LA Fitness

Last Saturday, June 11^th at around 9:40 am my husband and I went to LA Fitness in 4S Ranch. We checked all 3 kids into the kids club. Thirty minutes into our workout the lady at the front found my husband and said my 10 year old son with autism was gone and they didn’t know where he was. He was found by my husband 0.7 miles from the gym! When my husband got there, 2 police cars had already found him and were keeping him safe. We assume it took the gym over 20 minutes to notice our child was gone!!! That day I told the gym we needed to see a plan on how they were going to update their safety procedures to ensure this never happened again to our son and all other kids that they watch while their parents work out. Its important to say that they knew my son had autism and had a tendency to bolt. Today their District Manager Erin Mathewson got back to me. She said that their are not a licensed day care facility and only offer babysitting services. For these reasons, she could offer us the following: we can bring a nanny with us to watch our son in the klub while we work out or my husband and I can trade off working out so one of us is watching my son in the klub while the other works out. They said they would not do anything else like improve the ratio of attendants/​kids or replace their ridiculously unsafe gate. They are trying to make this about my child and not their place which is completely unsafe. MY SON WAS MISSING FOR OVER 20 MINUTES WHILE I PAID FOR THEM TO WATCH HIM, AND THEY CAN’T COMMIT TO BETTER SAFETY PROCEDURES? Do not leave your child there! Canceling the membership immediately and couldn’t be angrier at this place!

I’m writing this review on behalf of my parents. They are very disappointed with this club management, service and cleanliness. Locker rooms and showers are always dirty.
Soap always absent in the showers.
Hair in the showers at the women locker room. Water in the pool is always cold.
When They spoke with managers they requests are being ignored.
They are considering to pay double price and go to Fit Club (much nicer club in the area with better service and cleanliness)

I have been coming to this gym for several years now and in the last few months, I have seen the cleanliness deteriorate. The bathrooms are unclean and in constant need of supplies replenishment. I don’t know how many times I have gone to the maintenance lady and ask her for more paper towels or toilet paper. At 8:30 in the morning, the trash cans are full to the brim in the bathrooms. 8:30 am! When I complain to the maintenance guy, he looks at me and says the maintenance lady gets in at 8:00 am. Over the years, I have seen so many personal trainers come and go. They have a revolving door because trainers don’t last more than 4 months. It’s sad when you get use to one trainer, he leaves and then you go to the next. Since becoming a member, 5 years ago I went through 5 different trainers and that would be ok if it wasn’t for the fact that I took a 3 year break from training. The mirrors are always dirty in the exercise room class and when I take yoga, the class is often interrupted by the racket balls banging when the first court is taken. Often times, the exercise room class is so hot during Zumba when there is 50 plus people taking the class, when we do complain the management says the heat is controlled by the people in Texas and thus cannot be calibered on demand. When the music system broke, it took close to 2 months to replace and the class was taught with a little 90s style boom box. When I complained about the constant cd music skipping and how they should replace it to an MP3 system, management says they can’t do that because of music licensing issues. However, the Poway location had an MP3 plug. When asked about the discrepancy, the manager just shrugged and said they should not do that. I leave it to you to determine where the blame lies for the state of the gym.

I’m finally gonna write a review on where I train at. Last Saturday afternoon (04−13−16), I saw a female trainer training her male client. After they were done, they didn’t re-​rack their weights. Even the client asked the trainer if they should re-​rack and I witnessed a «no» answer from the trainer (la fitness staff trainer). I never saw them come back to where the weights were left or cleaned up (re-​rack). I was in the weight area for 1+ hours. I saw her just getting her money and didn’t teach good form (¼ repping). Shame on you! You’re dirty on teaching bad habits. I give 1 star to some of the coolest mixed bag people I’ve met there that workout. Why is the male head trainer not in shape? I’m not hating, but keeping it real. I might have pictures in the future to show evidence. Hopefully, she sees this and will follow good gym etiquette.

I’ve gone here for several years. Nice variety of equipment and clean. Well, it used to be kept clean. The locker room, showers and restrooms are disgusting. Showers have had mildew for months with used band-​aids and trash all around. Tile floors are filthy and haven’t been mopped in a while. The restroom reeks of urine.
I usually don’t complain much, but this filth has gone on too long without being disinfected properly. Maintenance Manager needs to get in gear. The Health Department is next.
Other LA Fitness areas are much cleaner. 4S Ranch is an embarrassment.

The positives — very nice pool, two-​story layout is nice, decent equipment.
The negatives — careless staff. Locker room smells and is poorly cleaned. Shower stalls are frighteningly dirty. Three days in a row same bandages on floor of the shower stall. Complaints to the staff fall on deaf ears. One of the pieces of equipment is constructed improperly. Pointed out to the staff and they agree. However, one month later still not fixed and in registering a new complaint they act as if they’ve never heard about this equipment problem before.
If you don’t want to pay the initiation fee when signing up and you want the lowest monthly price possible and if you have a AAA account you can get $ 30 a month with no initiation fee.
I just downgraded to one star. This place is filthy. After two months of letting them know that there is gum stuck to the bottom of the shower stalls they still have not cleaned it up. Even after many promises to do so. It is amazing to me that they simply cannot scrape gum off the bottom of the shower stall floors.
Also, there’s equipment that is put together incorrectly. Again after two months of letting them know and promises that it will be fixed, nothing has been done.
The managers here are absolutely careless.

