I really don't know what people's problem is with this place. Some of the things I've read seem like disgruntled employees or ex-employees. Some people seem like they have this placed mixed up with some other place. Other reports seem like people not understanding what a contract is, or getting all panty-twisted over little stupid things.
Have you ever belonged to a corporate gym? In the Gresham area you have a choice of Bally's and a LA Fitness. Crap. You can drive to Portland to a 24 hour fitness or a 24 hour fitness sport (which has a nice daycare!), but in Gresham, you have two lousy corporate gyms to choose from and then a big locally-owned club. Here's the problem with other clubs:
1. Price. LA fitness offered me and my wife a great monthly deal of $30, but I had to spend $199 to start! Bally's wasn't quite so steep, but I had to sign a THREE YEAR CONTRACT! My sister used to be on that contract and she couldn't get out of it, so they kept taking it out of her bank account for three years.
2. People. Staff doesn't care. They don't care about your health (unless you hire a personal trainer) and they don't care about your money, besides the fact that they want it. And the people who work out there are only there to be noticed or to prove something. You can smell the pride just steaming off of the people around you. No one wants to help a little guy like me, because then they wouldn't be "better" than me.
3. The stuff they got. Or not. Sure, from the outside (and LA from the inside) these places look really big. And they may be, but the stuff they have doesn't fill up the space they purchased. Plus there are SO many people there when I am that I can't find the equipment free that I want to use, so I wait and wait. Well I didn't come to a gym to wait! If I wanted to wait, I would sit at home on my couch and wait for the fat to roll off.
So if you live in Gresham, Olympic Gym is the best place we've got. The people at the front desk are nice and they remember my name. The people that work out there are interested in other things other than their looks, and they help me out! The price was pretty good and I didn't get roped into ridiculously long contracts or spendy up-front costs.
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