Gold’s Gym

When you’re serious about health and fitness, there is no other gym. No one will attempt to break your concentration here or flirt and waste your time. It’s serious bodybuilders, weightlifters and everyday, average people trying to better themselves. I have been a member for nearly 4 years and love the home away from home. I can work out freely and with plenty of equipment and if I need a spotter, people are always willing to pitch in. It’s clean, it’s the mecca of all gyms and I will never change!

This location has closed and become a Crunch

I had SUCH a positive experience at this Crunch gym while I was home in NYC this past summer.
At the beginning of August I found some free 3-​day passes that my friend and I used to try a variety of classes. On the last day of my pass, I got a phone call from Robert Ruiz, who I think must be in charge of customer recruitment or something similar, to ask about how I was enjoying the gym, etc. I went in to speak with him, because I had the idea that maybe I could buy a one– or two-​week pass for the gym, since I had such little time left at home.
Not that unusually, non-​contract prices were exorbitant (and unfortunately, they don’t offer 10-​class packs or anything like that).
But Robert was fantastic — really honest, understanding, friendly, and helpful. I told him that those prices were way out of my budget (to be honest, anything was out of my budget, but I needed to work out!) and he hooked. me. up. and helped me out SO much. Robert, you are a champ, thank you so much!
Classes I tried this summer:
— urban rebounding: cardio on a mini-​trampoline, a lot harder than expected, but a lot of fun and a great workout
— Zumba classes with a variety of teachers: all fantastic. I love Zumba and I LOVE how hard the teachers work you here. Damn, Zumba. You hard.
— vinyasa yoga with Kenny: fan-​tas-​tic. Truly, the best yoga class I’ve ever been to. I like yoga but it’s not my favorite, but I was OBSESSED with Kenny’s yoga class. Unfortunately his vacation coincided with my last days in NYC, but I think he should be back by now, and I highly recommend trying his class. I also had one yoga class with Derric which was good, too, but I only had eyes (and downward dog) for Kenny.
Thanks again, Crunch!

Background: Got a groupon.
I want to give them more stars, I really do… but it just isn’t up to par for me. It is not the gym for me because it was a bit confusing. I couldn’t find the women’s locker room right away because, though not hidden per se, it was not as apparent as I would have liked. I walked right passed it. In addition, in the other gyms that I’ve been to, the cleaning/​sanitizing station is very apparent, but I still wasn’t sure if there was one in this gym. I wasn’t able to find it and other people didn’t seem to be using it. That bothers me. But they didn’t try to push anything on me and I like that. Also, they have a juice bar, which I love! I just feel that if they had someone to explain and walk through the set up of the gym to me, that I would have liked it more and went there more. Instead, though I had a 1 month use from the groupon, I’ve only went once.
Overall: I won’t be back but I think it has potential.

I have to admit that I LOVE Golds Gym and am very sad to see it has been bought out by Crunch. Despite certain rude members of the staff, Gold’s Gym had it all except for a pool– A no-​nonsense crowd of gym regulars who know how to work out, a menu of awesome classes and instructors, and THE best trainer in the city (*cough cough* Roy) I’m actually quite surprised that many of the other reviews mention the Les Mills classes but don’t give a shout out to Roy’s bootcamp, toning, and TLC classes which are far more intense than any of the Les Mills classes.
I will also miss the hyper-​dramatic training manager who would post notices around the gym with an excess of exclamation points.
«PLEASE!!! Return all free-​weights to the second floor!!! THANK YOU!!! –Gold’s Gym Management
«Private trainers are not allowed to train clients without the permission of Gold’s Gym! NO EXCUSES!!!»

The last real gym standing.
I train in a lot of gyms and many gyms turning into spa like. Some people who attend the spa gym look the same after 6 months. They ask themselves why I have no results. NO GYM can hand you a six pack or nice butt on a plate (Get My point?). The real answer you want to be service and not put in work.
Gold’s Gym Offers that 100 percent with the equipment they have. They are very helpful if you ask them nicely.
I told my co-​workers, «If you do not see slight results after one month in Gold’s Gym at 54^th & 8^th… I know you talk too much instead of working out or you been hanging out in steam room majority of the time»
Results happens when you get serious with your own routine, because this gym have weights that can make that happen.
This gym is like my playground and there so many toys I want to use to get my body define. If you haven’t tried out your 7 day pass there, do it! You will understand why I said «this the last real gym standing».

