LA Fitness — Attraction in South Plainfield

Let's get into it. The place is pretty big, basketball court, racquetball courts, free weights, machines, cardio deck, stretch room, sauna, pool, jacuzzi, and studio.

The basketball court has like 1 functioning basketball at any given time. But it doesn't matter because the same group of people show up and hog the court for hours at a time. There is a wait, and 45 mins later, you probably still won't get on the court. Well, actually you can, you just have to be "boys" with some of the guys that apparently own the court.

The racquetball ball courts are functional, but be careful, you might find the occasional dumbbell laying there.

Ah the free weights. So about half of the free weights are NEVER ON THE RACK. They are literally everywhere else. I've seen dumbbells in the sauna, on the second floor cardio deck, in the studio, and of course, in the racquetball courts. There are missing weights, that's not unusual, but what is unusual is that the 70lb ez bar has been missing for like a year. I couldn't make this up. The staff/management never bothered to replace it!!!

Now, onto the cardio deck. The one part of this gym that isn't a complete disgusting, disorderly, mess. They've managed to maintain their treadmills and elliptical machines... kind of. Some work, some don't... Whatever.

Now, onto the locker rooms. There is literally fecal matter on the shower walls and curtains. There are paper towels everywhere, urine on the floors, powder, chalk, and dirty underwear in the most random places. The Sauna is broken every other week. The men's locker room smells like ebola. No, it smells like third-world brothel ebola, mixed with axe body spray. There really is no other way to describe it. It is simply putrid. OH AND ONE LAST THING, THE HOT WATER BREAKS AND DOESN'T WORK IN THE WINTER.

There are weights in the studio, weights on the cardio deck, weights in the sauna..when it works. There is literally filth everywhere. Everything is disgusting. Stay away from this place. I've even see the trainers work out, leave the weights on the floor, and proceed to further add to the train wreck of a place.

Oh, one last thing. Don't bother reaching out to LA fitness corporate. They don't care. I know. I emailed and called them. Their response: "your membership grants you access to other LA Fitness locations". Thanks LA Fitness, made my decision to leave and never come back all the easier.

One final thought. I now go to a different gym in a different town. LA Fitness Piscataway's issues are mostly on the members. The members of this gym are borderline vile. I've seen dirty underwear left on towel hooks outside of the non-functioning sauna. I've seen members use dumbbells are stands to do pull ups, with no intention of putting the weights back. There are members that try to squat 8 plates, quickly figure out that they can't, and decide to leave the rack the way it is.

LA fitness won't kick these members out. They won't penalize members for trashing the place. They actually won't do anything. For around 30 bucks a month, you can spend half of your time here looking for weights, complaining to the staff, getting kicked off of a machine by a trainer, taking ice cold showers in February, and not being able to use half of what you're paying for.

If you for some sick reason still decide that this is the place you want to join, then god help you. Please don't mind the empty stolen wallets and used condoms in the parking lot, be sure to avoid the puddles of urine in the locker room, and random dumbbells in the most unexpected places. If for some likely reason, you contract ebola while working out, please do not panic, this is the norm for this location. And as your membership allows, you can always travel 20 miles away to work out at another disgusting LA...

