Anyone have a favorite gym that they went to once or twice? Every summer my wife and I go up to Waterville Valley NH. There’s a gym in the village that is like stepping back in time. No fancy machines, everything’s worn and taped up. You look out the window and can see the White Mountains. No music cranking throughout the building, just me and usually one or two other people working out. Only five more months!!
I work out at my favorite gym all the time: my basement. I only have a bar, some plates, dumbells, a jump rope, and a few other things. Not as well equipped as the gym at my college, but I have everything I need. Besides, I have complete focus when I’m alone. Commercial gyms are just too distracting for me.
I used to love working out at the Hardbody Fitness gym in Olympia, WA., there was a separate room with squat racks and benches where most of the bigger guys spent most of their time and the place was never all that busy. Now the place has transformed itself into a Powerhouse Gym which is absolutely packed every evening, has an aerobic room which was conspicuously absent from Hardbody and plays backstreet boys/NSYNC music 24/7. Also if you have the nerve to walk away from the squat rack between sets someone will without fail strip off all your 45 pound plates and start doing sets of 4 on barbell curls with just the bar.
When my girlfriend and I went to Naples, FL for Spring Break last year, I worked out in a Powerhouse there and it was sweet. But when you work out in a small, mom and pop gym like the one I’m used to, every gym that’s not my home gym is sweet, just for the sake of new scenery.
The Kauai Athletic Club. It’s got alot of rust, and old school weight room feel. Also I make em play Godsmack when I work out.
“DIAMOND GYM” MAPLEWOOD NJ. where all the hardcore BB train at. Its the Dungeon. no fancy equipment just free weights and lots of them!!!It feels like you train in your basment with great energy… But its a hole in the wall…
my dad was a powerlifter back in the day, and got some stuff to set up in our basement. (leg press, a few bars, plates, benches, pull up machine.) when i was 16/17 i used to pop in some metal and lift my brains out (didnt really know much about lifting, but put some size on none-the-less.)
Boys, I got you all beat. I train in a place most of you can only dream of…an olympic training facility at my university. It’s in a basement, it has 5 powerlifting plateforms, 6 squat racks, 4 bench presses, dumbbell free weights up to 225 lbs…all olymipic weights-everything is measured in kilograms. Heaven on earth.
Iron island, in Oceanside NY-Ive only gone there afew times with one of my dads close friends whos a real serious lifter. Almost Everyguy in the gym is huge. It was also the 1st time i ever saw anyone doing box squats, reverse hypers and glute ham raises. Made quite the impression on me and i wish i could train there more often but its kinda far for me to drive there on a daily basis
Most of the East coast Bodybuilders come from DIAMOND gym in MAPLEWOOD NJ. It run by the NPC chairman on the east coast John Kemper… Names like Johnny Morant, Rich Gaspari, Jason Arts all trained at DIAMOND at one point or another. It the Gold’s Gym of Venice Beach here in good old NJ.
The first time I went there I missed the place. First of all its in the heart of Mapelwood not the greats of place to be in. I eventually found it. There were no names saying it was a gym actually you wouldn’t know it was gym until you went inside. It was black on the outside and tinted and on the inside when ou walked in all you heard was a blast of music coming from the speakers like you were at some club and all you hear was weights banging and people screaming and hollering for the person they are spotting to get another rep. What a thrill!!!
At first I expected to have all the high tech equipment since Pro Bodybuilders came from there. But all they had was old fashion WEIGHTS And LOTS OF THEM!!!