Semper Fit Center

We’re not a Marine family, but we live closer to this base than the Navy base, so this is the one that I go to more often. After quite a bit of encouragement from some girlfriends to try out the gym, I finally caved.
I guess I thought the only people at the gym were going to be sweaty, burly dudes, but truthfully, there were a lot of women, retired people, in addition to the burly, sweaty guys.
The gym itself is older, with some machines in delapidated shape, but also has a lot of nicer, newer machines to work on. They also have a ton of classes available, and they are only $ 2 per class, which is a great motivation.
The locker rooms are dingy but have all the necessary parts including day use lockers, and the facilities have other options like basketball, racquetball, and massage therapy.
Not bad for military members and their families on the Windward side, and much better bang for your buck with a basically free membership aside from the specialty classes! Ample parking, easy access, and well– staffed, I’ll likely be back.

This place is always closed by 4pm on the weekends. You know, the weekends, when people are actually OFF work. And could spare time to go to the gym. WTF. This needs to be fixed. It’s crowded enough when it is open, but reducing the hours on the weekends is ridiculous.

I don’t know if it’s because the JBPHH gym has spoiled me, but as far as military bases go… the Semper Fit center does not live up to the one on Pearl Harbor (although to their credit, the gym on Pearl Harbor is MUCH newer than the Semper Fit Center). With that being said, although it’s not the nicest of gyms, it is decent enough to get a good workout in.
Some of the cardio equipment is on the older side, hence some rustiness in the metal, BUT they seem to maintain the important parts so your ellipticals and bicycles don’t make funny noises like unmaintained equipment would do. A great positive about this gym is they do have a few machines I haven’t seen anywhere else, specifically the rope machine. I don’t know what it’s actually called… but that thing is a major workout for my shoulders/​arms!
There are towels at the front desk, and ample parking. All in all, be prepared for a gym that’s not fancy at all, but they do a decent job at maintaining the facility. In the end… you don’t need fancy to get the job done.

Good overall gym. Not too crowded. People are polite. They have basketball and racquetball. Staff always have a smile on their face. Convenient water filling stations. Sometimes machines/​stations/​free weights are being used and you have to wait, but usually within a couple minutes you are good to go.
It’s a lot smaller than the Pearl Harbor gym, and not as fancy. Don’t mind the Marines bench pressing monster trucks.

The gym is always super crowded, especially the free weights area. I think overall the gym should just be a lot bigger. They have a pretty good selection of cardio machines though. Also, being surrounded by buff marines makes you want to push harder and lift bigger weights, haha. Very poor ventilation so prepare to sweat like a pig. It’s free though so I can’t really complain too much!

By far, the most disgusting, poorly arranged gym I have experienced aboard a DOD installation.
PROs:
— Towel and complimentary small locker storage
— Decent cardio machine selection
— Squat /​Universal racks — they actually have quite a few more than normal gyms with bumper plates for the cross fitter types which mitigates the chances of a weight lifter being crushed by a flying barbell during «crossfit» maneuvers.
CONs:
— Parking is about the size of a McDonalds parking lot — about ¼ of what it needs to be.
— Free weights — TWO sets of weights. Not enough for the 100+ people that use the facility at any given time. You will have to hunt down 20 — 60 lb dumb bells.
— Benches — by far not enough. At any given time there is a line of people waiting to use them.
— Free weight and machine setup — horrid. The free weight section is cramped and causes personnel to work over the top of each other while a vast amount of floor space is dedicated to their cable crossovers and bench presses. Ridiculous setup.
— Cleanliness. If you set your water bottle on the floor and pick it up, do NOT look at the bottom or you may experience nausea. This gym does not see vacuums or brooms. The bars or so corroded and rusted that if you wear anything other than black, you will ruin your clothes with rust stains. If you drop a towel on the floor, best to immediately swap it out or you risk contaminating your body with years worth of foreign hairs, lint and dust that will be picked up from the floor.
— Hours. This place opens at 8:30 on the weekend. Seriously? Supposedly due to cutbacks; however, this is the only facility that I have experienced in the Pacific or North America on a DOD installation the opens at 8:30 on a weekend. Way to serve Marines and Sailors!
Management could fix this gym by rearranging the free weight section, ordering and mandating the use of a vacuum frequently, and by ordering or acquiring at least a few more sets of dumb bells from DRMO.
If Joint base Hickam’s gym is a 10, this is a 1.

