GOLD'S GYM

There are 2 therapists who are excellent. They are very sensitive to my needs. They were very concerned and good at following protocols. They were always looking forward for alternatives when something was not working for me. They were very pleasant and gave a motherly care.

The gym is very no frills, which was fine with me. No towel service, no huge big screen TV - just straightforward. While it hasn't been renovated in quite some time, it was kept very clean. The interior is slightly dark (it's on a lower level of the building). The aerobic machines are more than plentiful. Even at peak time there were many unused. The range of weight training machines were limited: of the ones they had they about 70% were geared to dedicated muscle builders. More machines for us ordinary folk would have been nice. While this gym does have it's fair share of very dedicated body builders, there is not a "muscle head" atmosphere at all. I was unable to find anyone to help explain how to use machines: luckily, I've been to enough gyms that I could figure most of them out myself.

I've been a member for 8 months and so far, so good. The classes have very good instructors (i.e. one of the kickboxing classes gets really crowded). Unfortunately, they have recently eliminated spinning but have been steadily upgrading the equipment for the other classes. They seem to build things/ make little changes/ equipment upgrades consistently. This is a 24 hour gym, with a separate, non stinky women's section (that has shorter hours); there is never a wait for equipment. It is also inside Twin Cities plaza so it is conveniently located and you can get other shopping done before/ after your workout. The only gripes I have is that you have to accept that if you signup during their specials, you only get the listed rate for 12 months, then it goes up to normal. Also, if your credit card expires during membership be extra careful about the charges from this gym during this time.