I have been a member of numerous different gyms, I was an ACE certified personal trainer for eight years and worked at multiple different gyms, I can say with absolute confidence, the ESPORTA in South Plainfield is the WORST gym I have ever been to. There is no respect for members from other members or staff. Weight is strewn about the gym, never put back by the people who used it and never cleaned by staff. Items will be left on the floor days. The facility’s music is often loud enough to he heard over your own to the point you would need to turn the volume up in your headphones past an appropriate level just to not have competing music. Worse yet, many members will often just bring speakers to play their music and not seem to notice or care they’re bothering people around them. Staff appears to not care either, and worse yet, they set the example for it! Staff often sit at the front desk playing their own music on personal speakers, creating competing sounds with the overhead speakers that results in a cacophony of noise. The worst offender is the group classes. The instructors of the group classes refuse to close their door, then turn the music up to be heard across the gym and use a microphone to blast their voice louder than the music. It doesn’t matter where in the gym you are, or how loud your headphones are, you will hear them. Equipment is consistently broken to where it’s still just useable, but either the half weights can’t be put back because their catch is broken or can’t be used because their release is stuck. Oftentimes the slack in the cables or machines creates a dead zone at the start/end of your range of motion, taking away from the movement. Cable attachments are all frayed, damaged, or in such a state of disrepair that my partner and I have purchased our own attachments and clips just to be able to use the cables. Want to use a stationary bike? Good luck finding one that isn’t broken in some way! Either the seat cannot be adjusted or will not stay at the level you placed it, the selector for gears doesn’t move, or the screen doesn’t turn on. They recently switched from sanitizing spray to some kind of wet wipes that are either dripping wet and leave the equipment soaked or the wipes are too dry from having sat out that they do nothing. The bathrooms are disgusting. The stench of urine in the men’s bathroom was so offensive I avoid using the bathroom and wait to go home or, if I really need to, use a store nearby after. I have seen porta potties at sports games and festivals cleaner than these bathrooms. Rather than getting somebody who can actually clean a bathroom, they’ve recently come up with a solution that meets this gym’s standards. For the last month the urinals have been covered in trash bags and roped off. While this has helped in reducing the odor, this is a laughable solution. The staff are not friendly or helpful. If you try to speak with them about anything they seem visibly annoyed you’ve interrupted their conversation. In the year and a half or so I’ve been coming here, management has consistently changed, yet nothing seems to get better. I only come here because this is the closest gym for my partner and my membership for LA allows me access to this gym. When given the opportunity, I choose any other location in...

I recently had an outstanding experience with an LA Fitness employee named Steven, whose exceptional customer service and attention to detail truly impressed me. Steven’s dedication to the members made me think he was the owner of the gym, as I’ve seen how committed owners are when they frequent their own businesses. I’m not sure if LA Fitness owners typically do this, but if you don’t, you should—you’d quickly see which employees truly care about your company and your clients. Given the level of care and commitment Steven demonstrated, I was convinced he must have a deeper stake in the gym.

I initially walked into LA Fitness just to inquire about rates, still hesitant due to a really bad experience I had with another gym (Crunch Fitness) in the summer of 2023. I haven’t found another gym I could be comfortable at. I was carrying a lot of anxiety and wasn’t even considering joining a gym again. The unprofessionalism I witnessed from the staff and management at Crunch Fitness was appalling and disgusting. I had been a member of New York Sports Club (NYSC) since 2007 and had never experienced such disrespectful and inappropriate behavior. Unfortunately, after COVID, NYSC closed for good, and Crunch Fitness took over their locations, but my stay didn’t last due to the staff they hired.

In contrast, Steven is a true leader. The owners of the LA Fitness location where Steven works should see how dedicated he is, and it comes naturally from Steven, they’d realize they have someone who offers consistent leadership and dedication to the company. If it weren’t for Steven’s knowledge, integrity, and professionalism, I may never signed up.

Steven’s patience and thorough understanding of what clients need completely changed my outlook. He provided all the information I required without any pressure, and his ability to make me feel comfortable was remarkable. Because of him, I decided to give LA Fitness a chance, and I couldn’t be happier with that decision. LA Fitness corporate should be elated to have someone like Steven on their team—his dedication to clients is truly inspiring!

As for my walk through with Steven the gym is impressive the main floor and upper level are clean it’s the gym goers who aren’t that clean that has nothing to do with the staff or LA Fitness, as gym goers we must take responsibility and pick up after ourselves we’re not children however even children pickup after themselves, with that being said I was impressed that the woman’s locker room is big and clean a full length mirror would be nice after-all women like to check out their outfit after freshening up and the fact that this location has a sauna is something special I’m happy for this. The downfall I noticed is the bathroom and showers can be updated and more cleaner. Also the pool I will never use it until they remove this rusty thing out of there or get it replaced or refurbished because it’s making the pool area look nasty to me. Other than that I don’t regret signing up I’ve already referred my family and friends to join. Thank you LA Fitness Thank you Steven for making my decision and experience at your facility wonderful.

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