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Sports Club / LA, Rockefeller Center

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4:48 PM 4:48 PM

rockefeller-plaza1

When I walked into the lobby of Sports Club / LA in Rockefeller Center, I was amazed by the grand entrance, reminding me somewhat of a fancy hotel lobby with a long front desk, which made the one person there look minuscule. After meeting with my member representative, Renee, a fellow Californian, I was given a tour of the gym and to my surprise, even though it is really nice, it just felt a bit dated.

Encompassing one floor, there are two sides, which are basically two really, really, REALLY long, humongous rooms. One side has mostly cardio equipment and weight machines, and an enormous studio for classes with every piece of free weight equipment for a class that you can imagine. The other side of the gym has free weights, more cardio equipment, a Pilates studio and a temperature-controlled workout room for hot yoga. I may be missing a room, but you get the idea—it’s gigantic!

The locker rooms are my favorite part; you are provided with daily workout attire (for in-gym use only)! I am guessing the clothes are made available because of the many commuters here, due to its location in Rockefeller Center. I didn’t know this before coming to the gym, so I brought my own, but 90 percent of the people working out around me had on the “free” gym clothes…branded with Sports Club / LA, of course.

There are two separate locker rooms: one regular and one VIP. The VIP locker room is only available through the Executive Membership, costing a grand total of $300 per month ($1500 initiation), but you are provided with a personal locker, 24-hour laundry service, fancy water, snacks and access to a TV. Not really worth it for me; at CLAY, this service is offered to all members, and the monthly dues are less expensive. For a regular “Health” membership to this club, the dues are $170 per month ($650 initiation). You can also do BiCoastal for $235 per month or an Access East Membership for $235 per month (both with a $1200 initiation fee). (All memberships are based on a month-to-month commitment.)

Although the price tag is pretty high, there are lots of fun classes to try including Capoeira, Kickboxing, Boot Camp Xpress, and more! If it weren’t for my poor directional skills in the Rockefeller Center area, I would enjoy frequenting this gym.

CLAY

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5:21 AM 5:21 AM

Lobby

Lobby

Right off 14th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, CLAY offers more than just a gym. When my friend Lisa offered me pass for a free one-month membership, including personal training session, I gladly accepted.

CLAY has a full-service spa, member lounge with internet access, and an organic café. After sweating it out, you can cool down with a Eucalyptus infused towel from one of the refrigerators on the gym floor, relax in your own personal sauna, or grab a snack and smoothie and have it delivered to your lounge chair on the rooftop deck! The locker rooms are equipped with lockless-code lockers, disposable flip-flops and showers with the works—I love the grapefruit shower gel!

Women's Locker Room

Women's Locker Room

With décor similar to a spa in Miami or California, (definitely not a 2nd floor on 14th Street gym feel), CLAY has a calm setting with top-of-the-line machines, each with its own TV, bamboo stretching mats and machines that many gyms don’t have. My two favorites include the sliding device, to be used only with space booties (where you slide back and forth to work out your booty and quads) and I also like the jungle gym-like stretching device. I will do my best to get a photo of this sucker. :)

In terms of group classes, there are the usual Pilates, yoga and conditioning, but there’s a class called TRED, a treadmill interval training class with core and sculpting drills taught on the gym floor, which appears to be incredibly hard — I get the impression it’s something like a routine on the Biggest Loser. I am really excited to try TRED and the Kettlebell class!

The idea of joining an exclusive gym that has a cap on membership (1500) is pretty appealing, but at $180/month, plus $560 initiation fee, I plan to indulge while I can. My only complaint: low ceilings.