Badger Fitness 24/7 — Local services in Madison

Before I write my review about Badger Fitness, I think it's important to know where I started. I've always been "physically active" whether that was playing a sport in high school, hiking a mountain, kayaking, etc. However, I've always had bad knees, scoliosis & lordosis that result in chronic pain therefore, I never thought in a million years I could lift real weight. So I was always the girl in the gym that did the machine work outs, the stair machine, the ab workouts I found on pinterest, etc. without ever showing any improvement.. my body just stayed the same. I've been to a couple gyms around Madison, but nothing has compared to Badger.

I saw someone deadlift one day and said to myself, "Hey that looks interesting, I wanna try." So I tried, never really feeling super confident about it until Katie came out of nowhere and said, "Girl, you have potential. I know you can do more!" And that changed my entire weightlifting career. I needed a push, I needed someone to have some confidence in me, I needed someone to show me what to do.

Being a women already has it's challenges. Being a women in a gym is an entirely new ball game.. you feel awkward, self conscious, embarrassed, etc. but not at Badger. At Badger you feel part of something, there's this community there that you don't find anywhere else. I know if I need help, I can just walk up to the next person and ask for it. I know if I fail, no ones going to be making fun of me, they will look at me and say, "Damn that was impressed, get up and try again." I know that when I hit a new Deadlift, Squat, Bench PR there are going to be people that cheer, clap and congratulate me. Badger feels like home. There are so many days I walk into this gym in a terrible headspace and walk out in a completely different mindset! You don't get this support or community anywhere else. I mean hell, when I bought my house I made sure it was close to Badger Fitness because I spend so...

I've been going to Badger Fitness for almost a year now and I would recommend them to anyone interested in a great, family owned, personable gym. Badger Fitness has a mix of services to motivate you while also being a stable space with the tools to do your own thing too. I started with boot camps and then switched to personal training with Kaade. In both settings, I felt really supported personally and more importantly challenged at an appropriate level. I never feel pressured or weak but instead I feel very empowered. Kaade has pushed me to try new machines, new workout plans, and really tailored my experience to help me in my fitness goals. He always has a positive attitude and is a total goofball that will make you laugh but then immediately hold you accountable to that last rep (he never looses count....like ever). Kaade also demonstrates genuine care for his gym family/clients. When I go to to workout on my own, if Kaade is there, he will kindly correct my form or yell words of encouragement. It's clear Kaade truly cares about people and wants them to be better versions of themselves both physically and mentally. I would highly recommend starting with Kaade as a personal trainer if you need motivation, have no clue what you are doing, want to lift really heavy objects for fun, or just need a someone to tailor workouts to meet your goals. I will also comment that this gym is very inclusive to a range of identities. I think anyone could feel welcomed, acknowledged, and able to work out comfortably regardless of race, gender, size, or experience. Don't get me wrong, their are some intimidating people who work out here, but everyone is really passionate about gains and wants to share the gym...

I have heard many rave reviews of this gym, so was excited to take a tour and get started. Here was my experience:

the only way to reach the gym is to text them, it seems. This felt weird right off the bat, but I scheduled a tour.

when my partner and I showed up for our tour, the employee clearly had no idea we were coming, and hurried us through in about 3 minutes.

a decent portion of the gym was not wheelchair-accessible, which may have been the reason for the short tour. This was disheartening for my wheelchair-bound partner.

the employee I had to text with got increasingly pushy and started talking down to me when I was reluctant to immediately shell out hundreds of dollars. Screenshots attached.

there is a "two-month commitment" that they conveniently don't tell you about until they think they're about to make a sale. Additionally, they advertise their prices as $50 a month, but when you ask to pay monthly, they charge $60.

Overall, this place seems like a great gym for people who already know how to work out and have money. It is borderline financially predatory like every other gym I have dealt with, so be prepared to pay much more than they say you will. We were both really let down, as this place sounded like...