If I lived or worked nearby and wanted a gym, Gold’s would be a contender. I bought a 1 month pass to Gold’s and went multiple times, just attending classes.
The classes were high quality, for the most part, and (usually) less crowded than NYC gym classes typically are. Instructors and students are often professional dancers. I watched the end of one «street jazz» class that looked to be ²⁄₃ professionals. That’s fun. It’s energizing to have really great dancers working alongside you.
The only thing I really didn’t like, and it’s almost a dealbreaker, is that while studios are on the first floor, the locker rooms are way up on the third floor, accessed by a twisty staircase, adding a good 10 minutes to your prep time for class if you’re not already dressed to work out. AND the 1^st floor doesn’t have a water fountain, so if you didn’t bring (or buy) a bottle, you’re out of luck.

I barely take the time to write reviews on here but finding a gym in Manhattan can be almost as painful as finding an apartments so as a relatively in shape girl who enjoys running, Tough Mudder races, and sports I offer my two cents:
PRICE: You can definitely get more for your money in NYC and they will try to hustle you on signing up for more — stay firm and insist on what you want. Okay deals regularly available. CANCELING IS INCREDIBLY ANNOYING AND SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT.
STAFF: Disinterested, relatively unhelpful unless you’re shelling out mega cash on personal training and classes
HOURS: Great hours on weekdays and decent weekend hours
CLEANLINESS /​MAINTENANCE: 3 out 5 stars — not as bad as Bally but machines break down and are often kind of dirty (may have contracted pink eye here.)
LOCKER ROOM: I can only speak for the Women’s but its kind of old-​school meets cheap renovation. Minimal products — hair dryers q-​tips and then shitty soap and conditioner in the showers. Sometimes there’s better stuff but it is completely inconsistent.
TOWELS: They usually have them but they seem to monitor how many use and have closely and I’m not always convinced they’re that clean.
MACHINES/​EQUIPMENT/​CLASSES: I will say they’ve got volume on all of these things and a really nice variety of equipment. Even though free weights seem to go missing from time to time. TVs have kind of crappy reception on the machines but there are others hung on news and sports channels and decent background music.
Overall, it is not a bad gym but I can confidently say you can do better in this city. and if I could give it a half star, I would.
Perks to this gym are highly limited — don’t count on good products in the locker rooms. Having been to 24hr fitness which charges the same price I got for golds, the

I joined this gym a few months ago and have had a very enjoyable experience. I was treated very rudely by a front desk girl the first evening I came in, but everyone else that I’ve dealt with has been very very nice. They have a great smoothie bar and the gym is actually a LOT bigger than you think it will be initially. There is never a wait for machines and the instructors really push you hard in the classes. I’ve taken Pilates and consistently spin here a few times a week and I love it! All of the spin instructors I’ve taken a class with have been excellent — especially Allison! Plus there’s a tanning bed in the locker room for a decent price — heck yes!
The only thing that I’ve had an issue with is the morning class schedule. There has been a «Lean, Fit and something» class that has monopolized a few mornings — and the class is an ADDITIONAL FEE to your membership. As someone who loves to work out before heading to work, this has been difficult — I wish there were yoga or pilates classes on those mornings that they don’t offer spin class. Give us some more early options! Hopefully this will only be temporary?
But seriously, I was a member at Crunch for a while — and this gym rocks way harder. It’s no fancy pants gym, but it’s clean and has everything I need!

Worked out here for just a week, so take it with a grain of salt. I was visiting the city and had my travel pass from my Gold’s in Cali.
Friendly folks working here … no matter wether I visited day or night. Cardio equipment was decent, but not a tremendous selection … but then again, I never had to wait for a machine. Free weights were decent, too. Men’s locker room was untidy at times (rush hour times) with towels everywhere, which I blame the patrons for and not Gold’s staff. There were plenty of receptacles for dirty towels all over the locker rooms but guys would just leave their towels on the floor and benches. Pigs. Steamroom was pretty good and showers always had full shampoo, conditioner, body wash.

When I walked in there were 5 employees at the sign in area. Not one of them greeted me in any way. After staring at me blankly I told them
I was there to start my 7 day trial. The music was so loud I couldn’t hear what the guy was telling me, finally I understood that I came at a bad time and would need to come back. I told him I just wanted to work
Out and I didn’t need a tour, just sign me in. He acted as if I was a bother and passed me off to another employee. Why it was a bad time I didn’t understand b/​c of the 4 other employees standing around. Finally after being set up with a pass I asked where the machines were and the original guy yelled out that I would have to wait to take a tour. I told him no thank you and decided to look around for myself. Not a problem, I found the machines with no issues. I did notice there were dirty towels laying around everywhere and in the stairwell there were used paper towels. It smelled worse than any gym smell I’ve smelled. There were hair balls and dust bunnies in the room I was in. They were floating around the room and collected in the corner like it hadn’t been cleaned. The original guy from the desk came in the
Room and just stared, it was creepy. I asked him if everything was okay and he said I needed to schedule a time to take a tour. I decided to scrap my experience with this gym and go. I never checked out the locker rooms or bathrooms b/​c I just wanted to get out of there. I’ve been to a lot of gyms in a lot of different cities and have never been treated in this manner. The guy working the smoothie area was nice, but the other employees did not make me feel welcome. I tried a 3 day pass at 24 hour fitness up the street and had a great experience. Staff from golds gym are still calling me harrasing me about taking a tour even though I’ve asked them to stop calling. I even told them of my experience and they tell me I must have been at another location. I wish I would’ve never even tried golds gym.

