Gym Reviews

EileenG

It's a very odd gym. There are no barbells!!! Seriously, I couldn't get over that. Obviously, no squat rack or power rack either. Plenty of machines, including assisted dip and leg press, and lots of dumbbells too. I suppose you could do dumbbell deadlifts and squats, but it does leave a big gap.

humbert

Yes, I saw that mentioned on one of the post I found. Was a bit difficult to believe but I guess it's true. Although it wouldn't be the end of the world for me it is a bit annoying.

dave13

There was a power rack and barbell in it the last time i was there(before xmas). There's a power rack with an olympic barbell and a smith machine side by side. My only issue was the rack was always in heavy use at peak times.

Most people dont join as its so cheap to pay as you go. Personally I like to run ouside and have weights at home so now only use it for the pool once a week.

amacachi

Anyone had any experience witht he gym in trinity?

maxxie

Crunch in tallaght is a great gym, love the place!

Does anyone have experience with the Hercules Gym in town??

COH

I'm part of the coaching set-up for one of Dublin's American football teams. Worth mentioning that we run team circuit (strength and conditioning) training sessions in Raw Gym on a weekly basis and the staff/facility have been a great benefit to us. If anyone else is looking to get team training organised for rugby/GAA/football etc. you can organise it with them.

Also, they got climbing ropes, a harness for the weighted sled for sprint drills and some kick-ass thick grip olympic dumbbells in, can load them up to 110kg for anyone looking to work on grip strength or strongman training etc.

Vamoose Killers

Best gyms around the Dundrum area?

gnolan

Vamoose Killers wrote: »

Best gyms around the Dundrum area?

Probably TF Sandyford, 5 mins away. Pricey though. 675 up front, or about 805 if you pay by month

Vamoose Killers

675? No way.

Hmm, probably better off looking in the city centre then?

tashlaw

ciaranmul wrote: »

That gym will be opening up in the next 2 weeks, it's down beside Bay Restaurant on the Sea front in Clontarf, where the Dollymount House used to be. The two Trainers have quite a loyal client base and the gym will be used to train them.

If anyone wants contact details for David or James, just PM me.

Do you have any details on this gym? Very interested. Cheers.

Dubdude

Any feedback on this place i.e. how busy can it be around 4.30-5.00, whats the crowd like, is there a good atmosphere in it??

Vamoose Killers

Only recently joined but never found it too busy to be honest. Nice spacious gym. Crowd? Friendly and helpful, can't ask for any more really.

catch88

i like being in westwood clontarf, however the amount of blatantly underage boys using the main (adults) gym is ridiculous. Just watching them you can tell that they're lifting weights unsuitable for them...followed by an almighty crash when they let go.

The staff need to be keeping a closer eye.

bigstar

recently joined westwood clontarf. i like it a lot, facilities are fairly good, lots of bikes, threadmills, rowers etc. lots and lots of machines. really good free weights too, including three power cages and a squat rack. its never too busy but i usually go about midday so it could be worse some evenings. has a 50m pool too indoor tennis courts and a climbing wall. big changing rooms lots of showers always clean. only negative is that the equipment is a bit old, some of the plates have bits of the rubber missing but they still do the job. other negative is obviously the price. the student rate for me is €55 a month plus €75 joining ouch! i was in northwood last year it was ok really packed though and only had one power cage and two smiths which were always being used (westwood has two smiths too). prefer westwood, not many use the squat racks/cages so more for me

bigstar

catch88 wrote: »

i like being in westwood clontarf, however the amount of blatantly underage boys using the main (adults) gym is ridiculous. Just watching them you can tell that they're lifting weights unsuitable for them...followed by an almighty crash when they let go.

