Albany YMCA — Local services in Albany

The building has been undergoing a remodel since June 2016. It was closed completely for about a week and then reopened with some of its facilities, including the weight training equipment, available. However the men's bathroom was closed, so I had to put my gym clothes on at home, drive to the Y for my exercise routine and return home to shower and put on my regular clothes. During warm weather, this was an inconvenience but it became impractical when winter weather set in. Walking to my parked car in my sweaty gym clothes in the cold was unhealthy and unacceptable. So in the months of November, December and January I couldn't use the gym at all. Finally, in February 2017 the men's bathroom opened. The new layout of the bathroom is gravely deficient. When I first joined the Albany Y in 2003, there was enough room for three men to change their clothes at the same time. A few years later the bathroom was mildly remodeled leaving room for only two the change at the same time. Now, the newest remodel leaves room for only one man to change at once. The old roomy metal lockers have been replaced by small, cheap particle-board lockers that will probably last only a couple of years. The shower room lacks soap dispensers, towel racks and hot water. (Water temperature choice is room-temperature or cold.) The selection of weight-training and cardio machines has been improved, but that doesn't make up for the sub-normal bathroom. ...

Not a lot of reviews talking about the gym so figured I'd do one. Was considering joining the Y and this branch was my closest one, but the gym is woefully lacking unless you're only doing cardio or calisthenics. No barbells, no squat rack, can't even do a proper bench press anywhere. All of which are foundational to properly build build muscle and do proper resistance training in a balanced way. But, if all you need from a gym is to keep your joints healthy and moving, it'll do the job.

The gym is also very small - which isn't always a bad thing. But there wasn't much space to "breathe" if you were working out and not using machines, or even any space to do something like yoga. Positives - the staff were nice, the free group exercises seemed good (if you're into that sort of thing), it seemed well maintained. It was also not very busy at all during a peak time. I also liked that all the east bay Y's are bundled together.

That said, I feel like if all you need from a gym is what this Y has to offer, you're better off paying much less to go to planet fitness instead, if you are...

tl;dr: Basic gym with limited equipment focused on cardio and elderly fitness. Having the "YMCA East Bay" app is useless since the branch doesn't update it with their hours.

This Y started off okay but has some serious issues. The gym setup is super basic - no barbells, squat racks, or proper bench press stations. You'll hit a wall pretty fast if you're into serious strength training or muscle building. It works fine for cardio and basic exercises, but that's about it.

I understand that the place caters to an older crowd, which is fine. However, I’m concerned about safety, as some individuals are using the equipment improperly, which could lead to injuries. The staff doesn't seem focused on providing proper form or guidance.

And don't bother downloading with the YMCA East Bay app—this branch never updates its information there. You'll only find out about different holiday hours from a sign on the front door, while other branches at least keep their app...