Friday 5:45 spin class with chuck this class is the worst class to attend. Chuck is not an instructor he is an example of what not to do. He constantly yells out what you are doing wrong. No one in the class pays attention to his hap hazard program. His music is not good. He closes his eyes during the excursive and yells out his example of what not to do. I will never attend his class again. Attendance if class started with 12 people in class by 30 minutes of his ragging 5 left, at the end of class 4 people were left. Very bad experience.

It’s really unfortunate that if you live in the area your choices are this gym or 24 Hour a Fitness (even worse I think). I’ve been going to this gym for 3 years. When I first started in the summer of 2013, I knew nothing about working out or fitness. I was pushed into buying an expensive personal training program by Aaron. He ditched me for personal training 3 out of the 4 times we had scheduled so I cancelled. To cancel, a manager had to be there or Aaron; conveniently, neither of them were ever there. After 4 times of trying I was finally able to cancel.
Since then the gym has been pretty below average. The worst thing is probably the crowd, it’s unlike any other LA fitness I’ve been to. Also, the equipment is pretty old and outdated. A lot of the equipment and machines are broken for weeks at a time. Another thing that I don’t enjoy are the women who just go to the gym for the sauna and walk around naked for no reason. It’s not like they’re in the middle changing, they literally walk around and talk to each other for 20 minutes like its social hour, naked and it’s gross.
I decided to quit and find a smaller gym because of two more things, not including the above. 1^st: Most of the classes here suck. They’re super crowded and very basic. If you want to get in some serious workouts, these classes are not the place. LA fitness Oceanside has the best classes but it’s a drive. 2^nd: Last week I wanted to do some circuit training and the gym was packed and there was a class starting in 10 minutes. I found a racquetball court to workout in. I needed some 7 pound weights so at 4:32 PM, I went into the yoga room to get some weights very quietly (other people were still coming into the room as well and it ALWAYS happens) to get some from the back. The instructor runs up to me and says I can’t come in once the class has started; she also gave me the dirtiest look. I just laughed and said ok and left. Some people need to chill out. According to the schedule her name is Lisa. She should have a chat with management about how to treat clients or customers because she is the last straw that made me realize I need to switch to a new gym. My boyfriend will also be going somewhere else.
Overall this gym is below average in just about every aspect. The only good thing is that the girls that work at the front desk are nice, especially Brittany!

I had a bad experience with manager, she was so rude and very unprofessional, I have been the member for 20 years an tried to to switch my main gym fro Poway la fitness to 4S ranch one, but she was going to increase my membership from $ 20 to 50 plus extra $ 129.

Wanted to take a tour. I m new to the area and I am looking for a new gym.
The girl at the front desk was very rude. The guy who came to give me a tour had an attitude. Before he would even show me around he gave me some papers to fill out. He wanted to know my name, email address, work number, home number, and address. When I asked why he needed this information for a tour, he said in a rude way that it is policy, and that I should just fill it out. I got up to leave and he asked are you really going to leave over this? I said yes.
After reading other negative reviews I am glad that I did not join.
Wish I could give less than one star.

They sent me an email and they change the price when I got there!!! it’s too bad I don’t like that.

Much nicer than 24 hrs. No benches with duct tape or out of date paint on the walls.
Indoor pool. The basketball court is nice and the games are usually pretty strong. They have racquetball courts, and a room for yoga classes and such. There’s a spinning room and bikes and treadmills upstairs with televisions. Fox news on one, CNN on another, and ESPN on others.
The locker room looks really nice with the wooden lockers and such but it smells like feet. Probably the moisture from the pool nearby and well, feet. Bring flip flops!
Depending on the time of day you’ll see old men hitting on girls. It’s sad. I feel bad for the women who come to work out and not want to be bothered.

The gym is dirty and the place is always really crowded especially at 6pm. The bathrooms is always out of soap. I had a bad experience where i got pink eye for 1 week after touching the weights. Now i am very careful to scrub my hands down at the end of each workout.

Pros: Great kids club. Nice clean facility. Awesome spin class by Tami who is the most motivating, energetic, fun instructor by far!!! Wish she taught the other classes beside spin or train the other instructors. She is what keeps me at LA Fitness as a member.
Cons: The majority of what I use the gym for is classes. However since Tami’s spin classes are the only classes that are great, the rest of the class offerings are mediocre and out dated especially the zumba and body works classes. These classes feel like they are intended more for beginners. Also there are no HIIT classes or similar type class offered at this location which would make such a difference if they included in the schedule as this would attract more of those members who are more advanced and into their workouts. Please hire more instructors like Tami into our GYM!!! It is desperately needed!!!

