Bally Total Fitness

**PythonPower** · April 2nd, 2006, 03:39 AM

BTF is evil! they rape you. bastards tried to stick it to me for a 3 year contract not too long ago! i had signed up for what their rep said at a fair was 30 day free trial offer, next thing you know i have supposedly agreed for a 3 year contract. i had to raise hell, get into fights with the damn regional manager, get the better business bureau involved and then threaten them with a lawsuit before they finally backed off and dropped it completely. BTF is a gay place! FOCK THEM!

64026402 · May 13th, 2006, 03:28 PM

I'm still a member. I haven't found a place with a pool near me as an alternative.
After hearing the stories I'm afraid of what will happen when I do find a new place and try to cancel. Not to many choices here.

**PythonPower** · May 15th, 2006, 04:43 AM

my prayers are with you...LOL

**illiniballfan112** · May 16th, 2006, 10:46 PM

"eh", that's all i say for ballys.

it's funny, their management posted this sign in the cardio area at the one i go to. it said:

"No longer there is reservations for cardio equiptment"

it's obvious management passed 3rd grade english class.

Lifetime is the best gym i've ever been too....too bad they're not up where i live now.

Bally actually isn't bad if u go into it knowing it's a dump. i know it sounds bad, but i never expected good customer service or friendly faces when i joined years back. i was only 18. but now that my membership is paid off, it costs me nothing to work out there ($8 a month).

i did get a little pissed off at the douche working the front desk sunday mornings with HIS HEADPHONES ON!!! WTF!!! how do they let employees get away with that??

bodybuilder4life · May 24th, 2006, 08:02 PM

BTF is a joke! Shamefully I used to work there several years ago and sell those deceiving contracts. If you really want to workout, go anywhere but BTF.

**ProfGumby** · June 26th, 2006, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bodybuilder4life

BTF is a joke! Shamefully I used to work there several years ago and sell those deceiving contracts. If you really want to workout, go anywhere but BTF.

It is nice to hear that from someone who was on the inside once.

I signed up back in 93, for my wife and I. The deal offered was sweet, the monthly fee's were rediculously low and it was a new club. Overall I liked the place.

My only issues with it was the new years resolution crowd (same prob everywhere) and that it was hell to get them to stop charging my bank account after I notified them I was dropping my membership. I basically ended up closing the bank account and switching banks for other reasons, and thats when they stopped charging me.....

My experiences were mostly pleasant, though I thought the personal trainers to be idiots and did not know anything other than what they were trained to say....

trapman1 · July 30th, 2006, 07:05 PM

My g/f signed us both up. I knew that the only way to get out of the contract was to die. Wasn't worth the hassle. Paid the membership off in full, so there were no problems. I live in Philly so there are plenty of Bally's in the area. The stink hole that I go to is ok. The equipment is fair..they have what I want and need so that's that. Showers, wet and dry steam rooms are great. Now the fun part. Is there a Bally's school for employee's ??? In which they teach these moron's to be moron's ??? Personal Trainers...what a joke...Unless there are new training methods..I have yet to read about, they had students doing sets of pushups in-between your flat bench press routine...if this is proper, could someone please explain it to me. I have observed sooo many members working out incorrectly as to almost cause injury...yet no staff employee's care enough to help them...it goes on and on.

I also joined LA Fitness..discount through work. Facility wise, I am in paradise..employee wise..they also must have gone to Bally's U.

If you are thinking about joining a facility..stay away from Bally's...

**JoeBAR** · July 30th, 2006, 07:30 PM

pushup's between bench ... Seen the PT here encourage the practice. I'm also pretty certain I've seen something like that on T-N... Goes along:

Bench/pushup Squat/jump Row/chin etc ... But as a special kind of training, along the lines of 8x5, 1 exercise / day (eg: Monday: Bench till you drop, Tuesday Squat till you drop, etc...)

Of course, that's not how they use it. A PT would loose his/her client on lesson 1 if they made them squat till they puked... Incidently, in my Shitest First Gym, a PT NEVER make a trainee squat nor deadlift, always leg press, cable machines, and a new kind of equipment we just received for the ladies: air-dampers machine !!!!

charkikan · August 14th, 2006, 03:22 AM

:O amaizing

Lift_It_You_Bitch · September 13th, 2006, 03:49 AM

Worst club ever. I thought I was going to have to kill someone so the cops would help me get out of there after asking how much

**Lil-King** · September 13th, 2006, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ihateballytotalfitness

On 3/28/03, Ballys took it upon themselves to debit money from my account without my approval. I called Member Services hoping to have the money credit back and they refused. I asked to speak to a manager and that was also refused. The member service rep. began the conversation with rudeness all the way to the end. I hate Bally Total Fitness and I will not let them take a penny more from me

A friend of min had the same problem with the YMCA, they took money from him for one year before he noticed

but he got all the money back when he complained

YMCA

All this got me worried of my gym, they can be shaddy bouncing checks 2 times a week or more... so you get a $60 bank fee and $23 late fee

they make people mad... ohwell my money is always in there for sure now.

