Monon Community Center — Attraction in Carmel

A comprehensive review of the MCC facilities (Updated March 2024, 5 months of membership):

Overall, I am satisfied with the membership, but there is a ton of room for improvement with the MCC. I have experimented by going at different times of the day on each day of the week to find the optimal times for equipment availability. If you have the flexibility to go at unusual times (very early AM or just before close), working out at the MCC is very enjoyable. On the other hand, peak times (late mornings and weekdays 4-7pm) can be unbearable. Specifically Mondays are a madhouse because of the bro split.

Specifically in reference to the weights area of the gym, availability is a huge issue. If you are following a program and want to use specific equipment during those peak times, you may find yourself waiting anywhere from 2-10 minutes for a machine to free up. I regularly see people just sit on the nearest machine and occupy, but not utilize it, so they can jump on a machine when it opens.

The other big problem I have here is the frequency of kids in the gym. Particularly between 3-5pm, there is a large amount of kids. I understand it’s a community center available to all residents, that is not the issue. The kids come in large groups (3-5) and are collectively entitled. The biggest issue with this entitlement is the standing around. These groups will crowd a certain machine (often the limited cable machines or the squat racks). Then, they proceed to do a set maybe every 2 minutes, simply chatting while standing around the machine and not actually using it. You will often find these groups wearing pajama pants for some reason.

While sharing the facilities with kids aged 13-18 is not a concern for me, I feel that people in this age range (i.e. not adults) should be required to take a safety and etiquette session before being granted membership.

To be complete, the majority of MCC members are very courteous and will ask if you’re finished with a machine, how many sets you have left, etc. Better yet, most will simply not get in your way at all. I have yet to feel uncomfortable working out here like I have at other gyms in the past.

Suggestions to address issues: There is lots of square footage at the MCC which could be used for additional free weights. There is an urgent need for greater quantity of commonly used dumbbells (10-50 lb) and barbell weights (5-35 lb). As a suggestion to the MCC, the upstairs classrooms are almost always empty when the weight room is at peak demand in the evenings. Those rooms should be configured as dual-purpose rooms such that they are open-use free weights rooms when there is no class in session. There is clearly greater demand for additional weights than class sessions. By reading previous reviews, it is apparent that weight availability is an issue which has gone unaddressed for quite a long time.

Lastly, much of the standard issue equipment is aging and worn with maintenance lacking. Many of the fixed weight machines have broken set pins, two of three reclining benches have loose pins and wobble when positioned upright, many often used dumbbells lack knurling and are borderline smooth, which is arguably a safety concern.

This may seem a quite critical review, and it is, but I am happy overall. For the price it is (currently $49/month), it is a much better deal than a less busy (and/or larger) gym facility such as PF.

The indoor track is nice for non-stationary running in the cold. I have yet to see it so busy that it’s unusable. I enjoy having this available.

I cannot comment to the pools, courts, or classes, as I have not utilized them. I would love to play pickleball there in the winter, but the open pickleball times are obscure and when I have checked them out, there were ~30 people waiting to rotate in on only 3 courts.

Cleanliness: 5-star When busy: 3-star When not busy: 5-star Quality of equipment: 3.5-star Quality of co-members: 4-stars Overall: 4 stars

I will update my review with time, as I plan to continue my membership there. Hope to see the...

I arrived at the weightlifting center, eager to experience a stimulating workout to help germinate rippling musculature but made a mistake by going into the men's locker room. As I approached, I didn't think much, assuming it was like a normal locker room, a place to change, shower, and release human waste. I opened the door and was met with a man, about 60 years old who was fully naked and standing in the open, staring at me with a diabolical stare emerging from his dilated pupils. I attempted to ignore him, looking down but he called for me, telling me that he was locked out of his own locker and was unable to retrieve his clothes. He wanted me to get a monon worker to unlock the locker for him. I complied, walking to the weightlifting desk where I expected an employee to be. To my amazement, nobody was there so I had to walk to another desk, which took about another minute. I told one of the workers, who seemed to suffer from social anxiety as he didn't seem to maintain eye contact with me and also had poor posture, possible rupturing his spine and damaging his thoracolumbar fascia if he were to maintain that posture chronically. I lead the man up the stairs to the gym, feeling awkward on the way up as he made no effort to initiate any conversation and walked very slowly. I lead him to the scene of the accident which luckily he was able to solve quite easily so I went on with the rest of my day and headed to the sinks. I arrived at the sinks as a horrendous stench began to permeate my nostrils, which smelled like a mixture of rotten rectal discharge mixed with severe body odor. I started to feel a bit dizzy, but pushed through it as I headed to the urinal. I wait to use a urinal as a fully naked man begins to start shaking frantically at the urinal, moving his hand quickly back and forth. I'm not sure if he was attempted to pleasure himself or dry himself but I decided to go use the stall instead. I entered the stall and the protruding smell starts to get worse, and I shift my view to the toilet where a heaping pile of feces sat, half of which was not even in the toilet and was piling over the edges. At this point I was not very surprised but was immensely disgusted and dissatisfied with my experience so far. I found one of the janitors who luckily said he would clean it up but felt sorry for him as that would be very difficult to clean up. As for the man who made the mess, hopefully he would see a gastroenterologist . I left the locker room, happy to be able to get out of that place. I entered the weightlifting area, which was very crowded but was luckily able to get on the leg press machine. Two forty five pound plates were already present on both sides but I needed more so I grabbed one and put it on one side but as I went to grab another one a teenage girl grabs the forty five on the leg press and takes it to deadlift. I approached her, already in a poor mood, and told her that I was using that. She acted surprised and sassy and even made me take the weight back from her. She seemed to assume I wouldn't be strong enough to lift the weight I put on. While I leg pressed she kept staring at me, but tried to hide it and she did not do that too well. After I finished leg press, I went to squat and after I warmed up I loaded three 300 total on the bar. The whole gym seemed to stare at me, like I was some kind of celebrity. I was not sure if they had never seen someone squat 300 pounds or if they were just obsessed with my physique. Either way, it was a bit distracting but fortunately didn't harm my workout. I finished squat and arrived at the hamstring curl machine. While curling, I was unwillingly forced to listen to a conversation between a seventy year old man and a twenty year old man discuss their sexual desires with women. The old man was obsessed with fat women, and even discussed the aftermath, such as rectal seepage which didn't sound too pleasant. I finished my workout and left, feeling dissatisfied but also entertained. I will contemplate whether buying a membership or not...

My wife and I purchased a property here in Carmel and have spent a considerable amount of money taking care of it not to mention the property tax dollars that we have spent on it which brings me to this check in point and the way I was treated.

I walked about two miles from our property where we are currently having some work done. Up to this center. I needed to use the restroom, came into the building and was politely given the directions that public restrooms were out the front door, turn right and they are right across from the Waterpark. I left the build and walked BACK to the Waterpark and the only thing across from the park were some flowering bushes!

I continued past the Waterpark and found out that the restrooms were adjacent to the park, oh and by the way they were LOCKED!

I went back to were I got my "misdirections" they finally let me use the restrooms in the building only after explaining there policies which with COVID-19 i understand, and telling me that there were restrooms all along the walking trail. But its only after I explained i needed a restrooms otherwise I might be making a mess. Last I really did appreciate them coming to the restroom to check on me. If this us how I'm going to be treated NO THANKS! I will not be coming back here again and I found this experience insulting...