Lifetime Fitness (Formerly the Boca Raton Athletic Club)
A visit to this health club last week was pleasant, but also surprising.
Those familiar with the club previously will now see it has been remodeled on the first floor where the locker rooms, restaurant, and administrative offices are located.
For those looking for a “spa” type experience at the gym this is likely the choice in Boca Raton. The locker rooms and service are clean and professional, as expected from past visits. Also many spa services are offered that are not available at any other commercial gyms we know of.
Unfortunately, for those who prefer more of a workout atmosphere in the gym the second and third floors share the same layout as when the club first opened in the early 90′s. The circuit training and free weights are still separated on 2 different floors and by having to cross (frequently in use) basketball courts. Our workouts will often make use of both machines and weights, so we find the constant up the stairs, cross the courts, down the stairs, cross the courts routine somewhat annoying. But I guess the “cup is half full” type could just say it keeps your heart rate up between exercises.
Speaking of equipment, the machines are mostly the same as that at the newest LA Fitness location just east of this club at Yamato Rd and Congress. For those who enjoy working out with new equipment and have a handle on what they are doing we would recommend the new LA Fitness instead. The equipment layout is more conducive to working out and the membership is substantially less pricey as well.
Training staff we observed in Lifetime Fitness during this visit was about average but at way above average pricing. We don’t feel that we could send a relative here to train. The excercise routines were normal for what you see at most health clubs, and no problems there. It’s more that some of the trainers were showing a rather lax attitude towards their clients.
As an example, one trainer was texting for about 2 minutes while his client was performing a set of an exercise which consisted of jumping onto a balance board with weights in hand. At the clubs training rate per hour we chuckled as we figured she paid him $3.50 to send that text while she exercised. Luckily for both of them while his attention was elsewhere texting the client did not fall and get injured. We find this is unacceptable on so many levels it cannot just be excused, especially at $100 / hour for training!
