California Family Fitness

Ok so Cal fam made me an offer I couldn’t refuse to try their gym, and I am happy I took advantage of it I have been happy with them ever since! I have been to 24 hour fitness since I was a kid so this is what I am comparing them to, but I like them so much better! It’s much cleaner, the class selections are better, and the teachers are really well trained. At 24 there are always times to avoid going due to crowds or creepy people but I haven’t had that issue here which allows me more flexibility in my work schedule.
My only suggestion?? A few more yoga classes, they are my favorite!!!

This gym has excellent customer service. Every time I go they greet me and know my kids names when I bring them to childcare. The kids even ask to go because of how awesome they are. A perfect place to drop off kids in childcare and workout with the wife. We use the hot tub and turn it into a mini date night sometimes.

Aqua zumba with Kerrie today! This class should be here all the time! Kerrie is fantastic and teaches zumba gold here too– make sure you take her class!
Five stars today for the tribute to dear Wally. an 87 yr old regular here who has brain cancer and still comes to brighten our day here at Carmichael! Christina had a beautiful banner, fruit and croissants and special silver «Wally ribbons for us. Prayers for his comfort– please keep Wally in your thoughts and prayers!

Want the best Aqua workout around? Try Collette’s class! She is the best water aerobics instructor around. You get the feeling in her class that she really cares about her students and provides a work out for all levels of fitness. She encourages all of us to do our max best while at the same time reminding us to listen to our own bodies. That is a teacher who cares and who knows her stuff. There is no problem having a full power cardio workout or a more gentle healing workout for those nursing past injuries. She provides us all a safe, fun atmosphere to get the workout we want for our bodies. What a great teacher!!!

If you enjoy water aerobics, and want a challenging class, don’t join Cal Fit clubs where Collette teaches (Carmichael and Arden clubs). Her class descriptions are «High intensity, intense, powered up, fast paced, designed to challenge.» In reality, those in her class tend to be older and sedentary, and (understandably) don’t want to move fast. Faster persons wanting a hard workout are blocked from moving and getting a serious workout. Management tried, but was unable to get Collett to designate an area for faster persons — despite the danger of faster persons colliding with slower persons. And management advises they won’t force Collette to take that safety precaution.
The rest of the classes and teachers and safety are good.

My wife is one of Colette’s water aerobics students. She went from never using our membership to a pool workout with Colette almost every day. She has such high praises for Colette. Base on my wife’s enthusiasm for Collette’s classes… I would recommend them to anyone.

Colette is one of the BEST Aqua instructors that they have! Music is fabulous and you can go at your own pace. If you want to. burn calories, you will. want to lose inches? You will! Want to meet people? Thats a given. Colette, well, I just can’t say enough about her. LOVE HER, she is awesome!
Kathy P.

I’ve been working out at this gym for a few years… I have visited other gyms w friends and when I’m out of town… and I have to say this gym has the FRIENDLIEST front desk staff you’ll ever meet! they greet you w a laugh and a smile, they remember your name and acknowledge you when you leave… Tim, Chance, Kristina and Dana are just so encouraging that you want to come back!!! Another major plus to this gym is… DMITIRY! personal trainer. I started w him after having several injuries. a fractured foot, some neck and shoulder issues, and post mastectomy. so needless to say I was a mess and was very guarded in how I worked out. I watched him for many months before hiring him… and I have not regretted it… He is far superior to any other trainer I have observed, and have worked out w in past at other places, and I am stronger than ever… oh and btw. a sports medicine DR. had told me that d/​t my foot injury. I would not ever run again or have full mobility… since dmitiry… I am able to run and I do have FULL mobilty in that foot!
ok. so the 4 stars… I would have given it 5 BUT… the music! the music is not gym music! and yes I have complained but the local staff have no control over it. It’s a corporate problem!!! and I’ve called corporate! So HELLO CORPORATE. deal w your elevator music and I’ll give you 5 stars…
If you live in the area… I would def. recommend this gym… the cheerful staff will motivate and make you feel so welcome that you’ll want to go back every day!

Came here for the first time, thinking I’m doing my friend a service by «meeting in the middle» for a workout. What a mistake. I’d drive the extra 15 minutes to avoid this disaster.
Small, very small gym full of ancient equipment. Seriously, the original equipment from the 80’s. And it’s so old that there’s not much use in cleaning it– EVERYTHING IS STICKY no matter what! Like you could scrape the scum off with a razor blade. Even if you never wear workout gloves, you should at least wear medical grade gloves here, cuz everything feels sticky like public children’s play equipment, kinda like the playground at McDonalds. It’s so gross. Couldn’t wait to wash my hands when we were done.
Don’t get me started on the locker room & bathroom. Tiny, doesn’t look or feel clean at all. It’s like a prison gym, that’s the best description for it.
The staff is nice, but they of have to be to make up for this mess.