I just finished a seven day trial with this midtown gold’s gym. It’s exactly what I expected — and a little more. The layout is a little confusing: three floors, LOTS of mirrors and metal stairs, etc. Cardio and weights are spread out on the second and third floors sort of randomly. The important thing is, it’s clean, the people who are there are there to work out, they have an amazing class schedule, and if you get a membership for a deal (it’s $ 20.12 until January 31^st for a whole month for new members) it’s well worth your money.
Not a lot of frills. You can tell they’re kind of trying, but not quite pulling it off. The staff is nice and will answer any questions you have pleasantly and professionally.

Apparently each of the Golds Gym are separate franchises. I was told when I came in for the 7 day trial that I have to live or work within a 10 block radius of the gym to be eligible (WTF not mentioned anywhere on website or signs posted outside of the gym). The guy at the counter said he would let us workout this once as a courtesy; gee thanks.
The place itself is pretty large, with three floors of equipment. But as some others mentioned, the placement and location of various machines make absolutely no sense. They are just placed willy nilly which means you have to go around searching for different things to complete your routine.
At the time I went, around 9’ish; there were many people still working out but it wasnt hard to find free equipment or machines. However, it should be noted that the equipment looks like its been there for years and years. They look heavily used and worn down (reminds me of my high school gym).
The demographic from what I saw was more of people in their mid thirties and above; not that there’s anything wrong with it. Just figured some people might want to know.
All in all, compared to the other gyms that I’ve went to check out recently, this place has been the worst. I would personally rank it on the same level or even below my local YMCA. The atmosphere and vibe was just not there, didn’t feel right (but that’s my personal opinion, others may disagree).
I would recommend anyone considering joining to attempt to get a tour or guest pass to check this place out first before committing. Despite the many great reviews, I would definitely not want to come back here ever again.

Nice staff and customers! They have free towels & saunas!
Tons of classes throughout the day.
Really clean facility
Three levels with tons of machines, so there will always be an available one.
I recommend !

** I have done 1 week of my 3 month groupon. will update after 3 months
— The 1^st 5 minutes and i was already turned off, i came in to sign up with my groupon. i filled out the paper and was told OK. i stared at her and said well is someone going to show me around? as a 1^st timer you would think they would walk your around, show you the place. I get that they probably dont love us Grouponers but hey, we can be return business! She called a guy over and he just told me 1^st floor classes. 2^nd floor weights. 3 rd floor ellipticals. And then he was done. So i stared at him also and said well would you like to tell me where the locker room is? How would they expect me to know that if i have never been there.
— Gym is good overall, has everything you pretty much need.
— i am more of a classes person and i am now obsessed with Mondays class «urban rebounding». Cardio on little trampolines? yes please! 5+ stars just for this class!
Overall gym is good, just wish they would be more into customer service.

$ 49 for a three month membership and three personal training sessions from Groupon — what a sick deal! My favorite things about the gym:
1. Great location near lots of subways
2. Three levels with tons of machines and weights so I’ve never had to wait
3. Personal trainer Zoila was super cool and made me laugh while kicking my ass
4. TONS of classes to choose from — I’ve become addicted to yoga and ballet barre
5. Sauna that always seems to be empty, waiting for me
6. Really clean facility with friendly people, they always seem to be cleaning
7. Not pushy at all — can’t believe they haven’t been non stop calling me to renew my membership
It’s not the swankiest gym in town but I think for this ‘hood it’s a good value even at the regular price.

