YMCA Calgary

I’ve been coming to this YMCA since 2012, and honestly the only reason I haven’t left yet is because I’ve been able to get a monthly membership fee amount that I probably won’t be able to get anywhere else.
There are many activities to do here, but when equipment breaks down, it can be weeks or even months before it is repaired.
If you use the weight floor, you might want to bring your own hand towels because this place runs out of them all the time.
The staff is either friendly or not. I don’t necessarily want the staff talking to me while working out, but the staff working the front desk are not very approachable. The older clientele here will yell at you if your music is too loud. The change rooms often have screaming children running around them (I get that this is a community facility, but this doesn’t enhance my experience here at all).
I’ve recently started going to the drop-​in yoga classes, and if the class is full, they rudely turn people away. If a class is becoming popular, you’d think they would move the class to another room or schedule more of these classes.
Maybe other YMCAs are better, but for the reasons stated above, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

HOO-​AH reader! I’m back with another gut-​busting review of a YMCA location. Can your flabby ass handle the shock I’m about to lay all over you? Well I sure hope so, because just reading this review is going to make you lose 10 pounds and up your bench press by 15, so get yourself ready. Don a headband, hike up those sweatpants (elastic waist recommended) and close the door if you need to.
Now, I’m a proud YMCA pass holder. I bought it because you can use them at quite literally any YMCA in the known galaxy and nobody even questions it. You just scan that dutch at the front, «BEEP», get your lock and strut in there like you own the place.
This is my home gym. My mecca. My regular workout spot. This is where I come to get my swell on and where I come to mercilessly punish myself to the point of tears for eating too many toblerones over the Easter break. This is where I curse myself under my breath, strain my ever-​growing muscles and get myself in tip top shape for the womenfolk to admire covertly from across the pub as I scarf down wings (which I will later mercilessly punish myself for all over again).
Anyways, let’s do some lunges and get right into why I think this place is almost as good as the feeling I get after squatting so much that my gym shorts threaten to rip down the middle:
Let’s first focus on the good.
Parking is awesome. I’ve never NOT gotten a spot. This is a HUGE problem other places (Like the World Health Club in Edgemont), so this is a major plus.
There are a whole lot of different cardio-​machines here for kids who don’t realize that just running for an hour isn’t going to be the best way to lose weight but still want to waste time on the hamster wheel. I warm up on the bikes, ellipticals or treadmills before I get down to my REAL workout. You know, the one that works.
The weight area is well appointed with tons of dumbbells, chains, bars and machines. You can squat on the squat machine, curl on the curl machine, do circuits, whatever. If you want to tear your muscles in a brand new way, you’ll find it here somewhere.
The facility is usually pretty clean which is massively important because there’ nothing worse than wanting to go get sweaty and massive and having someone else’s dirty bandaid sitting on the locker room floor. The folks here seem to understand that toweling off your machine is NOT optional when you are done, which some of the downtown folk are too snobby to get through their skulls. HOO-​AH!
For those who like to do a bit of a different workout, the giant puffy medicine balls or kettlebells will not disappoint. These are rarely in use. And if you want you can jump on and off of a stool. Of course, you don’t WANT to, but you NEED to. You OUGHT to. So you WILL, unless you’re a giant pussy.
Lastly, the stretching area, while a little small, has everything you could need. Medicine balls, rolly crap, mats, elastics. it’s all there.
Now for the bad, and the reason I can’t give this place 5 stars just yet:
1. The friggin’ junior high crowd. EVERY single time I am here a bunch of moronic junior high kids roll in, clog up the aisles, use equipment the wrong way, talk loudly and all hover around the benches causing a scene and being generally quite stupid.
Someone at the YMCA needs to either explain to these kids how to work out or tell them to piss off. I don’t care who it is, sort it out.
2. The bros. So many guys come in there wearing collared shirts and ballcaps. NEWSFLASH: workout gear contains neither hats nor collars. You’re doing it wrong and you look like an idiot. And if you’re working out in jeans? Get off my planet.
3. The busy-​ness. Come here at the wrong time and you’ll be hard pressed to find a bench or a spot on the floor to lift. It’s only been a problem a few times for me, but that’s a few times more often than I’d like. granted, you can’t fault a place for being popular — but just know this can be a factor sometimes in the evenings or on Saturday mornings.
4. The heat. At the downtown location, cool air seems to be pumped in much better. Here it can sometimes be sweltering. Come on guys, cool me down, I’m busting my chops trying to get fit over here, the least you can do is blow dry my delicious, chiseled body for me.
5. The genuine lack of space to do kettlebell workouts or giant medicine ball workouts without feeling like you are kind of, sort of in somebody’s way. I’m over it though. Work around me, gym rats. I’ve got a mission to accomplish.
All in all though, this is a solid location. It’s not quite better than the downtown one; but it’s a really decent place to get fit.
Speaking of which, I’m getting a bit doughy again. Too many weeks off. Sorry world, I’m headed back here on the double.

My sister gave me a bunch of free passes to the Y, and I’ve really enjoyed working out here while I figure out which gym to join for my summer in Calgary. It’s a very large center (or ‘centre’, seeing as I’m back in Canada now), with a large pool, a basketball court, a workout gym, and a few other facilities.
The gym was well equipped and always very clean, and I liked that everyone was really good about using the signup system for cardio equipment (not that I ever had to wait for a machine).
There were only a couple of things I wasn’t so crazy about here: First, I found it odd that there were two locker rooms: a basic one, and a ‘plus’ one that you had to pay extra for and which required an access code in order to enter. I’m not quite sure what the difference was, but it seems very un-​Canadian (and un-​YMCA) to offer differentiated service like this and create a sort of locker room elitism.
The other thing that bugged me a bit was that there were always a lot of pre-​teens and teenagers working out here (I think this is a YMCA thing), and they seemed to be a little lacking in basic gym courtesy (um… could you please not sit and hang out on the shoulder press machine talking to your friends?)
Nice place, and I may join, but I want to check out a few other options first…

As of early March 2010, the shower dividers have been reinstalled.

So, I’ve never been a huge workout fiend, but every once in a while it’s nice to get a good swim in, and Crowfoot YMCA is great for that.
Not only is their pool huge, with a bunch of different lanes to choose from, but it’s usually open for public use — meaning it isn’t closed off a lot of the time. People generally stick to their own space, which is nice and courteous of others. I always feel bad because I’m not as fast, and stop for a lot of breaks, but I think the other swimmers understand.
I’ve never bee a fan of the tread mills or stair masters, I figure I can get that exercise without paying for it. YMCA is nice because they don’t have an expensive drop-​in rate. I can go once a week and not feel like I’m being completely ripped off. I don’t think I go enough to buy an entire membership, which is why I love the drop-​in rate so much.
This facility is quite immaculate in that it has a large everything; gym, multi-​purpose room, pool, cardio area and weight room. It’s a good place to get your weekly workout in! I feel fancy every time I go.

I was a member at The Crowfoot YMCA for about 10 years.
I have nothing but good things to say about this Y.
I love the set-​up, I love the staff and I love the facility. In my opinion, the Crowfoot Y and the Eau Claire Y are the two nicest Ys in the city.
The Crowfoot Y is the newer of the two, but the Eau Claire Y was recently renovated, so they are both great!
I love the crowd at the Crowfoot Y, and I especially love the Women’s Plus change room because you get all the perks including the steam room and the whirlpool.
The Crowfoot Y makes workouts easy… okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but if you’re gonna work out, there’s nowhere better to do it, how’s that? ;)