XSport Fitness

Alright gym at best. This is my preferred gym since it’s walking distance from home.
Two of the cleaners (A young man and woman) who are there morning to mid afternoon are two of the hardest workers in this facility and clean up the mess a few irresponsible folk might leave behind.
Pros
–Hammer Strength, Cybex and Free Motion machines
–Lot’s of cardio machines
–Can get a quick workout upstairs on some machines
–Good customer service
Cons
–Can be packed almost everyday
–Almost impossible to find a dumbbell that is 5lbs-​25bs
–There are some not so nice members in the weight room who hog stuff and may give other members a rough time.
–A few safety hazards in the weight room like walking areas being crowded, plates, some dumbbells, benches scattered everywhere

Join this gym if you don’t mind getting charged for a bunch of shady extra shit and having to sit on hold with customer service multiple times per year.

I’m a gym junkie and I don’t leave reviews anymore because all the gyms are pretty much the same. Today I want to recognize Josh from the morning shift. For the past 6 months I have seen this kid bust his ass to keep this gym clean. He gets thoes spots that most people wouldn’t think about. His attention to detail makes this gym a joy to work out at. Thanks for all your hard work buddy I don’t think anyone else as far as staff goes deserves any recognition in fact the Manger and assistant Manger jobs seem like a revolving door kinda turns me off. Hopefully this gym can get its shit together and have more people like Josh. Josh is the real MVP, keep up that incredible work ethic you are going to be successful in whatever you do its up to Xsport to recognize and give you a promotion eventually or lose there hardest working employee. Once again thanks for keeping the gym in such god shape. You rock !

Smell like ass!
Management sucks!
Equipment is old!
Too crowded!
Parking is an issue!
Would not recommend!

I have been working out here for almost 10 years now. I would definitely recommend this gym over any other in the area, but that is actually pretty sad because I would prefer and pay for something more upscale. The free weight room has all of the equipment necessary to get a good workout. In fact, this is one of the only Xsport ‘s in the Chicago area that has a comprehensive selection of equipment. However, the equipment is broken half the time, the free weights tend to be scattered all over the place, and this place is usually dirty and smelly. Clearly their only objective is to get as many members as possible and spend as little money as possible keeping up the place. There are very few cardio machines, so sometimes you have to fight to get one. And there are limited machines on the second level, could be better. I’m always looking for a better gym though. Can we get a Lifetime in Chicago please???

I have been coming here for a year and a half with a trainer. I really recommend getting a trainer at this location but they constantly have issues with the necessary tools to help you fully. The electric scale broke over two months ago and was replaced with an old, manual scale. The scale is broken most of the time and can’t be calibrated.
I made a formal complaint through the company at the end of August and got an email two weeks later saying they couldn’t reach me. I called and emailed back several times and finally got her on the phone. She said she would take care of it.
The scale is still in place. I pay $ 50 per session for a personal trainer and a lot of other people do. I don’t feel like the money I spend is going to where it needs to be. I don’t feel confident I’m getting my correct weight each week.
Also, there is only one computer at the check in station. This constantly holds up the process. I was informed that the staff would get another one if they met a goal… Why is my time waiting based on the staff meeting a goal to get a necessary tool for their job? There are so many trainers and people just line up waiting to be checked it. This goes into my hour I’m paying to get trained.
I was told the team met the goal and was going to that computer three weeks ago! I can’t really complain about the customer’s needs being met when it doesn’t seem like they listen to their own staffs concerns.

Great spacious place to get a full workout. Plenty of benches for flat, incline and decline. Plenty of smith machines, too. Friendly staff that keep it clean. I’m an Xpress member and although this gym is further from me than the others, I still come here. Highly recommend.

I’ve been a member here for six years… I’ve seen good cleaning ladies and Bad cleaning lady and then you Have MARIA… This lady goes above and beyond friendly and hard working… The women’s locker room has. NEVER been cleaner and neither has the machines… They better know what they have and keep her!!!

Is it the most amazing gym in the world? No, but it’s $ 20/​month and a mile from my house. I’ve been a member at the more expensive Xsports as well, so at first it was a tad disappointing (i.e. no towels, no pool, not as many classes, etc.), but it’s really not too bad. There are some work out classes, there are sufficient machines and weights, and there’s even a sauna room. The staff are also pretty nice, so can’t complain.

Seriously the biggest crooks, lied to my face about how i cancel. Now i have to send in a letter to corporate, that could take months for them to get around to opening and canceling. I know because i had to cancel my tanning that way, that i when i ashes about how to cancel my gym membership and the Manager (laugh) said «no you can cancel that here with us.» Bottom line it is cheap because you will pay for it in many other ways.
EDIT after posting this review I got a call from Mike at xsport saying he would help me close my account, just fax directly to him my letter and he will do it same day. Well I did on July 14^th and still on ⁸⁄₁ I am getting charged. Due not ever come here, they will steal from you over an over and tell you it’s your fault but as the good guys they will not refund you but stop stealing from you, then guess what the steal from you again.

A lot of equipment here for you to select from /​also classes, although it’s considered an express gym

If you love getting harassed by multiple trainers, convoluted contracts, pain in the butt cancellation procedures and free weights, head to Xsport.

Worst xsport ever, very dirty and most of the machines are broke, old. In addition, they’re not friendly as other xsport’s.

