Women's Gyms

Hi all! Anyone know of a good, reasonably priced women-only gym in the Loudoun County area? I visited one on Saturday that I sorta liked but there was a big one-time fee and a $50 monthly fee. Maybe that's normal, but I figured I would check here. I'm looking for something a bit more than Curves...that also offers classes. Thanks! Dawn

I know there is a place called Lady of America. There is one here near Chantilly and they have another one in Sterling. 20964 South Bank Street Sterling, VA 20165 (703) 430-0111 We belong to Fitness First in Chantilly and I know they have a branch in Leesburg but it isn't a women's only club. Pretty nice place and the price is $29 a month if I remember correctly. Don't remember what the up front signup cost was. We joined before the local club opened so I know we got a bit of a "deal". Kathy

I jist signed up at fitness first in tysons corner. It was roughly 100.00 to signup using a coupon they put on the bottled water they sell.It covered first and last month and sign up, and 35.00 a month. they have classes and free personal trainers. My wife realy likes the place over the Meat Markets she visited first. I know its not women only, but it is a nice place.

Thanks for the info Kathy. Lady of America in Sterling is actually the one I visited and tried their kickboxing class. I liked it and enjoyed the facility but they charge $170 for "startup costs" and then $50 per month which I think is ridiculous. Maybe it's commensurate with other gyms, but it's still a lotta cash. I'm still looking at other options. Dawn

I did Lady of America in Reston for a little bit, and the classes were not too bad. I do WomenFit in Manassas, now. Both are women-only. I pay about $40 a month for my WomenFit membership, and I was on a 3-year contract. Thank God my contract is almost done. I think I've actually USED the silly gym a total of 6 months so far. It really hasn't been worth it for me, and the day my membership finally is up I'm so out of there. I'm looking at going with the Freedom Center, which isn't women-only. This may all be stuff you're up on, but, here goes my take on gyms: When you are evaluating gyms, be sure you look at it from all sides. Are you the type who will keep up with a routine if it's the on-your-own kind with the equipment, or do you need the classes? Ask to see the class schedules for the past few months - or heck, go for the whole year. Sure, they'll SAY they are frequently adding new classes, but yanno, that's definitely one of those 'the check is in the mail' type lines just to get you to sign on the dotted line and commit to that 3-year contract. Do the class schedules offer you the classes you want at the times you need them? How is the wait for the equipment during peak times? Or do they have enough equipment that peak times aren't really an issue? How about location? Is it convenient for you to get to? I don't know about you, but once my butt gets home.... I STAY home. I am loathe to go back out, so I have to trick myself into going to the gym by going directly there after work usually. As for fees... yeah, $40-50 is pretty standard around here it seems. The way you get your monthly down is by committing to a longer contract, or paying a larger signup/initiation fee. Sometimes, they run specials - especially around the holidays. Typically they'll lower their initiation fee for those. With summer coming up, I think we'll be seeing another round of special deals. Lesson learned here, I don't think I will ever sign up for another 3-year contract with a gym. It was fine at first, but then the classes never happen when I would ideally like to have them (heck, I can't even make it consistently to a Friday night class), and the grass is way greener on the other side (at another gym). So I'm stuck with WomenFit, don't want to pay for a second membership at Freedom Center, and I guess I'm just riding out to the end of my contract. And here I've whined a lot about WomenFit, but let me clarify one thing real quick. The quality of the classes at WomenFit, by the way, ARE good. Their equipment is fantastic. Yeah, I feel like I was lied to by the sales person when I was thinking of signing up. I've voiced this concern to the owners/managers, who did seem to listen to me. What it boils down to is that my schedule just doesn't mesh well with theirs. I need a gym with a better class schedule. Or maybe I just need to get my priorities shifted and actually get to the gym and quit the bellyachin'. ~Kathie

Thanks for the advice Kathie I agree with all of it and will definitely look at all of the options and small print if I decide to sign anything. I really don't like how the ones I've visited seem like checkbook vultures. I felt like I was attempting to buy a car. No biggie...still lookin. Thanks! Dawn