YMCA – New Hope

The standard of this Y is no where close to the other YMCA venues to which I have been before. White bearlake, Shore view, rigdale are so far better in terms of quality of group exercise trainers, gym equipments, floor area, facility maintenance. Number of classes offered in other Ys are far more and well laid out!
unfortunate that this is the only Y around new hope, Plymouth!

Pros:
I second pretty much everything Valerie said below. What’s really nice about the New Hope Y (and I think most of the Twin Cities’ YMCA locations in general) is the variety of classes at convenient times. You can go to a class in the early morning before work, or after work, whatever suits your fancy. Be sure to do the equipment orientation/​fitness assessment with a trainer right after joining to get the most from your membership. A few specifics I would like to point out:
* Low-​key, relaxed atmosphere: You don’t need fancy gym clothes here!
* Members are friendly in workout classes
* Good place to bring your little ones if you have kids — there are plenty of kids milling around and the atmosphere is very kid-​friendly
* Silver Sneakers fitness classes for the older folks
* Recently renovated; the locker room stairway has been re-​done with tile instead of carpet and is much brighter now.
* Hot tub is relaxing after a swim
* Sauna in the women’s locker room is nice and warm, too
* This Y has great adult swimming lessons. The student-​instructor ratio is about 4:1 for the Water Adjustment (very beginning) class, and 6:1 for the Stroke Development class. The New Hope location isn’t too crowded, either, so if you are self-​conscious about people seeing you struggling in the water, don’t fear. The atmosphere is relaxed, low-​key, and the instructors won’t push you beyond your comfort level.
* Highly recommend Les Mills Body Pump for those who are new to weight lifting and looking to build up their strength. The class format is the same across all Y locations so the class you take at your Y near home is the same as the class you take at your Y near work, if you commute.
* Angela P is TRULY an amazing Body Flow instructor. Check her class out.
* Mark A is a good personal trainer if you are into strength training and want to be really challenged.
* Plenty of workout classes on the holidays (Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, etc)
* Parking lot almost never gets too crowded (even on holidays). I think the only time it took me awhile to find a parking spot was during Spring Break in the morning because there were a lot of families there.
Cons:
* The pool felt really cold to me unless I was swimming vigorously (then again I am small so perhaps most people don’t feel as cold). This can be solved by wearing a rash guard if you are too cold.
* This one could be a pro or con depending which demographic you fall into. The clientele at this Y (and most Twin Cities YMCAs in general) is mostly elderly folks and families with small children. If you’re young, single, and looking to meet someone at the gym, this is not the place for you.

Love this place because:
1. They offer a variety of more classes than other fitness in the area
2. Angela the body flow, core conditioning and yoga instructor is amazing
3. You can get discounts on membership through insurance
4. The building is very well maintained and staff is thoughtful and friendly.
5. Has most everything you need to be get in shape
Cons.
1. Gets super busy in the gym… but I think this is at most gyms
2. They don’t have a huge amount of weights
Overall– I like the Y because it’s convenient with the tons of classes and very accessible. They also offer a ton of services for the community!

I just joined after visiting Life Time Maple Grove, Gold’s, and LA Fitness. YMCA won (Life time was a very close 2^nd.)
Classes were important to me. YMCA had the most.
Kid-​friendly was also important to me. YMCA is.
Pricing is good (no up front fees w. my Medica insurance & $ 62 per month before my insurance + work discounts) No hidden costs anywhere. Easy to cancel /​easy to adjust if I want to add on my fam. later.
Super friendly staff. Low key ambiance — kids all over the place. My first dance aerobics class was so much fun! I love Life Time’s brand & spaces, but I also love that at YMCA my $$ go towards a nonprofit with a great mission. I don’t think it is for everyone, but I felt right at home here & was surprised by how much they had to offer. The older ladies in my first class all introduced themselves and told me I did a great job for my first try. That’s what I like to hear! The equipment is fine. The gym is clean. I’m not afraid to make a fool of myself at this place, and that’s so important!
For the record — If you’re comparing — Gold’s in BC surprisingly had a lot to offer for $ 20 a month & has new ownership, but just isn’t as nice or kid-​friendly. Life Time is fab, but also for-​profit and almost a little too advanced & polished for me… LA Fitness in Brooklyn Park is nice space, competitive rates, but the sales guy creeped me out and blatantly lied about Life Time’s pricing to try to get his deal which I think is pretty shady… Lying = not cool. Shame on you!
I didn’t want just a little «equipment» gym like Snap or Anytime so didn’t check into them…
Good luck with your gym hunt! I will adjust this review if they let me down, but so far, so good!

This is my home YMCA. It has been recently refurbished and is in great shape. New carpet, new paint, all new aerobics machine with iPod hookups and fans right on the equipment! I love that! Also a new outdoor water park for little kids that looks fun. The people who work there are nice. It’s not a place «to be seen» which I like.

I love this gym for the hot sauna (200 degrees in the women’s locker room), the deep hot tub, the willingness of the lifeguards to enforce the «shower before swimming» policy, the Splash Deck for my kids, the HUGE showers and the cardio equipment.
The downsides are a cruddy Kids Stuff room, a swimming area that feels like an observation room, scary tiled stairs down from the locker rooms to the pool, slow (sometimes painfully so) front desk staff, VERY heavy front doors and an inadequate free weight area. Also — no complimentary workout towels in the fitness center, boo.

The club is decent. It’s showing it’s age but it’s clean and the equipment is up to date. PLUS they have Fitlinxx!!! That is a huge bonus and you should check it out for sure. It really makes tracking progress and setting goals easy. I took 2 stars off this rating though. I knocked out one star for the terrible locker rooms. They need new carpet, new lockers, and a paint job STAT! I also took off a star for the poor quality of the class instructors. There is no energy! The volume level is always really low, there is no or poor cueing for upcoming moves, alternate moves for different fitness levels are never mentioned or they are demoed at the very beginning and never revisited, there is just no motivation! I’ve taken 5 different types of classes with 3 or 4 sessions in each with multiple instructors in each. I’ve had good bodystep classes but everything else is blah!