I highly recommend Migros Fitnesspark.  You pay once upfront for the year and you can use your membership at any Migros Fitnesspark in town. (There are three within Zurich.)  Nothing sketchy about it.  The facilities are are really nicely kept.  The downfall is that that the only pools they have in town are only for relaxation, unless you want to go all the way to Regensdorf where they have a lap pool. 

Thanks so much guys! It is always helpful to get advice from people with experience as paying customers, as opposed to going to a gym and speaking with the employees.

Although, I probably should have listed that I am located in Geneva and looking for something around there. 

Fitnesspark is really nice!

I do not like Holmes Place personaly.

heard good things abt Sillhouette.... lots of clubs around and membership lets u use any of them.

Ermmm... what does "super ghetto" mean?

Howdy,

Migros Fitnesspark is definitely thumbs up. I'm a member in the Basel location. The facility is very clean with state-of-the-art equipment. It probably has everything you need from machines, cardio equipment, a slue of classes to choose from, personal trainers, free weights, stretching area, saunas, and relaxation pools (sorry not a lap pool).

There's nothing shady with the membership fees. You pick a package, pay upfront, and BAMMM--you're in. The gym also caters to internationals. If you need someone to help you in English or need informative material such as pricelistings, all of this is available.

The only thing I find a bit odd, coming from someone who was a gym monkey in California, the gym is really quiet. In fact, a little too quiet. What I mean is there is no ambiance music to pep you up. You basically just hear sweat dripping from members working out.

Best of luck.

~e

Yo Liv:

I'd listen to Jason, cos it's obvious from his picture that he works out at a good place!

Seriously, most gyms will give you a free 1-2 times trial, so if you got the every you can probably try most of them before signing up.

There's also a free Yoga class for glocals members at Holmes this Thu, if you want to join. I'll be there too trying keep up.

Nir

Isabella: you're talking about a place in Zurich? Where is this Glatburg?

I gotta tell you Isa: I like your writing style. You're like a female version of Charlie, only with more wit. Too bad you're on the other side of the tracks. 

For sweeties I'm pretty damn sure Nir will come to you!!

Chocolate foie gras...

http://www.philippe-pascoet.ch/foie_gras.html

Bug: the link doesn't work properly

http://www.philippe-pascoet.ch/foie_gras.html

This should...

I can recommend Espace Sante in Bellevue (very close to Geneva).

Good gracious, how did we go from gyms to chocolate foie gras? Which, may I add, looks rather terrifying.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! More are always welcome :)

Oh no, on the contrary, chocolate is delicious... so delicious it has left me in a desperate search for a good gym. It's just the idea of mixing it with duck liver... I feel like chocolate and foie gras are two things that just.. no.

Hi Liv,

if you are only into yoga, check out Innercityoga accross the street from the Apple Store.

www.innercityoga.com

namaste

Liv:

I strongly recommend Innercityoga, if Yoga is your main focus.

We ran a glocals promotion with them a few weeks ago (here), leading to 150 glocals members going to try them out. The return feedback has been outstanding.Great place.

Nir (still trying to get my heels on the floor when doing downward dog)

And a few days ago, the owner came into the women's locker room to clean. Unfortunately, he neglected to knock, thus scaring a poor girl (i.e. me!) who was standing there in her pink knickers.

Now, that's what I call hard core super ghetto!

A group of friends joined Plazza Gym, next to Eaux-Vives 2000, over the last few months. It is a smaller gym in size, but also in number of members so it rarely feels crowded. It has all the facilities I need, and that include pool, jaccuzzi, sauna, classes, machines, cafe, etc, and is always clean, and they give you towels. Also important, they are opened on Sunday (10 am - 3 pm, better than nothing). After 3 months, I am so far very happy with it.

By the way, our intrepid group has negotiated a good rate, well below the published one, message me if you want to be added to it :)

Any suggestions on buying a treadmill (no frills other than speed and elevation) new or used so I can get fit again and imitate my life of running on the spot?!

I have met people who have gone to Holmes Place and been really happy there. But my experience was extremely different...

after signing up with a "free trial", they asked for my bank details for liability purposes, which I thought was fair. I discussed at length with this seemingly lovely employee that I would really enjoy this free trial because I probably couldn't afford to go to Holmes Place anyway. She specified that NO money would be taken out of my account. I never ended up going to the gym because I had to go to Canada and see my sick grandfather. And while I was away, they tried to take over 200 chf out of my account. I blocked all further transactions... and thennn, about 2 months ago, a man from there called me and informed me that I "owed" them over 600 chf and that there was no such thing as a free trial.

So... this is all bullshit and really reflects a dishonest business with almost no morals in how they conduct themselves. I feel like honesty and some ethics are crucial in signing up for a gym...

Long story short, I have just signed up at Harmony and I am really really happy there! The facilty is really clean, new, full of helpful employees and has a lot of natural light.

I work at Holmes Place, have worked at Silhouette and have also used Plaza Sport as a guest. Plaza Sport is clean and pleasant but with limited space, the class timetable there is decent. Silhouette is cheaper and has a good range of equipment and timetable across their various units. The downside is that some of their opening hours are limited and that the place might not be as brand new and sparkling as some might wish.

