You may have read my post last year (Oh my god, it’s been over a year!) regarding my gym research and decision to join Equinox DTLA. Well, I went, I saw and I conquered. Sorta. For the most part I loved being a member, but after my year contract was up, I decided it was time to move on… It was easy to cancel. I had no problem at all.

Here is what I will miss:

1. Outstanding service and staff, including most instructors

2. The group classes

3. The smoothie bar and shop

4. The Kiehls shampoo and conditioner in the locker room

5. The small, but clean and modern locker room

Here’s why I left:

1. No pool

2. Trying to save, too expensive especially for not having a pool.

3. The 2 1/2 hour parking limit can sometimes feel rushed especially when it takes so long to finally park. The structure is always at capacity during the week.

4. I had a bad to mediocre experience with a personal trainer. She was  pretty good, but not very motivational. I think it has to do with sales and how they get paid. They are insanely expensive, like the equivalent of your monthly membership fees for an hour.

So, where am I now?

This month, I decided to join the YMCA Downtown. So far it’s been a bit of a mixed bag, definitely not as posh… but I can adjust. The crowd is much less pretentious and it does seem to have a better sampling of the local community, which I like. Diversity rocks!

But the lockers need to be upgraded and I saw a cockroach near the women’s sauna on my first day. (I saw one in the lobby at Equinox once, and at 24-Hour Fitness, so I guess this is an old building in DTLA thing… ) I also parked in the wrong structure on my first day, so got off to a bumpy start.

The biggest plus so far is the pool. I also like the (correct) parking structure better than Equinox’s since it is bigger and seems less crowded, but you have to pay $2 for 3 hours. I haven’t tried any classes, skeptical they will be as good as at Equinox, but I am sure they will be acceptable. The machines are super clean and updated, and the personal trainers look alright… and are way more affordable! I will report back when I get further acclimated.

Thanks for reading, folks. I hope to start writin much more frequently!