Flex Fitness OC — Attraction in Laguna Hills

I'm 44 this year. Since I was a kid, I've always been 'fit', when I went to college I decided to get into an actual gym and start training. I moved from weighing 141lbs to 185lbs. During my mid 20's and early 30's I had reached upward of 214lbs. Then I got married and my time I had for the gym got cut from 2 hours a day, 6 days a week to 45 minutes per day 4 times a week. THEN... when my wife and I had our wonderful son, working out was kind of... well let's just say my LA Fitness membership was getting paid, but not getting used. Our son is 2 (this weekend!), and about 8 months ago... feeling my mid section getting doughy, and gaining weight in the wrong places, and just flat out seeing all evidence that at one time I was pretty fit, going down the toilet. I was even feeling 'aged' carrying around my son. I know... I was turning into a slug. LOL. I tried getting back into the gym, things weren't the same. I was motivated, but honestly I had no accountability to push myself. And then I missed a day, 2 days, 3,4, and 2 weeks went by. Get back into the gym for a day or two, out for 6. Things didn't change.

Something HAD to change. I realized if I wanted to change tomorrow, I couldn't keep doing what I had been doing... clearly it wasn't working. As I was sitting at the dentist office with my son, an ad for a fitness center showed up in my Yelp. Ha! A sign. I did a further search for person trainers, and that same place showed up as one of the higher ranked places on Yelp. I was excited and felt motivated... I was going to do something that I never thought I would do before... get a personal trainer (10 years ago, my ego would have kicked my own butt for considering this)! I called this place up, left a message for them right then and there. All that excitement was forgotten, because I didn't get a call back till Wednesday the following week! At that point I was more annoyed on how long it took for them to return a sales call from someone that was clearly motivated (and my message showed it). Plus, the person that called me back just didn't seem genuine and was too 'over-the-top' in sales mode, and failed to show interest in my goals. I decided to call the next place in Yelp called 'FlexFitness'. Wahoo! Got a live person who scheduled me in for an appointment with the owner of the Gym that day. Score!

When I sat down with "Tony" (owner of Flex Fitness), my first thought was OK, this place is cool. He took the time to hammer me with a number of questions to get to know my past, present day and future goals. He dug into my eating habits.

OK... now with my novel of a intro out of the way. Let me share with you a few fun facts. When I signed up, Tony took all my measurements including a body fat test. Which I was at a 19.1%. Next... week number one was hell. No joke, ever day I wanted to quit. My trainers "Alvin" and "Tony" (how cool... I had not 1 but 2 trainers!) had me pushing more weight than I did back in college days! I would come home and be exhausted and sore, VERY sore. Each day was a test of 'How bad do I want it'. I wanted to get back fit, I wanted to have the energy to play with my son and not be exhausted. So I stuck with it. 4 days a week, 1 hour a day with Alvin or Tony, and then 1 day working out on my own. Don't think you'll have the time to look at your cell phone, leave it in your car. For one hour, you'll get pushed most likely harder than you ever have.

So the good stuff. Today 6 weeks after my start, not only do I feel stronger, look stronger, and eating healthier. Tony took my body fat test and measurements again. I was at a 13.8% a drop of 5.3%!! With all the rest of my numbers looking solid. The largest gain was my torso had a 2" gain. Yeah, these guys are getting an enthusiastic two thumbs up from me.

To close, what makes this gym unique, is the family like environment. The trainers will push you, and make sure you get what you expected out of this gym. Lastly, the equipment in this place is like none I've...

Are you looking for a gym that prioritizes gains? Are you looking for a workout surrounded by fellow grunters? Do you want to sweat the entire time? Flex Fitness might be for you!

Here are some highlights from my time there:

Kind, attentive, and knowledgeable staff Chill environment where everybody is wearing headphones, no worries about unwanted stares or conversation! Friendly folks around if you do want to talk :) Excellent variety of equipment from stretch bands to specialized muscle targeting Not too crowded at peak hours 24/7 coverage of body-building competitions A dramatic red and black color scheme Music that varies from whimsical EDM to heavy metal A 5 x 15 area to stretch or do mat work The tiniest, scratchiest sweat towels known to man Sweat-inducing environment with air conditioning used sparingly Machines with missing weight plates so you feel REALLY strong lifting 100 (-20) lbs Clean and well maintained equipment, except when pads are removed for repairs and stay gone for a week or more A gym owner who is so ripped that he cannot fathom anyone would come to his gym for anything other than getting similarly ripped Personal training that includes biweekly fat checks (complementary AND mandatory!) Trainers that will be replaced if you fail to produce results in your fat loss, regardless of underlying medical conditions, eating disorders, or having goals that don't include fat loss

Gains guaranteed at their pace, feasible or not!!!

If you want to be low key judged for your body fat while being told that you can 'do better' and getting a full body up-and-down look, this is the...

As a female who hasn’t been in a gym for over a decade, i was worried this gym would be full of bro-culture types and aggro-wannabe-influencers saving equipment for their viral video but im happy to report that isn’t the case. The place is never crowded like an LA Fitness or 24 and the people who come here seem genuinely focused on getting their workout in. If you come in at the same time you’ll start to see the same faces and everyone gives each other the friendly nod almost to signal “let’s get ish done!”

Environment/Cleanliness Cleanest gym I’ve ever been in! Tony is obsessive about keeping his gym floor clean. He will literally pick up tiny specs off the floor with his finger. Surprisingly, the bathrooms are always well kept which i really appreciate

Personal Training I’ve been in the fitness industry for over a decade so i can be a bit skeptical of personal training but I’m happy to report that Tony is the cream of the crop. He’s very knowledgeable, on time every time (y’all know what i mean about flakey PTs), and understands nutrition. He’s a tough love professional who runs a tight ship and makes sure you know the proper way to do things including reminding others about common courtesy on keeping the gym clean for others.

I came here looking for a safe place and i feel like i found a friendly community. Highly...