Albany YMCA - Albany (CA)

3 /5 Sam H: Not a lot of reviews talking about the gym so figured Id do one. Was considering joining the Y and this branch was my closest one, but the gym is woefully lacking unless youre only doing cardio or calisthenics. No barbells, no squat rack, cant even do a proper bench press anywhere. All of which are foundational to properly build build muscle and do proper resistance training in a balanced way. But, if all you need from a gym is to keep your joints healthy and moving, itll do the job. The gym is also very small - which isnt always a bad thing. But there wasnt much space to "breathe" if you were working out and not using machines, or even any space to do something like yoga. Positives - the staff were nice, the free group exercises seemed good (if youre into that sort of thing), it seemed well maintained. It was also not very busy at all during a peak time. I also liked that all the east bay Ys are bundled together. That said, I feel like if all you need from a gym is what this Y has to offer, youre better off paying much less to go to planet fitness instead, if you are willing to drive.

1 /5 Amye Ominsky: I begged & pleaded with the lady on the phone today to please help me cancel my partners membership, who has Stage 4 Cancer, who hasnt used their gym in over a year, and she told me that she couldnt help me, that she is jyst an employee, and then she hung up on me. Wow. No words.

4 /5 guy worthington: Great selection of classes, but many are full. Only one Peleton bike so fans are often left to find other options or come back at another time. Another Peleton and maybe a sign up could improve the situation for that piece of impacted equipment. No online message board (could not find) to leave comments to management. Dodgy APP keeps failing on my iPhone and the scanner has many fails. All in all I m still registered, and would prefer to have sent this as an email to manager rather than a review

5 /5 Andrea Klausner: Clean. Lots of free weights and a deceit selection of weight training machines as well as other equipment.

2 /5 Jon A.: tl;dr: Basic gym with limited equipment focused on cardio and elderly fitness. Having the "YMCA East Bay" app is useless since the branch doesnt update it with their hours. This Y started off okay but has some serious issues. The gym setup is super basic - no barbells, squat racks, or proper bench press stations. Youll hit a wall pretty fast if youre into serious strength training or muscle building. It works fine for cardio and basic exercises, but thats about it. I understand that the place caters to an older crowd, which is fine. However, I’m concerned about safety, as some individuals are using the equipment improperly, which could lead to injuries. The staff doesnt seem focused on providing proper form or guidance. And dont bother downloading with the YMCA East Bay app—this branch never updates its information there. Youll only find out about different holiday hours from a sign on the front door, while other branches at least keep their app hours current.