24 Hour Fitness — Attraction in San Diego

Riley has been incredible for helping me start my fitness journey off on the right foot! I was hitting that wall in late 20s where my metabolism started slowing down (for the first time ever) and I realized I was gaining weight and didn’t feel I had much strength when I needed it. Especially because I work from home, I was just so sedentary. I had never really worked out in any serious manner before though. This year, I knew I needed to change that. But after committing to going to the gym a few times, I almost immediately injured myself from bad technique. That’s when I decided to schedule the free session that comes with a new membership at 24 hour after I recovered.

After that initial session with Riley, which went very well, I scheduled 8 more sessions. I really wanted help making sure I had a strong plan in place and that I was using proper technique to avoid getting injured again. He gave me a thought-out workout plan that matched my schedule and goals. When I asked for it, he gave me tips on diet and even gave me recipes and helped me get started with meal prepping. Not only did he do that, but much more. He was kind and supportive, great to chat with between sets, but still tough when I needed it. We’ve remained in contact for random questions I have and encouragement.

I’m now 8 weeks into the plan he set out for me (4 days/week), and I’m starting to see real results. I’m down to 206 lbs from 220 and I can start to look and feel stronger. I’m trying to get down to 200 by June and am confident I’ll get there. I feel amazing. Not only are the changes physical, but I’m way more focused and can get a lot more done. The work feels good instead of exhausting, and easier to refrain from engaging in bad habits too. I’m never going back to being so sedentary… truly life-changing!

I genuinely can’t thank Riley enough. He gave me exactly what I needed and none of what I didn’t. No nonsense!...

Staff is great. General manager is cool. And I know operations staff only has so much power. Some people criticize the conditions of the restroom. That said, that’s not on staff either. I have sensory issues, so between exercises I’ll dip into the bathroom pretty frequently just to give myself a sensory break. I’ve watched the staff detail the bathroom, get it all super tidy, and literally 30min later, people have strewn toilet paper, splashed (hopefully water), and peed all over the seats making it appear as though it hasn’t been cleaned even though it just was. Some of ya’ll are just disrespectful!!!

My big issue is equipment… Today I have counted a total of 13 machines (treadmills, stair masters, curl machine, hip thrust machine, leg press machine, etc…) fully out of order… Not to mention certain machines have certain weight ranges unavailable due to the switches being broken (like one of the two height-adjustable cable machines)… For someone who also has some mobility/shoulder issues, as well as balance impairment, and born with uneven shoulders, that needs the stability of the machines for certain exercises, this is frustrating. I moved over from Fitness West, partially due to the price deal of a year long membership, but moreso for the equipment. I walk everywhere. This is the 24 Hr Fitness I can get to on foot in my schedule. It would be great if there was more priority to at least get the machines that there aren’t really alternative or double machines of fixed with more priority.

The thrust machine for instance has been out for weeks now… Same with a curl machine… I get the leg press machine because the break in it was the entire back coming off, which… happens… wear and tear and all, and that’s not just a simple fix… but fixing equipment just seems to be...

I signed up for a month-to-month membership at 24 Hour Fitness, and while it definitely has its ups and downs, I won’t be re-signing up when my membership expires.

First, the good stuff: The gym has a solid variety of equipment and, bonus, they actually play decent music. It's not a non-stop loop of gangster rap like the last gym I tried. The playlist is refreshingly varied, so you won’t feel like you’re training for a rap music video every time you step on the treadmill. Props for that.

Now, on to the not-so-good stuff: The biggest issue for me was the misleading hours. I joined thinking I’d be able to hit the gym 24/7, but turns out not all 24 Hour Fitness locations are actually open 24 hours. Who knew? Definitely felt like a bait-and-switch when I showed up at 10 PM and found the place locked up tighter than a drum. So, yeah, that was a bit of a letdown.

And then there’s the locker room situation. Let me just say: cleanliness is not a priority here. Every time I’ve used the restrooms, there have been clogged toilets, overflowing toilet paper, and floors that felt suspiciously sticky. The staff? Well, they spend most of their time behind the front desk, completely unaware that the locker rooms are slowly turning into a public health concern. I’ve yet to see anyone actually clean anything, which I think is a pretty basic expectation for a gym.

So, while I’ll give credit for the decent tunes and equipment, the lack of 24-hour access and the dirty locker rooms are dealbreakers for me. I won’t be sticking around for another month. Maybe if they cleaned up their act (literally), I’d reconsider. But for now, I’ll be heading somewhere where the toilets flush and the hours...