A look at fitness centers near Blair
We've all heard it before: good nutrition and exercise are the keys to a healthy lifestyle. But many people complain that they just don't have the time or opportunity to exercise. Therefore, a Silver Chips Online investigation has been conducted of local gyms open from sun-up to sun-down that offer a variety of machines, classes and pools for members. So now, there's no more excuses. It's time to start up those forgotten New Year's resolutions and get in shape.
Quick jumps:
The Aspen Hill Club
Bally Total Fitness
Fitness First
Gold's Gym
Kimble's Health and Fitness for Women
YMCA
14501 Homecrest Rd. Silver Spring, MD 20906 (301) 598-5200 www.aspenhillclub.com | Monday through Friday: 5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. |
The Aspen Hill Club is a large facility offering many different athletic activities. The club has 19 tennis courts, both rubber and clay, ten of which are indoors. The family-oriented club serves all ages, from preschoolers taking tennis lessons to senior citizens keeping in shape. The club is more about sports than working out but it has amenities for both.
Other facilities include a full-sized suspended-floor basketball court, a six-lane Olympic-sized swimming pool, six racquetball courts, a well-equipped locker room complete with free toiletries and a massage parlor where members can get a massage for a price.
Members get one free session with a personal trainer, who will teach them how to use the equipment as well as how to exercise without it. The club also offers two hours of free childcare for each member per day as well as free classes, such as water aerobics.
Wheaton Plaza Shopping Center 11010 Viers Mill Road Wheaton, MD 20902 (301) 933-6100 www.ballyfitness.com | Monday through Thursday: 5 a.m. – 11 p.m. Friday: 5 a.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sunday: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. |
Bally Total Fitness is a large and well-equipped gym serving an extremely diverse clientele. Upbeat music plays throughout the entire gym. Dozens of exercise machines, a pool and an aerobics room are available for use. There is also a unique juice bar where members can buy healthy drinks and energy snacks.
The second floor of Bally houses strength training and free weight equipment. The club offers about 40 pieces of equipment divided between free weights and machines, a spinning room with about 15 spinners and a large aerobics room.
The facility is brand new and the equipment in great shape. Members receive a free session with a personal trainer on their first visit.
14383 Layhill Road Silver Spring, MD 20906 (301) 598-4800 www.fitnessfirst.cc | Monday through Thursday: 5 a.m. – 11 p.m. Friday: 5 a.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sunday: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. |
Fitness First is a mid-sized health club with an extremely friendly and helpful staff. The building's interior is bright and aesthetically pleasing, with the machines color coordinated with the green walls and floor. Upbeat music is played throughout the building.
The downstairs of Fitness First is divided into several sections housing 45 different pieces of equipment, including free weights and machines for strengthening different parts of the body. Every room has a bathroom and in the center of the floor are two locker rooms that include a sauna, steam room and hot tub.
The Fitness First has a very welcoming atmosphere. Staff members keep track of each member, ensuring that those who are inexperienced know where they should be working.
First-time members receive one free evaluation from a personal trainer, who will instruct them on how to use the equipment. Fitness First also offers free aerobic and spinning classes every day of the week. There is also a two-hour-limit babysitting service for members for a fee.
City Place Mall 8661 Colesville Road Silver Spring, MD 20901 (301) 585-GOLD (4653) www.goldsgym.com | Monday through Thursday: 5 a.m. – 11 p.m. Friday: 5 a.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sunday: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. |
Gold's Gym consists of one extremely large open section, divided into two distinct parts separated by the front desk. All the cardio machines and strength training equipment are located in the main room.
With their 72 cardio machines, the staff boasted that even at its peak hours, from 5 to 7 p.m., 20 or so machines are always empty and members never have to wait. Four rows of machines contain treadmills, cross trainers, Stairmasters and bikes, with ample room between them and a seating area at the back of the room for members to rest.
The strength training and free weight area is also huge with 30-plus pieces of equipment. The gym also offers 20 spinners, located in a separate room.
A membership at Gold's includes a free personal trainer for the first visit, who will instruct new members on how to use the equipment and will give them a personalized workout plan. There are also several free exercise classes, including spinning, abs, kickboxing and yoga class. There are 20 spinners at Gold', in one of the rooms separate from the giant cardio and strength training area.
Kimble's Health and Fitness for Women
2190 Industrial Parkway Silver Spring, MD 20904 (301) 622-2800 kimblesfitness@aol.com | Monday through Thursday: 5 a.m. – 9 p.m. Friday: 5 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday to Sunday: 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. |
Kimble's is a single-sex gym for women looking to get in shape. The building is small with only one equipment room that is split in half with the left side set aside as an aerobics area and the right divided into cardio and strength training.
Kimble's has a spacious locker room that is about a quarter the size of the main room. Inside is a sauna large enough to fit over ten people comfortably. The gym is also in the process of installing a spa in the back.
The staff members at Kimble's are very helpful, but the high membership cost is not justified by the gym's equipment or facilities. As one of the only single-sex gyms in the area, Kimble's small and all-female environment does appeal to female students who do not like to exercise around others.
9800 Hastings Drive Silver Spring, MD 20901 (301) 585-2120 www.ymcawashdc.org | Monday through Friday: 5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 6:25 a.m. – 8 p.m. |
The YMCA is a small and traditional gym with great recreational opportunities and activities. Although it does not have as much equipment as some of the more fitness-focused gyms, such as Bally Total Fitness or Gold's Gym, the two pools and family atmosphere more than compensate. The YMCA also welcomes a younger crowd than many of the other gyms, although you must be 16 to use the workout rooms.
The YMCA offers a stretching area for members to warm up before using treadmills or stationary bikes. Unfortunately, this area is fairly small, and two or three people would be crowded if they tried to stretch at the same time. The cardio room is also cramped with one aisle between two narrow rows of machines about ten feet apart.
The second cardio room is roomier, and the windows give exercisers a view of the outdoors. In addition, its 20 machines are double that of the smaller cardio room. Unlike many gyms, the YMCA does not have televisions nor music in its workout rooms.
Jordan Goldstein. Jordan's favorite season is winter, and she likes all weather except for rain that drizzles down for three days straight. More »
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