YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City Midtown

This Y is very basic and small. There is no pool, no basketball courts, no running track, etc. It’s very accessible, located on the 2^nd floor of the complex with Irma’s, eyeglass store, bakery. There is usually parking in the lot or on the street directly in front. The door to go up the stairs is somewhat hidden about midway down the complex and poorly marked, so don’t give up if you don’t see it at first! They have all the basic machines you would need for lifting weights, running, biking, and they have a moderate sized open studio room for classes. When there are not classes going on you can use that space as you wish, however if there is a class going on there is almost nowhere to stretch or do floorwork here. They do have a fair amount of class offerings, which you can see online. The staff is friendly and the place is dingy but clean. The downtown Y is bigger and nicer but this offers another location in closer confines.

Great little gym at a convenient & cool location. Has all the basic weight lifting and cardio equipment. Gym and locker rooms are always clean. It’s 2^nd floor location offers great views of the city. Pretty robust group/​class exercise lineup. It’s rarely packed, even at peak times it is quite easy to get through your workout. Towel service, which may be my favorite thing about the Y.

I forgot about Midtown Y. Confused it with downtown Y. I don’t like this one. Oddly configured and club-​like.

I went to the YMCA because they have a pool and adult ballet classes. But I was so creeped out by a trainer there I left and never went back. I may souls like a loon, but I just can’t frequent a gym where I feel disrespected and get bad vibes from a worker who’s there all the time.
The pool facility didn’t seem that great, but there aren’t a lot of options in Stilly. It’s too bad. I’d really like to get back to swimming. :(

What.. . I have never written a review of this beautiful gem of a YMCA? It really is very nice. Yes, it is smaller than others, but still a good size and has everything you need. Sometimes when I am there, like a Friday at 4, I am the only one there. So it is not always crowded. I also noticed the TVs here play CNN whist at my home southside Earlywine, it is Fox News. Interesting. .. The one class studio is really lovely with lots of windows looking out at midtown. They have yoga classes Monday and Wednesday evenings, and when there is not a class, you can feel completely free to go in and stretch or do your own yoga or whatever you can think to do in a studio. I don’t think the same thing is allowed at Earlywine, so that is pretty cool. I think everyone is really nice here. It is in the same shopping center as Irma’s burgers, etc. and you just walk up the stairs and go to your left and there the Y be.

This is my favorite Y to go to. Although it doesn’t have some of the amenities of the larger Y locations, this one is such an easy place to work out. It’s usually pretty quiet, they offer a good selection of classes, the locker rooms are nice, and, even though it’s small, it still offers a great range of exercise and weight equipment.

Fell off on my attendance for a while, but committed to getting back into the swing of things. Clean, bright, plenty of cardio equipment, and a large group exercise room (best Zumba instructor in OKC is here on Saturday mornings!). No real problems except for a habitual shortage of hot water in the showers due to plumbing issues (nothing can be done, so don’t bother complaining; it’s an old building/​capacity issue). The Y is a great organization, and this is a nice place to work out for the Midtown crowd. Get in here and sweat out your decadent activities… or earn some.

I love that this place is a bit of a secret, because just down the road the Downtown YMCA is PACKED with crazies.
I walk up the steps, head quietly into the locker room, often being the only one there, and hit the treadmill or weight room. Again, pretty much alone. Maybe it’s just the times I’m there, 8ish AM or 5ish PM. Those seem to be potential peak times though.
The place is clean, relatively quiet, and there are no meatheads yelling while pressing big weight. Just a bunch of middle aged softies trying to avoid putting on 10 pounds this holiday season. Plus the shower area is huge, has a rain style head, and actually is private. Not like the Downtown YMCA where I tend to have a crowd peeping into the shower room the entire time.

I love my midtown Y. But I have gotten to know it a bit and I know and actually love it’s limitation.
The good:
+ Beginner’s yoga with Jennifer. I didn’t realize how people could follow around a yoga teacher like some people until I started with Jennifer. She has all of the qualities of a great teacher, humble, knowledgeable, gets to the level of her class, offers many ways to do things, positive, supportive and understands yoga enough to teach it to anyone. This is my favorite hour of my week.
+ Treadmills: I have yet to wait for one of them and they seem to turn over quickly, also there is no 30 minute limit but there are enough of them you don’t feel bad for running longer because there is always a slot.
+ Staff and cleanliness: This place is always run really well and clean.
+ The hours: It’s open when I need it to be open and they have late classes.
The bad:
— There is a weigh room but I haven’t ever felt like I could use it, unless you come during the doldrums time.
— Some of the classes that I have taken haven’t been great.
= So, I don’t really do free weights, I run for an hour and do a class or two, but that’s it and it works perfectly for me.

This is one locale I’ve waited to review because I love it so, and I’ve been reluctant to let the secret out. Upon further review, I think I must share. Midtown YMCA feels like a small health club rather than a big community gym. It is small, but what it lacks in the amenities of a big gym, (like a pool or a full court gymnasium) it makes up by just being such an easy place to work out. It’s second floor location feels a little more urbane than other gyms, and the small but beautiful studio always makes glad I carved out the time to show up for group classes.
It’s easy to get in and get out of, and if you can only work out for thirty minutes or so, you don’t eat up any of that time snaking your way through a big gym and locker room. It does have most everything you need including free weights, cardio machines, weight machines, even a few ergs for you rowers out there. The locker rooms are small, and don’t feature a steam room or dozens of showers, but they have all the basics.
For those times when you want to swim, need a steam, or want to play some full-​court b-​ball, the big Downtown Y is just down the block, and your membership will work at both. The class schedule at Midtown really covers a lot of ground with Body Pump classes, different levels of yoga, a host of different core classes and other good stuff.
Now that you guys know I have an easy option for workouts, you know I have no excuse for not making it in!