This Cal Fit is wonderful. The staff are welcoming and helpful. I have never experienced staff as genuinely nice as the staff at this Cal Fit. The only reason I didn’t give them 5 stars is because I think the pool should be cleaner. I use the pool 4 – 5 days per week and it has yet to be debris free. Although because of the staff I have yet to go to another pool that is cleaner.

I went in and asked for the 7 Day Free Trial that’s advertised everywhere — there’s a banner on this page right now. The Sales Manager had no idea what I was talking about. I stressed that I wanted to try it for at least a day or two before signing up for anything, and I got the hard sell. I did want to try this place out so we settled on signing up for a membership, with the opportunity to cancel and get it refunded/​no fees if I decided I didn’t like it within 5 days. Fine. It’s just like the 7 Day Trial except… more paperwork. And more risk. And two fewer days. Whatever.
I didn’t appreciate the hard sell, but I get that it’s how the business works. I just think it would behoove the managers to actually listen to their customers once in a while. I was told that I’d get a free day of personal training and when I declined, he insisted. I reminded him that the entire reason I really wanted a trial before signing on was because I wasn’t so sure about the whole people-​everywhere gym thing, and I prefer to exercise alone. He was quick to assure me that this is a friendly place! Not like that meat market 24 Hour Fitness, this place everyone just wanted to be friends.
I would have preferred a meat market. Nobody hits on the sweaty, angry looking girl, that would have no effect on me. I thought I was clear that I didn’t want to make friends! I’m sure the «friendly» atmosphere is a perk for many people, but it’s an odd business decision to talk about the friendliness and social environment at length right after a potential customer says they like to be left alone during workouts. Hm.
The manager that showed me around and signed me up was nice enough, though, just, enthusiastic. Which could be seen as a positive! He’s brand new, so all the reviews about the sales manager being rude or lying are irrelevant and don’t apply to the new guy.
I wasn’t that impressed with the gym itself. The TV didn’t work on the first elliptical I tried, and the second one was wobbly. I felt like I was going to tip over on it. I’m not particularly heavy and I have pretty good form, not bouncing around or anything, so I don’t think I was doing anything to make it do that. The other machines were nice enough, functional at least. The setup of the gym is a little awkward, and while there are an abundance of cardio machines it’s clear that some are the «good ones» while most are old and you can see people choosing carefully. You don’t have the same luxury in the weights area, there seemed to be just about one of everything.
The pool had the potential to be nice. The deep end with the lanes is small, only three lanes, but it could be nice. It would be cool if there were signs posted or employees watching out, telling the little kids to not hang out in the lanes. There’s a huge freeplay area and just three lanes, but there were kids (and sometimes adults, which was even worse, they should know better) hanging out in all three lanes. That sucked.
I don’t have a vendetta against CalFit, I swear. The Zinfandel location is REALLY nice. Go to that one. That one is awesome… they probably have some of the same shady business practices, though.
I did end up cancelling during my 5 day trial. As of right now they earned that extra star by not stealing my money like so many people have reported. If I’m charged for something I already cancelled I’ll report back, but I think they actually did right this time. The front desk lady helping me out with that was gracious and helpful with it, so I’m going to trust her.

The management at this gym are so unprofessional and quite honestly should all be fired. I’ve never had such a negative experience with a business. They put our «monthly» subscription on auto pay when they said they would send us a monthly bill then when we noticed it almost a year later they had already taken $ 700+ out of our account and when we talked to them about it they just basically said screw you. I only went ONCE during the whole year and it was the first week I signed up and when we didn’t get the bill we assumed they cancelled it. They should call their customers if they aren’t coming in! It would motivate their customers and this NEVER would’ve happened to us. This happened a couple years ago and they keep telling me they’ll call me and «try to figure something out», but of course we still haven’t heard from them. DO NOT GO TO THIS GYM!!!

This place was fine at first. Not very clean or what I’m used to but it was ok. All of the decent workers in child care either left or got fired. The new manager is a young 30 year old female with poor leadership skills. The lack of respect and maturity was passed on to the staff and the other young female employees are very rude and disrespectful. I even heard them complain about kids at the front desk and all other kinds of unprofessional nonsense. Disgusted by the lack of respect for customers and children. Playing on the computer or being on their phones instead of paying attention. Do not go to this location you will be sorry.