I’m torn on this place, hence the middle-​of-​the-​road rating. Pros and cons I guess would be a good place to start (please note: I did a Groupon for a month at this place and was awarded three personal training sessions, so this is a limited view scope).
Pros:
Lots of equipment. There are three floors of classes (first floor and third for spin), equipment (second and third), even a physical therapist/​sports medicine person on duty for several hours.
Lots of lockers and space in the locker room. Never a wait for the showers. toilets though…(usually a wait)
Personal training staff. I worked with a fellow named TJ. He, in a word, rocks. Such a great personality, very helpful, knowledgeable. When he found out I loved kickboxing, we worked on some drills. Not your typical run of the mill muscle head, he also was able to give me some nutritional advice.
Offer lots of exercise classes to break up the monotony.
Open early, 5 am I believe… helpful for those of us who have to hit work early in the morning.
Cons:
staff (outside of the personal trainers, who I thought were wonderful). They all look like a bug crawled up their ass. Sorry, I have to bother you to move 20 inches to get me a towel. If you left them out for people, I wouldn’t need to ask (also felt like I was imposing when I needed them to key me in)
the spin studio. Not a lot of ventilation plus the bikes were OMG terrible and outdated. My ass still has not recovered from a class I took two weeks ago. The instructors — the woman (forget her name, she teaches Tues nights) was very good. The guy (Cliff?) probably had one too many espresso shots prior to class. And what’s with no miking of the instructors? I spent most of the time trying to decipher what they were screaming over the music.
The showers were fungal nightmares. Also, if you provide hair dryers in the locker rooms, why not make sure that they work? (cat fighting first thing in the morning is really not my bag, especially since I am an only child and never had to do that as a child)
A lot of equipment, but not a lot of sense in the layout of the gym. had a hard time finding everything, and didn’t make sense logistically.
And no early morning spin classes? What’s up with that?
It would help to have air conditioning on/​climate control. Seriously, this is a gym. It gets hot in here.
*************************************
All in all, I liked my groupon for this place… but it’s not down the street from me, it’s kind of not convenient for me to get there, unless they had some kind of special to lure me back in colder months when I need to do some interval training on the treadmill, I doubt I have a compelling reason to return.
But I loved TJ. Definitely request him for personal training.

A co-​worker of mine started their $ 39/​month trial and got me a 7-​day trial recently. I have to be honest; this is my first time going to one gym for more than 2 consecutive days in life ever. *fatgirlsigh*
Surprisingly, I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would. On the contrary, I actually enjoyed spending a precious hour after work (which could’ve been spent on many other more satisfying activities), sweating and huffing and puffing, in a gym smelling of rubber, with other equally sweaty people. I’m not a gym-​snob so I didn’t mind that the place was slightly rundown. The machines were all fairly new-​looking and had working TVs attached to them so no gripes there! This gym even has a full juice/​smoothie bar at the entrance. GETCHO PROTEIN.
I brought my gym-​snob boyfriend who’s only had memberships at Equinox and NYSC and he told me to forget Gold’s and sign-​up for NYSC. Psh. Snob.
Another plus: dudes who run this place are really chill and nice and aren’t pushy about signing up! I actually visited NYSC yesterday for the first time and they were STUCK. UP (locker rooms and showers were MUCH nicer/​cleaner though, have to say…)
So, for a gym, you were alright, GG. Too bad I’ll never give any gym more than 4-​stars.

Dear anyone who complains about a gym’s pricing scheme,
It’s every gym’s responsibility to extract as much money from you as possible. Their success depends on it. Understand it when you sign up, and read the fine print.
That said, I need to come clean about something. I’m in love with a man. Each time I see him, he makes me sweat so hard it’s as though I’ve just gone through a rainstorm. He turns the knob all the way to the right, and he sings along. It’s almost like meditating; for 45 minutes a few times a week, he issues intense commands, I obey immediately, my pulse high, my troubles completely forgotten.
Cliff, I know I’m just another girl to you, but I don’t care. Please don’t ever leave. I don’t know what I’d do without your spin class.
Love,
Catherine

The gym itself is pretty old and rundown and you can tell they haven’t updated their equipment in ages. However, that’s not the worst part.
I signed up for a 1 year membership paid in full at the beginning which was fine. But then after the year was over, they put me on a more expensive monthly billing cycle without informing me and started billing me monthly.
When I found out about this after checking my credit card statement, I called them up and immediately told them that I wanted to refund the 2 extra months that they were billing me as well as cancel my membership.
Guess what? They couldn’t do either. The guy just said that the system told him I was on a monthly cycle even though I never signed up for one. To make matters worse, they only allow cancellation by snail mail. Yep, I have to physically MAIL them a paper letter to the dude I was talking to on the phone. BTW his name is Robert and he’s kind of a douche.
Never again. I recommend NYSC, way better!

This place is way decent! I haven’t been to any other gyms in the city so I don’t have much to compare to. I am from the west where the gym standards I believe are much higher. That being said Gold’s in Mid town isn’t half bad. I got a killer deal for the year… something like a little over $ 700 for 1 yr. and 3 months. It’s basically free compared to other gym prices in the city.
They keep the place clean. YES they do have air conditioning contrary to other reviews. It’s a little hot downstairs but cool where you are actually working out. The staff there are pretty nice, it is not intimidating at all. There are gym goers of all different shapes and sizes. I definitely feel comfortable.
I am able to get there pretty early, around 5:15pm and it still isn’t crowded when I leave around 6:30pm. I have never had a hard time getting on a machine.
All in all I am extremely pleased with this gym. Great choice if you are looking for a good gym with a great price.