One of the worst Coustomer service of all gyms in San Diego. I guess it hurts some of receptionists mouth to greet you with smile. Worst hours they close d gym way to early on weekends. The only reason I haven’t cancelled my membership here is because it’s very close to my house. Chuze fitness much better and even 24hr gyms are better then this place. I

This is a solid LA Fitness which is my primary LA Fit during the work week. It’s not Equinox or Fit quality but for the price it’s worth it. It’s located just 2 miles away from my work so it’s very convenient for me to go here for a quick lunch break workout or to go after work if I don’t feel like driving in traffic. During lunch the gym is very empty but by 5pm it gets pretty full. Monday — Wednesday are the busiest days and it begins to taper down by Thursday.
All the equipment is relatively new and the gym is very well maintained. The cleaning crew consistently ensures that bathrooms and gym floors are cleaned and the LA Fitness staff will go around the gym and make sure the weights are racked at their proper locations (to pick up after those that don’t re-​rack the weights they use). This location has 2 squat racks and 1 additional power rack so you won’t have to wait too long for squats or deadlifts. There are 3 bench presses available but these tend to be always full on those «Chest Mondays». In my experience, the gym goers here are courteous and will offer to share machines if they see you standing around waiting on them.
The group classes they offer here are decent and are mostly tailored to the intermediate audience. It’s good for those days I overeat and just want to burn extra calories after a lift session. If you want a tougher group workout I would recommend the GRIT Plyo & Cardio that 24 hour fitness offers =)

I have been going to LA Fitness since it opened years ago in 4S Ranch. I recently started again after a 3 year break and everything still looks the same. It’s not bad but some of the equipment can use updating. I haven’t attended any of their classes in a long time so I can’t base my review on that. I like to use their cardio equipment which is located upstairs with a ton of TV’s and overlooking the workout area and racket ball rooms… perfect for people watching. Also love the weight room, though again, some of their equipment could use updating. The free weight section is always busy it seems from mid afternoon on. The locker room is hit and miss but could use a deep carpet cleaning because certain areas smell like old sweat. I haven’t tried the swimming pool, sauna or the basketball court.
I gave it a 4 star due to the upgrades that are needed and also because the personal training is quite expensive. Other gyms offer more options for training sessions which I think is more reasonable and effective for attaining goals. (ie: group sessions 3x per week at the same price of single private session 1x per week)

I come to the 4S location a few times a week after work, mostly for their classes. For a big box gym, their class offerings are decent but the quality is so-​so. They also have your standard LA Fitness «amenities» like a pool, sauna, indoor racquetball, etc.
My biggest gripe though is their cycle classes — any spin studio you go to does more than just sitting or standing on the bike, but not here. While Elie’s class is great and challenging, it would be nice to incorporate arms or other movements. They also only use Keiser bikes here, not traditional spin bikes like you’d find at SoulCycle or Spark Cycle.
So I guess the moral of the story is you get what you pay for. It’s $ 30/​month so you really can’t complain.

Poor safety!!! Poor management!!!
My purse was stolen on Thur. May 7, 2015 during my shower after I had finished my Zumba class at 8:00PM. The purse was put in an inner pocket of my gym bag and locked away in a locker. When I was reporting the incident to the customer service girl at the reception desk, another lady ran out of the lady’s room to report the theft of her car key. Her car key was on a lanyard, put in an outer pocket of her gym bag which was also locked away in a locker. The first response from the customer service girl was to ask us to go back and check again to see whether we had misplaced our items:-(Obviously we DID NOT. And of course the lady’s Audi was found missing in the gym’s parking lot immediately afterwards.
After the traumatic experience, I didn’t go there for a while. Since they keep charging me, I decided to go back again and talk with the manager. My first question to him was that I wanted to know if they had taken any corrective actions lately. His reply was that we put up sign to remind members not to bring their valuables to the gym. So it is not their fault to let those thieves in, but my fault to have my purse stolen??? He also added that gyms are generally key targets for thieves for they know people would bring their valuables with them. So it is gym members’ fault to drive to the gym instead of walking??? What a perverse logic!!! Do you think a manager with such mindset can do anything to improve the safety of the gym?
Think very very carefully before you decide to join this gym. You are very much exposed if yo do.

It’s a commercial gym, you get what you pay for. So my expectations are already pretty low. But compared to 24 Hour Fitness gyms and other LA fitness gyms in San Diego, I think 4S Ranch is the best so far. I think the Poway one is gross. It’s relatively clean and has newer equipment. I go to the gym roughly 4x per week and I always leave satisfied. Just get work done, sweat, and leave. Don’t expect some spa treatment. come on.
I’m just glad it has more than 1 squat rack, lol. (2 squat racks, 1 power rack). Most people are courteous enough to rerack their shit; it’s not usually all over the place.
I also like their big room to do cardio circuit training, abs, stretching. blabla. Except the room does get hot sometimes (I feel like they don’t turn on the AC unless there’s a class)
Since I’m a student with a part time job, I’m able to squeeze in my work outs during non-​peak hours (1 – 3 pm, or after 8pm). Worst time to go is around 5 – 6 for sure.
The bathroom and locker room for the ladies is well maintained. The people at the front desk are pretty nice from my experience.
I just wish they wouldn’t close so early on the weekends!!!): I’ve definitely made a temporary pass at 24 just because I got to LA fitness by the time they closed on a Friday night, lol how sad.