Getting Lured In

So last week I was watching television and an ad for Bally's Fitness Gym came on. They were advertising their new montly special of $19 down and $19 a month. And almost immediately I was hooked. Roy says I am the one's all advertisers aim their products and tag lines because he says I'll buy anything if its packaged in a way that says, "Buy me NOW! You can't live without what it is I am selling! Impress your friends and they'll be envious with you!" As I was putting on my sneakers and heading out the door to go sign up, I wondered what Roy meant.

Anyways, I get to the gym which is located in midtown off of 50th Street, the A train goes right there (I live off the A train, so the communte (I figured) would be easy enough). The gym is located in a fancy building that I can't tell if its an office building or an apartment complex. The gym is in the sub-sub-basement of the complex.

Okay, so I get to the gym and they give me a great tour. The gym has more cardio machines that would impress anyone. The weight room is fairly large and they offer free exercise classes and yoga. What impressed me most though was the swimming pool. New York City doesn't have many swimming pools and finding one is like finding a diamond in the rough. It is a huge pool with lap swimming almost all day, every day. I was hooked.

"So, $19 down and $19 a month, eh?" I said this to the salesperson. "Well, yes, sort of. Let me let you speak with my manager." I could feel the disappointment and fear in my stomach.

The manager said that price isn't for the Bally's Sports Facility that I was in. It is for the Bally's Fitness Gym. And, that price includes 3 work out days a week only and they'll pick those three days. Two days a week and one on the weekend. Oh, and at the Bally's Fitness Gym there isn't a swimming pool and only a handful of cardio equipment and "I think they have free weights..", say said. I got hoodwinked. Remember the advice my parents gave me, "If a deal seems to good to be true, it usually is."

As I sat thinking about getting hoodwinked, I thought about my old gym. At New York Sports Center where I used to be a member, the membership was $72 a month (the cheap rate) and I could work out every day from 8-10am, 2-4pm, and 8:30pm to close. And, this membership included all the NYSC clubs in the city (there are about 45 in Manhattan alone). If I paid $90 a month, there were no restrictions. So, I sat down with the keen salesperson/manager and asked what "deal" they could offer me, 'an ordained minister' (I use that only sparingly, you understand).

So, the deal with pretty good (I guess). They told me it'd be $90 a month to use just their facility. I told the manager that I could get cheaper than that at NYSC and that I would pass, thank you very much. As I got up to leave, I was offerred a cheaper membership at $75 a month. I reminded her that rate was the cheap rate at NYSC that I paid. As I grabbed my scarf, she offerred the membership for $59 a month. "Hmmm," I thought, that is a good deal. But the catch is that its $59 for 3 years. A three year membership. I explained my job and how I might move. She said that if I move after 1 year, then the cancellation fee is only $50.

So I thought about it and decided to get everything the manager said in writing and signed up. It's the cheapest rate in the city and the gym IS one of the most amazing ones I've seen in the city. It's two stories up (or is that down?), has an incredible work out area and wonderful pool. And, from the looks of things, it's also pretty "straight." What this means to me is that while its a bit cruisey at times (I've already noticed), the steam room and saunas are co-ed and open up to the swimming pool. In other words, I won't have to worry about anything slippery/sticky sticking to my feet in the steam room. (Some gyms in this city are more like bathhouses than real gyms, or so I've been told, not that I would know anything about that... er, yeah.. ahem...).

So I told Roy that I joined the gym. Of course, he wasn't surprised. "Did they throw in a free workout DVD? Or, what were they giving away that made you sign up?" Clearly not offended at this remark, I told him about the swimming pool and the rate. He was impressed and a bit jealous (his gym is $90 a month and his steam room floor is a bit sticky).

I've already worked out and swam there on Thursday (I signed up on Wednesday) and on Saturday. I tell you, I feel pretty good both mentally and physically although I am a little sore. I am going there later today to work out and swim some more. I am pretty psyched.