24 Hour Fitness

I decided to get a seven day pass to 24 Hour Fitness and chose the Arnold, MO facility since it has a pool.

I didn’t know it but the 24 Hour Fitness closest to me is a 24 Hour Fitness Active and the one in Arnold is a sport type. I would love to see a Super Sport or Ultra Sport 24 Hour club. The sport one is happening and I can only imagine what kind of toys the ultra sport one possesses.

The immediate downside of choosing the Arnold location is that it is about 20 miles away -- quite a bit of travel time when your fitness regimen is already like secondary employment.

Plentiful -- that’s how I would describe 24 Hour Fitness Sport. It’s like a huge freakin’ playground with a full length basketball court, weight machines for as far as the eye can see, a saltwater pool, whirlpool, sauna and steam room. It’s well worth the $31.99 charge per month. For a few dollars more, you can have access to all clubs across the country.

There’s plenty of cardio equipment and plenty of lockers. The locker room, by the way, has two flat screen televisions along with ample showers and the locker area is so spacious that you never feel crowded.

I got beside myself last night and hit the rowing machine, StairMaster, basketball court and pool.

The warning on the rowing machine had me cracking up:

Abuse of the chain can cause injury. Really?

I’m not much of a class person but I did participate in a water aerobics class. The instructor didn’t rock my world like the one and only Combat Judy that was at Bally’s but it was sufficient. I really dug the bicycle maneuver. You take a noodle and ride it the length of the pool. I also liked the boxing moves: jabs, uppercuts, etc.

Why do people claim that their pools are heated? 24 Hour's pool was chilly just like the others.

On any given day, it was so nice to hit the pool then the whirlpool followed by a warm shower with oatmeal lavender soap provided by 24 Hour. I kept thinking that a dormitory would make 24 Hour Fitness the complete experience because all I really wanted to do was hit the bed instead of drive home especially after the warmness of the whirlpool.

I do have to say that the employees are persistent, um, stalker-like. I told them, at the beginning, that I belonged to another club (minus the contract) and that I was looking at other facilities. I received call after call about appointments I had made (not). Two other friends also signed up and they received the same stalker treatment.

You have a great club, 24 Hr Fitness, but there’s a fine line between salesmanship and harassment.