10th St. YMCA — Local services in Richmond

This gym is clean and fine if you’re just working out for general fitness but if you’re serious about strength training it’s pretty terrible. There are only 2 squat racks and no dedicated bench press racks. The racks are shoved in a corner right next to the only (tiny) deadlifting platform - if all 3 are occupied you’re basically on top of each other, made worse if you need to pull a bench into one of the racks. There is no cable lat pulldown or row which was shocking to me. There are machines but they don’t allow for different grips/angles like a cable tower would. The majority of the strength training section is machines but many are unusable for me because instead of a fixed path, handles rotate mid-lift - this is presumably for ergonomics but stability/isolation is the entire benefit of using machines in the first place and the rotation just makes the movements feel unnatural. I think the shoulder press machine in particular is an injury waiting to happen. I’ve been going here since the downtown YMCA closed for renovations but it’s not an adequate substitute for me...

Really helpful staff and judgment free members. I'm in my mid 40s working out for the first time and this has been a great experience. Plenty of machines and space, I work out at 6am and it's never crowded. Don't bother renting a locker just bring a lock, there are plenty of open lockers. The men's locker room has hairdryers, ironing boards and irons, plenty of showers and sinks with mirrors, tvs and lounge areas. I haven't used the sauna yet but...

I tried the 10th Street Y last week because my usual gym (downtown) was closed for renovations, and I was so excited to see how great this little spot is. Small but has all the things you need, and very clean/updated. This location is actually closer to my house so I look forward to returning here in the future. The only hard part was finding parking and making it from parking to the gym -- could use...