I would give zero stars if I could. My son recently purchased a membership. I warned him about not getting sucked into a long contract and about not setting up automatic payments because I’ve been ripped off and double billed from California Family Fitness before.
He came home in June and told me he was in a month to month membership for $ 45 a month. Today I was billed $ 69.95 on my credit card because they put him in a 12 month membership at $ 60.00 and then charged a $ 9.95 late fee. I called because he was specifically told that he was on a month to month membership and could pay cash. I was told that he signed a contract and couldn’t cancel without paying a huge fee.
He just turned 18 and got this membership after graduating high school. It’s really a shame that he has to be introduced to the world of rip offs and unfair practices this way. Shame on you California Family Fitness!

I mistakenly went to the CalFit close by instead of this one where I set up an appointment with Mike (??? it’s been almost a year, I’ve forgotten his name). Mike (let’s just call him that) was super nice and he wasn’t pushy. I told him I just wanted to do the trial before I commit to signing up. After the trial, he would discuss rates with me.
One week passed, and I decided it wasn’t for me budget-​wise. No hard feelings. A few days later, I get a call from someone who was not Mike. This guy, I wish I remembered his name, was an asshole.
He tried to reel me back in, but I said it just wasn’t happening. I couldn’t afford it, thanks but no thanks. He asked me if my health and fitness mattered to me, and I said yes, but I wasn’t going to break my back and bank for it. He knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere anymore so he said, «Well, okay. Thanks for your time. I guess you’re not really committed to being fit and healthy.» Then hung up.
EXCUuuuUuuUUuuUSse ME??!
Any chance of me changing my mind in the future is gone now, thanks to that fuckwit who talked to me disrespectfully. I don’t need a gym to be healthy and physically fit. No one does. So forget you.

I go to this location 4 – 6 times a week and I’m always happy with the place. I only use the weight training equipment and treadmills and never have a problem with anything. They have similar equipment to other gyms I’ve been to, but it’s the staff that really makes it great for me. All of the staff that I’ve met have always been very friendly and helpful. Every now and then I’ll request something on one of the TVs while I’m on a treadmill, or want advice about my workout or workout supplements and they always manage to help me out. Also, most of the regulars are very cordial and respectful, which really helps the whole atmosphere. Thanks CalFit!

I joined Cal Fit about 6 months ago. I usually go between 2 – 4 times per week. The gym is a lot more expensive than 24 hour fitness, but it’s not much better. I like the lay out and they have a lot of equipment, but the gym is filthy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them clean anything. I’ve been there at all hours and I’ve never once seen any cleaning staff or anything. The men’s locker room always smells terrible, they often run out of paper towels. No one seems to disinfect or clean anything… Seriously the gym is disgusting.
I’m also a member of Planet Fitness in Citrus Heights. PF is much smaller and does not have a pool or anything fancy, but it’s VERY CLEAN. They have cleaning staff there 2 — 3 times per day. It never smells and they also have cleaning spray bottles and paper towels all over the gym. It’s also about ¼ of the price.
Cal fit on the other hand has nearly no cleaning supplies. They often have only 1 or 2 employees (usually teenagers) who mostly text on their phones, lift weights while they are on the clock, or hang out and chat with their friends instead of picking up a bleach wipe and cleaning the equipment or locker room.
Once my 1 year membership is up, I’ll probably join gold river racquet club or Arden’s hills country club.
It’s too bad, cal fit would be great if they would hire better staff (or at least supervise them), and CLEAN. They should be cleaning everything at least twice a day.

I’m visiting my cousin because aunt is on her way to the other side. I have had a week pass before when visiting in the past. Granted I should have thought to bring my drivers license with me, but my cousin and her family have been members for years. They refused to even let me stay in the building because I didn’t have my DL. I have my number and expiration date, I’m still in the system. I find this abhorring.

I would have liked to give Cal Fit 5 stars, truly I would have. However nice the gym may be, I cannot excuse the behavior of the membership manager. I signed up for a month-​to-​month basis with Russel. He seemed kind and genuine, and I explained to him that I did NOT want a year membership. He told me that he would honor my request, and after my 2^nd month, lo and behold, they started charging my card for the next 2 months (even though I paid for the 3 months when I sat down with him). He told me that it seems that we both had a misunderstanding… um no, I clearly told him what I wanted when I signed up, and he scammed me. Sorry Russel, you seemed like a nice guy, but your actions proved otherwise. My advice to you all out there, go somewhere else, and save yourself some headache, (and your money).
Updated 11/​20/​2013
I had a representative call and tell me that I should have read the contract before signing. Lesson learned, don’t believe whatever you hear (no matter the ranking of the person you are talking with), and read the contract… even if it’s a gazillion pages long.

I’m starting to like this location