Gym options in West loop close to UIC (Chicago, Springfield: neighborhood, school)

[sahihe]

Moved to the city a couple of weeks back, and now that the crazy move process is coming to a wrap, I am starting to look around for some workout places.

Any suggestions about a good gym close to UIC? The only name I recognized while browsing was LA Fitness on Canal street. If any forum members go there, I would love to hear the comments.

Any idea if the UIC fitness club is available to non-UIC people for an additional fee or something.

Cheers

[long101]

im around that area to and I go all the way to the Xsport on North Ave cuz the gyms around there suck.

[NearWestSider]

The rec center at UIC is an outstanding facility and they do offer community memberships. As an added bonus, if you are an alum of any of the campuses (Chicago, Urbana, or Springfield), you get 50% off the price, provided you are a member of the U of I alumni association. If you are married, you can enroll your spouse at whatever rate you qualify for.

The only drawbacks are:

1. Unless you are an alum, it is pricey.
2. It opens at 6:00 AM during the week, but weekends it opens at 9:00 and 10:00 during the school year, 10:00 and 11:00 during the summer.
3. It gets extremely crowded during the evenings when the students use it, especially the start of spring semester.
4. It is an academic facility, so it closes whenever the UIC campus closes, which is basically holidays and the week between Christmas and New Years.
5. It is an academic facility, so things like customer service are alien concepts. If you are an alum of UIC or UIUC, you already know the U of I shuffle, so it won't be a shocker when they tell you that the person you need to talk to is only there from 1:00 to 2:00 on Wednesdays.

All in all, though, its a great facility, great atmosphere, with amazing views of downtown and the campus.

Check it out:

Memberships

Another option you may want to consider is Go Time:

GOTIME&#153 Chicago | Gym (http://gotimechicago.com/GoTime/gym/gymmain.php - broken link)

Go Time sounds extremely cool to me. It is a gym specializing in boxing and martial arts located in Pilsen at 16th and Morgan.

The atmosphere and neighborhood ambiance is hard to beat. I mean, what better place to work on perfecting your boxing skills than a storefront gym near Maxwell Street on the West Side of Chicago? We're talking the same streets that produced Barney Ross, Jackie Fields, and King Levinsky. Its perfect.

So if you've got a little Rocky Balboa in you, you should definitely give it a look. In fact, if the UIC rec center wasn't such an outstanding facility I would probably go there.

[sahihe]

Thanks! for the information on UIC rec facility. Unfortunately the cost for community membership is too high, so I'll have to pass on it.

I'll check out the Xsport and gotime. Thanks for the suggestions.

Any input on the LA fitness? They are offerning $39 a month, with no registration fee for single club membership.

Cheers.

[myrc60]

There used to be a gym above Union Station on Jackson Blvd.

There was supposed to be a gym in the last building I worked at...550 W. Jackson Blvd.

Though they are on the same street within a block of each other the one above Union Station is probably the better facility.

Sorry, I don't remember the names or know if they are still there or not.

[long101]

The one in union station is Fitness formula club. I just started going there since I get a discount through work. If i didnt work a block away I wouldnt go. Its a real clean and nice place just the free weight section is pretty much non existent