This place is just the worst. The «manager» Lee is just horrible. Just from my facebook friends alone I’ve heard a lot of very negative feedback about him specifically.
This is the closest gym to my house and my favorite place to lift in terms of the gyms actual set up.
At any rate I go to the gym every day. They stopped me at the beginning of the week saying I wasn’t allowed to enter without talking to the head of customer service because there was a note under my account saying so. I called their hot line and wait 10 min up front with no answer. I ask if there is a direct line to her, they give it to me (why not give me this number in the first place?) I’ve left several voicemails and no one has attempted to get back to me. There was no reason left as to why I’m being stopped, but I’ve already paid off my year at the gym and they aren’t allowing me in. The gym is a daily thing for me, it’s bs for them to stop me with absolutely no reason and have me being allowed back in contingent on someone speaking to me but making no effort to contact me after a week.
The staff here is just horrible, rude and unprofessional.

So. I like the elston express. Believe it or not, I like that it is «small» (compared to the Harlem location-​have you seen it? It’s huge!). I visited the Harlem/​Irving location trying to decide if I liked it. On our tour, I literally got dizzy from all the people, machines, etc. so I like my good ol’ elston xsport. It isn’t the greatest gym, but it’s by my place, there’s always free parking nearby, and the people there don’t bother me. Also, staff is nice!

The GM MANAGER he’s not professional person he’s disrespectful he doesn’t have knowledge about what he’s doing or saying

Giving 2 stars because the young lady at the front who checked me in was nice and persoanble. However, the guy (not naming names) who signed me up for a membership was not. He was so dry. No enthusiasm or passion about his job. We were interrupted by another worker that was trying to help someone with supplements. I appreciate it was quick however, I don’t appreciate the lack of attention/​poor customer service that was shown to me. When I find a gym that has great customer service I don’t care about the membership fee, I’m signing up!!! Customer Service goes a long way!

Gum still has not been cleaned out of cup holder since my last update…
Seriously? Is it at a corporate level too? You just apologize for a filthy gym yet choose to do nothing about it?

Honestly, I don’t understand why all the bad reviews. What, because they don’t provide towels?
The thing about the Elston location that I don’t think some people can appreciate is that it’s not a health club culture; it’s a gym culture. I’d say about 90% of the people who train there are there to train hard, push heavy weight, and make friends with others training just as hard (the women train just as hard, if not harder).
It’s a great gym for seasoned lifters, professional lifters, beginners, and those in between.
(Also, the first 12 pictures are not of the Elston location).
Pros:
+ gym culture (no glam health club sparkles, no purple and pink). Also, if you ask to work in, they understand what you mean and will usually welcome you to work in.
+ Iron plates (plates are not covered with rubber, so no wondering if their weight includes the rubber or not)
+ Staff is friendly and helpful: girls at the front will always say hello, most often goodbye, and sometimes small talk in between);
+ staff is helpful: I’d mentioned that I’m having trouble finding a whey protein powder without artificial sweeteners. So a couple of the guys are keeping their eyes open for one (they thought they’d found one for a moment, but research showed otherwise. So they’re still looking).
+ Chalk is welcome, just don’t make a mess.
+ Trainers are certified and actually know what they’re doing/​talking about.
+ Wear what you want. (My friends and I just wear jeans and gym shoes-​we don’t even use the locker room).
+ There’s a sort of family/​fellowship culture there. You meet people, they remember you later, gain friends, notice when you haven’t shown up in a while, give/​get tips for better form/​lifting /​results, etc.
+ good variety and selection of machines, both upstairs and downstairs.
+ 5 or 6 benches
+ 2 sets of dumbbells (or 4 of each weight)
+ treadmills, elliptical machines, bikes, stairs, etc.
+ smoothie bar and sitting area
+ small store area (staff also have good knowledge of products sold)
+ protein drinks, protein bars, etc. kept cold
+ classes upstairs
+ heavy bags and speed bags upstairs
+ since Elston is not a «full-​service» gym, you can get good deals to only go there (versus paying an arm and a leg for them all, like when you sign up at Niles).
+ once you sign up, you’re locked into that contract for life, as long as you continue to renew each year. So if you get a great deal, no worries about price hikes. (By buddy’s been a member since they opened up around 2001. Because he renews every year, he’s still paying the great price he got back then).
+ they just started up something that none of the other locations are doing: members can bring in friends or relatives anytime (no limit of times) for free (previous price = $ 10). The hope is that they’ll sign up, but no pressure.
+ open ²⁴⁄₇
Cons:
— small parking lot. You can park for free on the surrounding streets, but you could also drive around for 20+ minutes searching for a spot during peak times. And they’re land-​locked, so buying more space for parking is next to impossible (and the neighborhood won’t let them build a multi-​level parking garage).
-

Ladies, the women’s bathroom is covered in inches of sewage water as of this moment. The women’s locker room floor is wet from that water being tracked in because Xsport did not close the conjoined bathroom/​locker room while roto-​rooting their sewage system. They didn’t even put up signs about the work or the potential biohazard. Just a generic sign about there being men in the women’s locker room today.
They let the plumbers drag their disgusting sewage encrusted wet hoses and sewage water equipment across the main first floor carpeted area where people exercise instead of using the side service door.
When I told the front desk staff member about the potential for human waste and e-​coli to be spreading around the gym, the desk staff acted like I was completely stupid. He dismissed me, saying they had signs up about men working in the locker room.
I repeated that my concern was about the raw sewage on the bathroom floor and Xsport not closing the conjoined locker room and allowing female clients to WALK THROUGH SEWAGE WATER, and allowing the contaminated water to be tracked through the main gym area. I repeated this FOUR TIMES and each time he just said that signs are posted about men working in the women’s locker room, totally ignoring my concerns.
This is horrific and I am never setting foot in this gym again.