him.
Personal training staff all seem like good trainers also, I worked with JC, i’d recommend him. The weight room is crowded at times, mainly over the winter time, but going past 8 or before 5 is the best way to get a wait free workout in.
The mens locker room smells like poison, I can’t breath any time I walk in there. They should set time limits on how long men should be naked too but that’s prob a problem in all gyms. Bring a mask, and maybe a blindfold and you’ll be fine.

Went in and toured the place yesterday and liked it enough to sign up. It’s the best price around that I could find in the area and it has everything I wanted. The machines are great with pleanty of them. I didn’t have any of the troubles that the other reviewer did with the sales manager. I’m looking forward to getting into some of the classes that they offer.