Ladies Workout Express

I have been a member of LWE of Bucktown for over a year. Great workout… Great managers/​trainers (very friendly and knowledgeable). Casual atmosphere refreshing compared to the trendy flavor of the month gyms. Clean, quick workout and go.

Initially, my experience was fine. I was willing to overlook the odd hours (closed noon to 3 PM) and no shower, and music that never changed much, since it was inexpensive and close to home.
But, there are real problems here related to safety and managing the contract.
The owner smokes. Over time, I had to call to her to open the door — she was outside smoking. A few times, she never answered. She left the the gym on personal business while clients were working out with no one in charge to open the door, answer the phone or help clients. She is flaky, at best. Sober is questionable — she would use exercise equipment when seemingly impaired. She treats everyone like a long-​lost friend, but is genuinely irresponsible as she has no clue that there are safety issues.
After my one month trial, there was no option for non-​contractual use. She slid over or was misleading about some things like the one-​person sauna was an extra charge. When I prepared to sign a 1 year contract, suddenly it was for 2 years. She promised that the contract would end then and that I could renew it at the same rate — the choice was mine. That was not how it worked.
It has an automatic monthly renewal after 24 months. The fitness finance company had access to my credit card number even after the bank changed the account due to the Target hacking incident. That was creepy!
I learned this the hard way. I stopped using the gym at least a year before the contract expired. Through my bank, I challenged the new charges after the contract expired and then was fined by the fitness finance company as if I had bounced a check. It never acknowledged my written request to end the contract even though I did it on-​line through their web site with the assistance of their representative. Received nasty emails. In the middle of this, either the finance company or the gym’s parent company asked the owner to call me. She did not have it together enough to leave her name or the club name in her message. When I returned her call, she had no idea who I was or why she had called me — I never did find out why. Once she heard my problem, she said she would call me back in a few days with answers and to help me to end the contract. That was about 3 weeks ago. I have never heard from her. Negotiated the end of the contract myself.

This place is great! It is ladies only, which is a plus. You manage to get the strength training and the cardio in. It is reasonable, and a good option for anyone that does not want to be overwhelmed.

Not a fan.
I chose this gym because it was close to my house, and the membership price was reasonable. I went here for approximately 6 months and grew pretty bored by the circuit training. I will admit, it did not seem like my body was responding to the exercises, and that contributed to my lack of enthusiasm of this gym. The hours are not great, and the management could be better.

I’m not a big «gym person» so this was a good place to go to get the minimal workout to not feel guilty about myself. However, after several months listening to the same gym soundtrack play over and over again and the same machines to do the same moves on… I got really bored. You kind of feel like a robot going from machine to machine according to the pre-​recorded «Change Stations!» command coming out of the speakers. Also, despite my attempts to work harder while using the equipment, I usually could barely break out a sweat. In fact, I got a better workout just running to this place from my apartment.
Unfortunately, my work hours have changed making it virtually impossible for me to come here any more. Heather, the manager there, won’t let me out of my 2 year contract despite the fact that I never come anymore. At least, it’s only $ 30/​month instead of $ 60 like some other gyms…