Despite its Hollywood connections, this franchise's focus is on pumping iron, not newfangled razzle-dazzle.

by Contributor

In Short
The Terminator and the Incredible Hulk (aka Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno) lifted weights at the gym's Venice, California, flagship years ago, but even today, customers frequenting charter locations are bound to encounter serious muscle. Take note: The boys with bulging biceps are the mascots, not the majority. Gold's generally offers Spinning, aerobics and kickboxing classes, yet weight-training remains the core of the program. Dumbbells and barbells, not spa-like amenities, are the attractions that draw the beef-heads in droves.

02/13/08

Not Worth Joining - Billing Nightmare

by mc78

The gym is fine, but the customer service/billing company is a complete nightmare. Even AFTER your membership is up, they pretty much make you drive to the billing company (ABC Financial Services) in Arkansas and write in permanent marker that you want your membership to end. Emails and phone calls are not sufficient. In the meantime, they'll keep deducting membership fees from your account despite the fact that your membership is over and you've requested several times to cancel it. Oh, and they'll secretly increase your monthly fee when your membership is up and start deducting a higher monthly payment. And don't expect Gold's to help you, they'll just refer you to ABC and act helpless. And ABC will completely ignore you know matter how many times you call or email. It's not worth joining. Run outside for find another gym so you don't have to deal with trying to cancel your membership even after your year committment has expired. NIGHTMARE!

02/06/07

worst gym ever

by floridagator84

I signed up here because my old roommate worked out here, and at first I couldn't complain because the price was decent. However, what I didn't realize while the guy took me on my tour of the place was how awful the dudes that work out there are. I'd say about 80% of the guys in there are "screamers" and eyed me up every time I walked onto the floor. I am a big guy, six-foot-three and about 225 pounds, yet the gazes i was getting made me feel like I was 400 pounds or had a gigantic booger hanging out of my nose. I would often check to see if the latter was true; and much to my suprise, there were no boogers. But back to the meatheads. It's one thing to strain and grunt a little bit while you're "maxin' out, bro", but come on. Do you really need to scream bloody murder? I always tell anyone who's interested in this gym that the same type of people who go "clubbin'" on lansdowne are the same people who work out on lansdowne. Half the time the staff was rude, and half the time they barely even acknowledged my presence. And talk about hassle when I tried to cancel my membership!!! I had to write these people a formal letter GIVING THEM A REASON why I wanted to cancel. Needless to say, they got their reason....BUT I'M STILL BEING CHARGED EVEN THOUGH I DON'T GO THERE!!! You'd be better off at the Y working out next to some guy who's talking to himself.

• Pros: great machines, clean facility, central location
• Cons: horrible clientele, rude staff, no parking, hassle to cancel membership

03/14/06

I Miss Gold's Gym - Fenway :-(

by lorenzee

I'm a super sized girl and used to go to Gold's. I thought a girl like me would be out of place there but the price was right so I joined. I was most comfortable there. Friendly non judgmental staff and a cross section of people there for the same reason I was. Yeah, lots of muscle jocks and spandex queens in full makeup but they were all really nice. There was one knucklehead in the crowd but the folks at Gold's handled it. With all these new gyms popping up who like to put their customers on display in the window, Gold's facility is vast, spacious and discreet with just about every kind of machine and free weight you can imagine. If I didn't live in the boonies now I'd go back. Pick Gold's!

• Pros: Comfortable, Professional, Affordable
• Cons: Loud at times, Parking issues, Red Sox Crowds

08/05/02

Not just for musclebrained jocks

by RicaB

When I joined Gold's Gym, I was a pudgy girl who'd never stuck with an excercise program in my life. And while it's true that Gold's has more than its share of burly gym rats, I never felt out-of-place or conpicuous among the Schwartzenegger-clones. If anything, they inspired me to stick to my fitness program and lose 25 pounds.

• Pros: separate women's gym, lots of machines, great classes
• Cons: street parking only, crowded at "peaks", no sound on TVs