gyms in Brooklyn, Manhattan or Queens ?

[G1981C]

i'm trying to quit my gym which is pretty terrible - has no bumpers, no kettlebells, doesn't allow chalk, everybody who goes there is a douchebag that does curls all day, has gel in his spiky hair and is tanned to a crisp. your typical terrible gym.

the only reason i joined that gym in the first place is because unlike most gyms in Brooklyn it has a free private parking lot, and parking in Brooklyn is a major pain. besides, i joined that gym 14 years ago when i was in high school. unfortunately the reason everybody else joined that gym has to do with the parking lot as well - to show off their BMWs in there, and not to work out.

anyway, i'm not ready to switch to an all-out weightlifting, powerlifting or crossfit gym because i need my pull down machine and my cable crossovers. in fact, since i have or will have dumbbells, kettlebells and bar at home the major point of having a gym membership for me will be things like pull down machine and cable crossovers because i can do most of the main exercises at home.

however i can't drop the bar from overhead at home, and i won't have a power cage or a bench at home.

in other words i want a gym that has bumper plates AND cable crossovers in the same gym. in other words i want a gym that is friendly to olympic lifting AND bodybuilding.

i drive 18 miles each way to the pool where i swim, and i would probably be willing to drive as far to a gym if it was of the right quality. i'm not sure if i would be willing to take the train, maybe for the Chelsea Piers gym i would be willing to do that if it has what i need. i would not go to Harlem or Staten Island. i'm located near the intersection of Ocean Parkway and Belt Parkway in Brooklyn.

can you recommend a gym ?

do you know anything about the Chelsea Piers or Aviator Sports gyms ? they are physically very spacious and they have almost everything that i don't need - but do they have what i need ?

maybe you can recommend a combination of 2 gyms to fit my needs - one bodybuilding gym ( cable crossovers, lat pulldowns etc ) and one weightlifting / crossfit gym ( bumpers, kettlebells ). because i'm into variety, but not variety in a Crossfit sense where somebody else determines what the variety is - rather a variety where i myself determine what the variety should be.

[Dan Miller]

I thought you were in solitary confinement?

http://startingstrength.com/resource...971#post804971

[G1981C]

I called Chelsea Piers and asked if they had bumper plates - the guy didn't know what it was - i explained it to him, and he said they do. I asked about kettlebells and he said they do. But on the pictures of their club i don't see any crossfit or WL equipment - all i see is BS like yoga stuff. At least they have a regular bodybuilding type gym with crap like Leg Press - but i already have all that in my gym, and it is 5 times closer to me and has parking.

EDIT: called Aviator Sports and they said they don't have bumper plates ...

I think a separate gym for WL / Crossfit and Bodybuilding might be my only choice. It would have been nice to go to a gym that has everything at the same time but i just don't think i'm going to find a gym like that. My own gym already has all of the bodybuilding stuff, and there is also Gold's gym near Kings Plaza that i tried and it is comparable to my gym. Of course it also doesn't have any real equipment like bumpers or chalk.

So if you could recommend a gym just for WL stuff - platform / bumpers / chalk and preferrably some Crossfit stuff as well like kettlebells that would be great.

[Michele Knaub]

i joined the Equinox in Brooklyn Heights. It's pricey (my company partially subsidizes it or I wouldn't have paid the money myself) but they have a platform, some bumpers, two squat racks/cages, plenty of cable crossover/pulldown madness, and some KBs.

[boot29342342]

http://manhattanweightlifting.com/index.html

There's no shortage of CF gyms in Manhattan and Brooklyn; Yelp is your friend.

Quite a few globo gyms have bumpers and platforms. The managers will not always know what these things are called.

[G1981C]

i joined the Equinox in Brooklyn Heights. It's pricey (my company partially subsidizes it or I wouldn't have paid the money myself) but they have a platform, some bumpers, two squat racks/cages, plenty of cable crossover/pulldown madness, and some KBs.

interesting ...

it's not really the type of gym i'm after - i would prefer more of a hardcore type gym that is cheaper and more free-weights focused than yoga type bullshit, but if they have a platform and kettlebells then i think it is worth checking out, especially since it is actually in Brooklyn.

of course Brooklyn Heights is just about the furthest part of Brooklyn from me, but i already have to drive to Park Slope just to buy food, because that's the part of Brooklyn where the health fanatics are.

the big plus of this type of gym ( versus a real olympic / power gym ) is i would be able to dump my NYSC membership which is a big financial drain.

[boot29342342]

interesting ...

it's not really the type of gym i'm after - i would prefer more of a hardcore type gym that is cheaper and more free-weights focused than yoga type bullshit, but if they have a platform and kettlebells then i think it is worth checking out, especially since it is actually in Brooklyn.

of course Brooklyn Heights is just about the furthest part of Brooklyn from me, but i already have to drive to Park Slope just to buy food, because that's the part of Brooklyn where the health fanatics are.

the big plus of this type of gym ( versus a real olympic / power gym ) is i would be able to dump my NYSC membership which is a big financial drain.

Oh shit, what is WRONG with me. I forgot who I was talking to and accidentally gave you some serious advice.

Here's the club for you:

http://davidkirschwellness.com/madis...embership.html

You can spend $25,000 a year on it. It will be even more savings compared to NYSC (which costs about $50 to $70 a month) or Equinox (which costs somewhere between $100 and $200 a month).

[G1981C]

http://manhattanweightlifting.com/index.html

interesting ...

reminds me of my first gym in US, back when i was 16 - the Shorefront Y on Coney Island by the boardwalk. it was small, and everybody knew each other, but despite the small size it had a platform and actually one russian dude who was competitive and looked like a total freak.

i could go there even now, and it costs pennies, but the equipment in that gym was of the cheapest kind. i mostly went there for the pool, but i go to a better pool now.

also the parking was always a problem there. right now it's easier parking wise there because hurricane Sandy took out most cars in that area, but i expect it will return to "normal" soon enough.

have you actually been to this gym ? do you know if they still have slots ? it says they only want a total of 30 members. 30 members - that's crazy. 30 members X $50 per month that's only $1,500 per month - how can they possibly remain in business ? the rent for the space alone in Manhattan will probably be 4 times as much. makes no sense. and the Eleiko gear ? wear and tear. very strange.

[DRice311]

http://davidkirschwellness.com/madis...embership.html

My god. Some of you New Yorkers really make me wonder.

I wonder how many clients he has paying 25g's/year? 8 and he is banking 200, just on that without his other memberships.

[boot29342342]

My god. Some of you New Yorkers really make me wonder.

I wonder how many clients he has paying 25g's/year? 8 and he is banking 200, just on that without his other memberships.

He doesn't need many, and the exclusivity is presumably worth it for those of them who don't count money. Madison Square is an extremely expensive area, and it is right next to Gramercy--the people who live there have their own *park* that's under lock and key and not open to peons such as myself. I just walk around there and admire the architecture.