The staff need to be keeping a closer eye.

noticed that a few times, doesnt bother me too much they just stroll around and use pec decs until their face turns blue.

discombobulate

Anyone with a bit of info on Raw for a gym newbie. Sounds like its focused more on the hardcore. Easiest for me from work though

RHunce

hey! does anybody know what are the prices for jjb gym in limerick?? and what different options are there, ie - length of time and and amount it costs

smithslist

Regarding the "Fitness Dock" gym, does anybody know if there is any free parking around for me to park, anytime after 6pm suits, I usually park around Synge street and it is paid parking all around that area.

thanks in advance

scotsman2005

HI was looking to get a bit more into weight lifting was looking for a buddy okay to move to a new gym

catch88

I ve been a member of Westwood Clontarf (really Fairview) for a trillion years but hadn't been for 9 months. Just started back last week and was scratching my head last night over the fact that they have a massive class in the warm up/stretching area....which meant i had basically no where to stretch before my workout. Had to sit on the floor next to the bin with no mat. And those who were already there prior to the class beginning found themselves having to negotiate their way around all the bodies on the floor to try and get out. Ive seen hands being stood on and heads getting whacked. Tis crazy.

I dont remember them ever starting a class in the stretching area before. Ive seen them do it twice now. Personally i think its unfair to anyone using the gym, they could just as easily do that part of the class in one of the studios. Thats what they're there for.

Getting grumpy in my old age

conno16

TF have called me three times over the course of the last 2 weeks
hopefully it will soon kick in that at 675 i aint interested

arybvtcw0eolkf

conno16 wrote: »

TF have called me three times over the course of the last 2 weeks
hopefully it will soon kick in that at 675 i aint interested

Don't hold your breath buddy.

My renewal with them was €598-

I was willing to pay €500 but they wouldn't budge, so I took my money to Northwood in Santry - I hate the kip, its awful in comparison to TF but at twice the price of Northwood I simply couldn't justify TF at the present time.

If TF dropped to €500- today I'd forfeit the €250 I spent in Northwood and go back to TF.

.

Dubdude

Mairt wrote: »

Don't hold your breath buddy.

My renewal with them was €598-

I was willing to pay €500 but they wouldn't budge, so I took my money to Northwood in Santry - I hate the kip, its awful in comparison to TF but at twice the price of Northwood I simply couldn't justify TF at the present time.

If TF dropped to €500- today I'd forfeit the €250 I spent in Northwood and go back to TF.

.

But then it would mean that you have spent a total of 750 where as you could have just given the extra 98 quid and stayed in the gym where you were more happy

couerdelion

Just a quick review on Crunch(Temple Bar) where I've been a member for about a year.

I can't fault the amount of cardio machines. I go at lunch times most days and have never seen the running machines anything like full, same on the few evenings I have been. Probably around 30 running machines, 20 bikes, 10 cross trainers and a couple of steppers.

The machine weights are fine although if one breaks it normally takes a couple of weeks before it is fixed which is frustrating. Even at lunch I'll normally be stood waiting for a machine or joining in sets with someone else, but it does not really disrupt my training.

Free weights; there are loads of dumbells up to 36kg (I think) which is enough for most people but could do with some heavier. There are also plenty of benches and it's rare to have to wait for one. They also have a seperate ladies area with dumbells and benches. There is only one olympic bench though to bench press and one smith machine which is really not good enough. I have given up waiting for either. It's hard to share sets on the bench with the messing around changing weights and the smith machine is used mainly for squats and it's a hassle pushing a bench in and out.

Classes seem to be varied, but I don't do them so can't really comment.

The changing rooms are on the basement level and stink of sweat. Why put a carpet down in a chinging room? It's also pretty dark and in the summer months I am usually sweating more getting changed than when I was doing proper excercis. The showers are fine and again not usually a need to wait. The swimming pool is only small (10m?) and not really worth doing lengths in. The steam room smells awful most days and the sauna furniture is falling apart.

