Gyms in Sydney
 

Off to Sydney next week again. In my last four visits I have worked out at the Golds Gym which is basically an "ok" facility with some very cute members. However, their classes are something out of the John Travolta and Olivia Newton John era. They seem to be totally clueless with respect to anything having to do with working out the core/abs. There is also no shampoo/conditioner or any other amenities provided. Even some of the most nasty gyms here in NYC (New York Sports Club coming to mind foremost) are ahead of them in amenities provided and conditioning classes.

I know there are other gyms in the area. Any experience with some of the other gyms particularly with respect to amenities and classes.

Here are some of the gyms I've tried. All have the classes you're looking for although I can't attest to how effective they are.

City Gym: Just down the street from Golds. They offer day passes for visitors and would have all the amenities you're looking for.

Fitness Network: On Riley Street. Great weight room.

Bayswater Gym: Kings Cross. Great personal trainers.

No 1 Martin Place
 

When I lived in Sydney I was a member of www.fitnessfirst.com.au they have three good locations near Pitt Street as I recall.

If you are looking more for the lady who lunches style gym, and IMHO the nicest luxury facilities in Sydney, check out No 1 Martin Place, in the same building as the Westin. I was seriously impressed. Here is a free three day pass:

http://www.goodgymguide.com.au/no1th...club/index.htm

And the gym website:

http://www.no1thehealthclub.com.au/home.asp

Gold's is probably the best mix of an Oxford Street crowd and heavy bodybuilding, if that's the sort of thing you are into; as a result it does not focus on the amenities side of things.

There was also a more or less 24 hour gym next to the Hard Rock Cafe, but can't remember the name of that one. Not overly smart, though.

Theres a new Fitness First on Oxford St which apparently is drawing a lot of family. Fitness Network has closed now.

sorry guys..

why is that thread GLBT specific ?

I visited Sydney last week and would highly recommend Fitness First (which I used when I lived there).

There is indeed a new Darlinghurst location with brand new, clean equipment and a good (predominantly gay) crowd. A casual day pass is A$18, which includes a locker.

I also went to the Bond St location in the city (was staying at the Westin so it was the closest) - this one's looking a bit tired, but the crowd is good, the equipment is in fairly good condition, and the shower / steam room facilities decent.

I'm not sure about classes at either...

I tried a few gyms/classes when I was travelling in this direction last year

For classes, other than the University gyms, which are out of town, Fitness First is by far the best chain (for those familiar with Fitness First in the UK, it's the same company, but they are positioned as high end gyms in Australia/Asia), generally have good instructors and do a lot of the Kiwi Les Mills classes - BodyPump, BodyCombat, RPM, etc

Facilities-wise, Fitness Firsts are for the most part not too shabby (although not quite Equinox...). There are other high end places, but the classes won't be as numerous. Better still, as well as the free day passes, FF often does good value 2-week taster memberships

The other gyms mentioned by Nado above (City Gym etc) are a bit more like Golds. There will be the odd class, but really they are "pump iron" kinda places, and they will tend to be as run down as Golds, if not more so... I remember a particularly cringeworthy Pump class at City Gym, where the instructors and members had awful, in some cases dangerous, technique, and spent more time grunting and preening than working out...

Hmmmm, it looks like the GLBT board has become the unofficial place to discuss gyms (just as bmi is the place for railways, and BA the place for, um, fish...)

The specific relevance to GLBT forum is that the OP is looking for a gym in Sydney which is both welcoming to the GLBT community (for instance Gold's would have this specific reputation) and convenient to access from the gayer area of town, but at the same time he does not want to compromise on facilities, and therefore the OP has posted in this forum, rather than the Sydney forum.

While the OP suggested no seediness in his post, the gym is also a good place to meet guys, and also admire the "view", and so a gay man's choice of gym may lean towards one which is frequented by more gay men than perhaps the average. This would not *necessarily* be a factor which would be relevant to one of the more mainstream forums.

This may be particularly relevant to someone who may be wanting a "gym buddy" or to do classes, which in my experience can be largely full of ladies at mixed/other gyms.

I see no conflict here, and specifically many have given pertinent information which helps the OP make his decidion which may not have been forthcoming in the mainstream forum.

This forum has only a modest amount of traffic, and could do with more posts like this, and moving posts - especially those with several replies - to other fora *particularly* OMNI not only raises hackles over there, but is IMHO unhelpful as it can be inappropriate to move comments made by contributors here which may not be as appropriate in a mainstream forum, and also does not respect the privacy of those who choose to post here.