**pliny_2001** · November 22nd, 2006, 11:40 PM

I'm visiting family over Thanksgiving, and worked out at a Bally's nearby - it seemed fine, though from my (brief) time, the trainers looked un-good, and the clientele needed alot of work. I think that it would be a great deal at the $8/month that people were quoting, but my personal preference is that I'd rather pay more and get a better atmosphere.

But my question: does Bally use weights that are actually the proper weight? The plates looked the right size, though I've never had weights with a hard, slick plastic shell - I've only used actual iron, or iron and rubber - so they felt a bit insubstantial. And instead of benching 235x6 on my second set (where I should have been), I did 255x7. And no, there wasn't a cute girl nearby. My other weight-plate lifts were up, while my body-weight work didn't budge.

Any experiences with unnaturally 'heavy' lifting at BTF? Or was this just a particularly good lift in a new location?

**PythonPower** · November 23rd, 2006, 01:58 AM

its the pulley systems vs. free weights... pulleys make it easier to lift therefore you can lift far more amount of weight, but the net work you are actually making your muscles do is less. same amount of weight will get you more work with free weights vs. machines that use pulley systems.

**pliny_2001** · November 23rd, 2006, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PythonPower

its the pulley systems vs. free weights... pulleys make it easier to lift therefore you can lift far more amount of weight, but the net work you are actually making your muscles do is less. same amount of weight will get you more work with free weights vs. machines that use pulley systems.

Nope - all free weights. By 'plates' I meant weight plates. I'd never seen a hard plastic shell on free weight plates, and the benching was done w/ what looked like a normal 45 lb bar and the regular group of weight. No machine/pulley/free weight conversions to get screwed up with - just regular benches, barbell curls, rows, etc. My pullups and dips stayed within their expect rep range.

It was suspiciously wierd.

**tooncesthecat** · July 14th, 2007, 02:24 PM

I swore I would never join Bally's, but my wife really wanted somewhere with a pool. Now I am a reluctant Bally's member. However, I must admit that they recently renovated my local facility and now have a great selection of freeweights and machines including Hammer Strength (which I really like!).

I am not sure how much I respect the staff. They are just what I heard about years ago when my friend worked there...no concern about existing member...just out to sell memberships. They don't hassle me and my wife because we paid for 3 years up front. The cost was something like $900 for both of us for the 3 years which is a great deal! I can't complain there.

I believe you can get a good workout wherever you want one, even at home. You just have to be knowledgeable and creative!

47 · July 14th, 2007, 04:16 PM

I've never had a problem there. The one I have a membership at is fairly nice, and not overly crowded. I had no signup fee, but I paid 40 bucks a month for two years. After that, I only pay 19 bucks a month, and I'm not under any contract. I dont go to it anymore because theres a local gym right next to my house that I have a membership at, but I keep the Ballys because 19 bucks a month is nothing and I want to keep my option of going to any of them anytime. Especially if I move next to one again. I also have a membership at LA Fitness, thats a nice one as well.

bdd814 · May 10th, 2008, 10:48 AM

I've never had an issue w/ them and have trained there for 3-1/2 yrs. It's not the greatest ever, but I knew what I was signing when I signed up. After my contract was up, I renewed for another year for $165. Now, I have no monthly fee and can go to most Bally's nationwide. win/win

Gastankerdriver · July 17th, 2008, 07:04 AM

I've heard a lot of really bad things about Bally's. My brother got trapped into a contract and had to threaten to sue them in order to get out of it. He was really resentful and I don't think he ever joined a health club again because of the experience. He has a home gym in his living room now. I go to a pay as you go gym. $25/month, you don't pay the money, you can't come into the gym. They have cameras. If they see you in there and you haven't paid, you get a polite letter with your picture on it informing you that you will pay your dues or legal action will be taken.

**tooncesthecat** · July 17th, 2008, 07:15 AM

Contract = legal commitment. Many people just don't understand that. Anyone who signs up under contract for any gym, car loan, apartment lease, etc must abide by the conditions of the contract they signed. If you don't read or understand the contract, that's your fault. Of course, the gym is also obliged to fulfill their obligations under the same contract.

Gastankerdriver · July 17th, 2008, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooncesthecat

Contract = legal commitment. Many people just don't understand that. Anyone who signs up under contract for any gym, car loan, apartment lease, etc must abide by the conditions of the contract they signed. If you don't read or understand the contract, that's your fault. Of course, the gym is also obliged to fulfill their obligations under the same contract.

Absolutely. I never sign contracts unless there is no other option and then I have a lawyer look it over. I paid cash for my car and cash at the gym. I never understood the concept of "Hey, if you are going to give me a bunch of money, then you better sign this contract!" With that attitude, they can go yank off.