Overall I am happy enough as it suits my need. It's close to work and as I can get there easily I train often. I have to alter my programme to suit the availability of machines (eg. I'm having to do more machine chest presses than bench presses). It could be better and have more free weight facilities, but I would imagine that due to space limitations they are appealing to the largest range of people.
The sales staff aren't great. After being shown the female area and then having the main weights are being referred to as 'the mens area' my wife decided not to join. She also wasn't keen on having to walk down through the main entrance to the changing rooms in her swimming togs to use the pool.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Dubdude wrote: »

But then it would mean that you have spent a total of 750 where as you could have just given the extra 98 quid and stayed in the gym where you were more happy

I'm fully aware of its implications, but I truely never thought Northwood would be so over crowded and this has impinged on my weights training massively.

For cardio, ie thread mills, cross trainers and bikes its fine - for weight training, unless your VERY flexible with your time and can plan your workouts around the busy periods, forget about it and go elsewhere.

.

conno16

TF normal adult membership - best they'll do is still 580
if they drop to 550 i'm in
i have not been a member there for prob 4 years but at that rate i reckon its just about worth it
all the ben dunne gyms have pushed the yellow-pack model too far in my opinion
two crowded, not willing to keep equipment up to date, just generally skipping corners. but for 250-300 quid, what can you expect i suppose

TP4Cornholio

I've gone to three gyms in D15 over the past 5 years. The first 3 yrs in Total Fitness, 1 yr in Ben Dunnes and the last year in Crunch in Westmanstown. Each have their good points and bad points.

Total fitness is located very close to the M50 Castleknock roundabout. Too close in fact, especially at peak time traffic. To return to Castleknock, you must go over the M50 roundabout - never good at peak times. At the moment the gym carpark is a bit of a mess thanks to the building that's going on around it. The gym itself is huge and never too busy that you never need to queue for anything. What I felt about the place was that everything inside the building was very dated - the showers, machines, etc. They seemed to break down quite regularly. The swimming pool was closed quite often too. The mens toilets area was always filthy and smelt - a bit off-putting when you needed to pass by them to get to the showers. They're the reasons I left and the reason I wouldn't go back is because of the price - originally it was for 495 euros for the year and now it has gone up to 600 euro for the year, when I enquired lately (they weren't prepared to budge either).

Ben Dunne's Westpoint is the cheapest by a country mile. I originally joined for 475 for two people and was offered 300 euro per person on renewal - for 15 months. This dropped to 275 and then 250 per person, when I did not accept the original offer (I had joined Crunch at this stage). But, the biggest problem with this gym is that there are too many people going to this gym (too many teenagers too, who turn up for dossing). The weight machines are impossible to get a hold of as a result and queues for the showers are quite common. If you come at the wrong time, you may struggle to get a threadmill too. This applies to parking spaces too - it doesn't help that Blanch shoppers park in the gym carpark either. Because its so near to Blanch you can sometimes get caught up in traffic, especially during peak shopping seasons. But if you tolerate all that, it's not a bad gym, that's well kept.

After Westpoint I looked at TF again, but didn't like the 600 euro price-tag. I ventured over to Crunch to see if they would do a better offer. Previously I was quoted 800 euro for the year and expected not to hear an improvement. But I was surprised to hear that they offered 975 euros for the year for two people. Plus, if you're a haggler, they are willing to drop the price further. From what I can see this place is all good - no queues at machines, plenty of space in the gym and the showers are always immaculately clean. Plenty of carparking, although you'd expect that, as its in the countryside practically. It's only the distance that would put you off. I'm currently a member here and intend on staying, if the price stays what it is for now...

That's my tuppence worth of D15 gyms...

kumate_champ07

discombobulate wrote: »

Anyone with a bit of info on Raw for a gym newbie. Sounds like its focused more on the hardcore. Easiest for me from work though

go for it, theres a mix of people training there. check the place out if you havent already, the instuctors seem sound

muttingaa

Bloomfield House Hotel, M'gar has good facilities..20 metre pool,jacuzzi,sauna and steam room.The gym is not bad except for 4 or 5 individuals who hogg the bench press equipment..very frustrating when you are trying to do a circuit.

Ali07

Does anybody know about the gym in the Maldron Hotel near Grand Canal ?