Holmes Place has long opening hours, ie earlies, lates and weekends, a good range of classes and, in my humble opinion, a pleasant enough ambience. I don't doubt that one or two of the dozens of staff have been rude on occasion but my colleagues are, on the whole, very nice people. The club can be very busy during peak hours so if this is the only time when you can train, check it out at peak time before joining.

Needless to say, read any contract very thoroughly! I am told that the offending salesperson responsible for the scandalous experiences described here has left the organisation, so hopefully nobody else will have such problems in future.

I also heard very good things about L'Usine and it's delightful ambience, though it is perhaps not an option for the price sensitive. I can't comment on their range of kit or classes as I haven't been there - yet.

hi

i have my own personal trainer at home but have recently joined Holmes place and yes i was in the army so maybe i am not so spoiled but i find the ladies changing room clean, the staff is very nice and friendly

the Israeli guy who teaches pilates is very sweet (married with kids )

i am new but all the teachers so far have been very professional and pleasant

sorry to say but not everyone is nice but the pilates class on thursday

is fun and everyone there seemed friendly

the only one who is not happy is my dog who does not understand my need

to go to a gym when we have the woods ...but i am happy with the yoga

( wednsday at 7 a.m. )

perhaps i dont really have high standards of cleanliness, ifor me it is clean when there is no lego lying around or dog hair..

but it seems pretty clean to me, no one tried to cheat me so far

( a week) and everyone has been very pleasant

price wise, i compared, i dont have to pay up front the full amount and off peak is good

i have been told though glocal discount dont go for off peak deals

is that true ?

a proud  new member  of Holmes place

p.s.

sorry have reread what i had written

i meant to say that the people who go there have not always been pleasant

no one talked to me , like the invasion of the body snatchers, except the staff

but the pilates class on thursday was a pleasant exception

the ladies are laughing and exercising with the cute israeli guy

and what can i say, we are a friendly folk ,

i dont think any other swiss gym would be friendlier from my 14 years here..

I am STILL on the hunt for a gym that's not entirely focussed on cardio machines!!

I've just moved back to CH, and when I previously lived here, I split my training between the gym equipment at work/home, though this limited training quite harshly, coming from the UK where there are gyms catering for the range of athletes that exist. Paying 1000CHF for 6 months (Atlantide Fitness - Gland) for the use of machines etc. that I have no interest in using, seems a bit excessive, and more out of principal than anything I'm reluctant to pay.

Have any of you been to any gyms which could possibly fit into this catagory? More weight training oriented...as I can do the cardio elsewhere!

Thanks in advance for considerations! Also, it would be awesome to find a dedicated training partner, who's as motivated as I am, regardless of experience levels...

Chris

Hi Chris,

If you haven't tried CrossFit, as I think you would benefit greatly on their philosophy and approach to fitness. I've been a member of CrossFit GVA for a few months now and it's totally different from any other gym out there and there are NO waste of time machines to be seen. Just strength and conditioning as it should be with natural movements. No binding long term contracts and a system that actually works and run by two Brits. 

I've posted some more stuff elsewhere, as I am totally sold by this approach to training and have not looked back since. If anything it's worth a try, hope to see you there. 

Cheers,

Scott

Hi Scott,

Having tried CrossFit in the past I really liked it, building and conditioning functional muscle, however with my current short/mid-term targets, this kind of training isn't the best suited style!

I've also ended up joining Atlantide wellness centre in Gland, as I live in a village close to there, and I've been EXTREMELY pleased, the staff are always happy and helpful, genuinely interesting and chatty, they know everyones names, and take the time to talk with you about things outside the gym too! I have mentioned in another post a specific example of this, where a guy miscalculated his workout, and finished too late to have a sauna, they offered him free entrance the day after as a consolation...this was his mistake, they didn't need to do that!

Tha changing rooms etc. are always clean and tidy...overall I like it! Comparing it to UK gyms is a bad idea though, as the approach to fitness etc. in Switzerland is vastly different! There is a decent selection of equipment though!

Maybe I'll get back on the crossfit once I hit current targets, as I really did enjoy it, and felt it was beneficial! Until then, enjoy!

Cheers

Chris

Hey!

I had a Silhouette membership for a year, it is convenient as you can use all their stations and just pay one price. However, some of them have old equipment and not very nice/clean locker rooms/showers. A friend of mine got an infection in his foot after taking a shower in the Vermont station. The one on Rue des Alpes is ok though.

I tried Harmony in Balexert which was really nice. Am thinking about getting a new membership there, heard that the one in La Praille is even better.

OK great that you tried it but often people make the mistake of thinking they're not fit for CrossFit, quite common and soon realise that all the workouts are designed for everyone in mind. It's not specific targeted training as you know so the training is good for every kind of sporting activity, including triathlons and the like. You join to get fit not get fit to join, if you get my drift. Still if what you're doing is working for you then I understand as CrossFit isn't for eveyone. 

Hi!

I can recommend Harmony, I used to go to the one in La Praille and really liked it. It is clean and the ambiance is good. The pool is a wonderful plus!

Has anyone experiance of the gym at Vitam Park? Althought I was very happy with Harmony I'm thinkin to change since it's easier for me to get to Vitam Park.