Century Fitness — Local services in East Longmeadow

This gym is so great, I almost don't want to mention how great it is to keep traffic low - but that's a disservice to anyone looking to better themselves by working out. The staff is kind and helpful, everything is clean and in great working order. On top of a fully equipped weight room on the 2nd floor and a ton of cardio machines on both floors (and almost every treadmill and elliptical has its own TV you can control), they have the kind of amenities you'd expect from a super expensive gym: a protein smoothie bar, a (small-to-medium-sized) pool, a sauna & steam room, even a hot tub I think, tanning beds if you're into it -- plus a "functional room" with TRX straps, kettlebells in a wide variety of weights, battle ropes and punching bags upstairs and probably so much more that I'm missing -- and it's only $19.99 a month or $99 for 3 months! There's also way more parking than I had originally thought there was, which is great (though it's probably still pretty full around their peak times of 5-7PM which I avoid, just FYI).

The one bummer about the gym is the cancellation process (like basically all gyms), should you want/need to. Apparently you need to prove you're moving outside of a 25 mile range from the gym if you want to cancel...? I'm probably getting the details wrong, but you have to provide actual "proof" -- whatever that means? -- that going to the gym would physically put you out. The woman I spoke to about it when I signed up said the staff could try to help people out, but still -- read the contract so you know what you're getting into should you need to get out of it some day.

BUT, if you don't have any intentions of moving, or no problem with the $99/3 months, this gym is awesome. I haven't taken any of the classes, so I can't speak to those, but the weight room has 2 squat racks & a smith machine that actually maintain a decent turnover (I've only been going about 2 weeks and at admittedly "less busy" times, but have yet to see someone curling or doing pullups for an hour in there, which is an A+ in my book), at least 2 bench presses and a decline bench press, 2 cable crossover machines (one normal sized and one smaller), a ton of free weights and free weight barbells, and almost any other piece of equipment you might want. Having gone to 2 gyms that cost more than Century and didn't have this much stuff, I'm quite impressed.

My only regret is how weird the cancellation process is since I'm only in the area for a few months, but since I realize I'm an anomaly in that respect, I'm still...

It’s an okay gym. It definitely caters to an older crowd. The pool is always filled with ‘loungers’ so don’t expect space for swimming. Older men always walk from the pool through the weight room and never have a shirt or shoes on and walk straight through the weight room. The other day I was there and a gentleman coming from the pool with no shirt on started to shadow box another friend of his in the middle of the free weight area. It’s completely innappropriate and they should do something about it, like a changing area by the pool. Myself and other female members have talked about it before in length. The weight room is oddly organized, but when it’s slower it’s everything you need for a great workout and you have enough equipment to do so. In terms of employees, there’s one younger white gentleman (May be younger, maybe just a baby face) who works there that is super rude. Never holds the door for customers, always seems to be gossiping which can make you feel weird. But the rest of the adult staff are awesome. So you win some you lose some I guess. I love when employees at other gyms walk around and interact with members but you never see them mingling and checking in unless the are cleaning before close or behind the desk. Tanning beds are worthless, go somewhere else if you want to tan. My last and final note is the music. For the love of god please change it to something more modern. Today’s top hits, or even the 90s would be a compromise. It’s like stepping in a time portal to the 60s and 70s, Makes the workout much shorter when I forgot my headphones. Once again I believe this caters to their mostly older (60-80) demographic. After I wrote how I felt, I went from three...

I've been hitting up this gym for about three weeks now, and I must say, it's generally a decent spot – always tidy and well-kept. However, there's a pretty notable downside: it tends to get jam-packed throughout the day. I've found it's often more bearable to swing by during the final hour before closing just to avoid the crowds.

If you're big on cardio, this place might be your jam as they've got a solid array of machines for that. But when it comes to hitting the weights, it's a bit of a different story. The weight room is on the smaller side and fills up fast, especially between 12 am and 5ish. Weekends can be a real headache since they close early for some reason.

Sure, they've got nearly every machine you could ask for, though usually just one of each. There are a few exceptions with a couple of machines having duplicates, but those are as rare as a unicorn. Combine that with the peak hours, and it's not exactly a pleasant experience. Don't just take my word for it – swing by anytime between noon and 5, and good luck finding a parking spot!

Now, the membership fee is $20 per month, which isn't outrageous, but if you're all about pumping iron, you might find it a tad steep. If this place weren't so conveniently close to home, I'd probably look into switching to a bigger gym like Planet Fitness. They've got more room to move, better pricing, and you won't have to fight for elbow space.

Overall, I'd say give this place a pass if you're into serious weightlifting and prefer a bit...