One of the biggest fitness franchises caters to more than just bodybuilders.

by Contributor

The Scene
The company logo is a muscle-bound gorilla deadlifting a heavily loaded barbell, but World Gym's focus goes beyond just weights to include a number of fitness options. Joe Gold's first Southern California muscle mecca--the second being the eponymous Gold's--has spawned hundreds of neighborhood gyms everywhere, from Mentor, Ohio, to Taichung, Taiwan. Design and amenities vary from franchise to franchise to reflect the owner and the community as much as, if not more than, the original location.

The Workout
All World Gym fitness centers are required to be at least 9,500 square feet. That means ample room for free weights, medicine balls, treadmills and sundry machines; classes in Spinning, yoga and the like fill out the group-oriented fare.

05/26/08

Disappointed By World Gym

by smorgasboard

I have to say that I was very disappointed in World Gym's training program. The head trainer, Rico Armstrong, was quite disorganized and wasn't very good at returning my phone calls.

He even stood me up for one of my sessions, and didn't make any attempt to fix the situation. This, after I'd cleared my Saturday morning for the class, and I'd deliberately missed another class out of a busy week.

I had a funeral I had to go to out of the country for a family member and then had to catch up with work. When I called the owner back, Jennifer Talmadge, she obviously wasn't interested either since I'd terminated my membership, and they basically made off with my hard-earned cash.

It was really, really obnoxious and disorganized.

It was obvious that I was just a revenue stream for him, and once it became clear that that stream was limited, he wasn't interested in helping me, even though I had emptied my pockets for his sessions.

• Pros: Nice natural sunlight
• Cons: Head trainer disorganized

09/10/03

World Gym is a Great Gym!

by psychogasm

As a World Gym patron for quite some time, I'm quite happy going to a place that's clearly more about working out than a meat market (although some *may* argue this point with me, and I'd totally understand). Overall, I don't feel intimidated by the other patrons, the staff or even the machines. People there are friendly and can help out, and the cardio area is full of machines that will never keep you waiting. Overall, a comfortable place.

• Pros: Good staff!, Tons of cardio., Parking's not bad.
• Cons: Sweltery lockerroom.