This gym is decent but it has a lot of issues that make it terrible. With the recent cutbacks that cause the gym to close far earlier than before, it’s just horrible.
Some of the issues:
–The gym is relatively small and very cramped
–The only times the gym is semi-​empty is for around 1330 — 1600. Next emptiest time is before closing but this was before the cutbacks. With the new times, the gym is constantly packed
— A lot of the equipment is old and rusty. Tears in the seats, broken pulley systems, and not enough for everyone
— The free weight area is extremely narrow with relatively no space. This area gets extremely cramped during peak hours. I’ve actually seen a few pissing matches because of this.
–When the gym is packed, it means people are going to be rude and not follow gym etiquette
–Gym staff often starts cleaning an hour before closing and tries to get everyone out half an hour before closing. I can understand this but the fact the staff with constantly walk by and pushily say, «We’re closing in [time]» or they’ll come clean exclusively in your area.
–Opens late and closes early so it’s makes it impossible to be able to utilize the gym
Overall, this gym is just not sustainable for the base and amount of people that use it. Especially with the new hours that drastically cut backs of the business hours, it’s not worth going even though for it being free for DoD and military. Compared to other bases whether Marines or Navy or whatever, this is the absolute worse base gym I’ve ever been to.

Never any complaints about this gym. Its clean! Has updated equipment, and friendly staff. I’m a regular here :)

The CONS: Some of the equipment is old, rusty, & squeaky. I personally feel like the weights are off vs what’s actually labeled but not a big deal. It’s always crowded with everyone always looking at someone else to size up or jealous stares. It’s hilarious. Men and women alike. I wish they had a Jacobs ladder and more space to do free weight exercises. Bigger ab area wouldn’t hurt either. This is a small gym for being the main base gymnasium. Lack of fresh air. You do breath in the sweaty guy on the other side of the gym sometimes when you un-​focus yourself from your workout and when you walk in at 8AM you’ll smell the guys who got their gym on at 4AM. Just poorly ventilated that’s pretty much what I’m getting across.
The PROs: I like that this gym doesn’t use paper towels to wipe down your used equipment. The fact you use a washable cloth you spray on with disinfectant is great. Good hours to get some machine/​weight time is 8−10AM or late at night before they close but even the night hours get packed.
I’ve been to numerous gyms on and off base and all over the world, I promise I’m not a snob. I’m just comparing and being honest. On Oahu, Hawaii… Pearl Harbor JB Hickam has the best base gym on the island. But of course for obvious reasons. 3 stars for being decently clean (you’ll find an oily feeling on not well cleaned machines), and it has functioning equipment and hours.

If you can get in here during off peak hours the place is a decent gym. If you’re strictly a cardio person this place is great… lots of ellipticals, treadmills, and the like. However, if you are into free weights then you might have issues when the place is crowded. There is a small selection of free weight stations (ie bench, incline, squat rack, etc). The place is outfitted with LifeFitness and Hammer strength machines if you find yourself in a pinch, but you’ll be hard pressed to get a good workout in during peak hours in the free weight area. There are lines for each station with 2 – 3 Marines working out with each other. The sauna is decent and the facilities are well maintained… for a government run establishment.

The semper fit is a great place to work out, there is just about every cardio workout you can think of. I didnt see many bikes. Manly a stair master and a treadmill. Many of them. Marines dont usually bike. Marines have to run several miles.
If you dont mind being surrounded by a bunch of buff jar heads this place will be a great place for you to workout. There are several muscle strengthening and strength training machines at this gym. Not just that but there is also a basketball court, and i think there is also a suana. There are shower rooms, and towels at the front desk.
Everything is very well kept and clean. The staff has always been very helpful. You must have some sort of military associated ID or know someone that will bring you in as a guest to visit this gym.

The President goes here. No Guests… Sauna is good. Must have Military ID

Just another gym. In fact there was only one gym I’d give a 5 star to and that was back in Cali.
Semper Fit, as cliché as you’d think, full of Marines. If you are unlucky enough to show up after 4pm you’ll be crowded by a bunch a meat heads and there will be very little open equipment to use. They have plenty of free weights, but the free weight area is quite small and offers only a few seats and benches.
If the facility was a bit bigger it would be a lot better. They do offer a wide variety of equipment and machines but the space is lacking. The sauna is a bit small also. They do have a pretty big basketball area and they offer classes such as yoga and all that whatnot.
I frequent here but that’s because it’s free and nearby. Not bad, not great. Just another gym.

Now that I have taken a few classes here I realize this place is pretty awesome. The classes are quite cheap. There is a ten coupon booklet for $ 15 which is pretty awesome, and I would give this place 4 stars if the booklet wasn’t so ghetto. They obviously reuse the coupon several times and some of my coupons have obvious sweat stains on them! Gross!
The coupon book at Hickam is magazine material and they obviously order them from somewhere. At least print it out fresh at the very least and align them nicely instead of giving me a haphazardly stacked mess of ripped old coupons with a staple through the middle.
I also discovered that what I had thought was one shower is actually three in their own private room!
Also, ladies, do not fear getting naked in the locker room. If I have to pee you should not be changing in there holding up the bathroom areas.

If you answer my questions, aren’t ridiculously crowded all the time and don’t make me sick, gyms are pretty much guaranteed 3 stars for me. You can always find something to do when you’re there.
However, out of all of the gyms on the island for military facilities, this is my least favorite.
The sanitation is on par with Schofield. I believe Schofield’s restrooms seem a squish bit cleaner. Schofield is at least mildly large enough to fit in a decent workout.
The hubs and I were workin on Chest and Biceps. He always complained about the oorah vibe from the gym, and I can see where he was coming from. I was the ONLY woman in the free weight area. It was shocking how crowded the gym was Friday evening. Apparently we weren’t the only ones who wanted to fit in another workout before our weekend. However, we couldn’t fit in a decent workout. They just didn’t have enough benches.
However, if you want to find some unique equipment, the have it here. I’d be willing to return just to try all of the equipment they have available.
They do have a crossfit box I’m looking forward to trying. I’ll have to update the review once I check it out.

This is a great gym with lots of available facilities (weight/​cardio room, basketball courts, pool/​sauna, racquetball courts). I usually work out here on the weekends because it is close to home and the lady at the front desk is always friendly and helpful. I usually only lift weights here and I am always inspired by all the hard work and sweat being released from the Marines and their families working out alongside me. They also have kettlebells, a designated ab workout area, lots of machines/​TVs, and boxes for jumping on.
Other considerations: Kids under 12 not allowed. Patrons age 12 – 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times while in the facility.

For such a populated base, I was extremely surprised upon moving here to find ONE major gym for all the personnel here. I figured, it was a marine base, there will be a couple gyms at the very least. Nope, I was wrong this is the only one! (Besides the HIIT gym, but that doesn’t count)
This place is ALWAYS packed and I feel like no matter what time of day, and i’ve been at every time during the week. My husband is a gym rat, and I guess you could say hes on the verge of body builder status, at least thats what he looks like. He likes to come in, get his workout on and leave, but thats almost impossible at this gym. We always come in, wait for machines, workout, wait again, and wait again. We do often result in doing our free weights at different sections just to complete the workout and leave.
The gym is a decent size, I feel as though it could be bigger. There are basketball courts, dance rooms, and a cardio room that merges into the weight room. Its all clustered together and its not super organized but it works once you get a hang of the space.
Parking is plentiful, I feel as though most people walk here. The staff is very nice, and the equipment is kept fairly clean which is a plus but there are a lot of people who just stand around on machines or don’t really use them.

Plenty of equipment, if you don’t mind waiting.
My wife prefers the cardio equipment, but the radios that connect the equipment to the overhead TVs doesn’t work well.

I love coming here because it is so easy to get to. However, I really do wish they had more than one gym at this base because it can get crowded.
So, the best times to get here are before or after lunch hour, when everybody else is working. There is a limited amount of weight machines, which you have to fight over once everybody is off work. There have been times that I have left because everyone and their mom was on them.
If you want to try something other than the workout machines, I suggest you check out the classes. I have done the power yoga and cardio and tone. You need to buy tickets for these classes (about 1 coupon per class), but for active duty classes are free. You can get these tickets at the front desk. They are fairly cheap. Honey and Sandy are my favorite instructors. They have both whooped my butt, in a good way. Was sore for days! But I did see results. So if you have base access, check this place out!
Hours of Operation
Sunday, 0700 – 1800
Monday-​Friday, 0430 – 2230
Saturday, 0700 – 2200
Holidays, 0700 – 1800

State of the art fitness center — cardio, weight machines, free weights, group exercise classes, basketball court, racquetball courts, towel service, locker rooms with showers! Clean facilities!
This is definitely better than any gym on Oahu. People are here to work out, not to socialize or pick up people.
Unfortunately you need to be active/​retired military or an MCCS employee to use. :)