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Southbank / South Melbourne gym recommendations

After a couple of workouts at Olympia in south melbourne i'm pretty happy with it, They have two squat racks, they are quite old school shallow (but deep enough) and aren't quite tall enough for me to overhead press inside.

They have a good range of hammer strength machines (not that i've used any of those yet). Used a good ABC Powerbar for my squats and deads today, good range of bars and a lot of standard plates (could struggle to find enough olympic plates at busy times)

Cardio equipment does the trick, but it's not flash, I would like it if they had a nicer exercise bike available for warmups and maybe a concept 2 rower.

There also aren't enough spots around the gym for chins/pullups.

Generally good though, especially for the price, and has a good 'real gym' old school vibe.
I go mid afternoon though, which is quiet, YMMV at busy times.
 
_Gruph_ said:
Lol wasnt it a guy from Melbourne that shot that Jac fella in the bicep and some random chick in the stomach at Robina Town Centre on GC a few months back?
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Ummm yeah could have been. I'll write him off as the exception that proves the rule. ;)
 
Ok back into the search - the remaining contract with FF was longer than I thought. Nevertheless, all done and dusted on the 5th.

Olympia will be the first I check out. I live in Southbank and work in Port Melbourne, and it is smack bang in the middle.

Two caveats, every time I drive past in the evening, it looks packed. And I may need to relocate from Southbank soon :/ May just take a casual membership for a period while the living situation is in flux.
 
Stewstews said:
Two caveats, every time I drive past in the evening, it looks packed. .
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Depends what time you go... bang on 6-7 is a little busy, but not silly generally... later or earlier isn't particularly so, they only have 2 squat racks, but in my experience i'm only occasionally found them unavailable .(I tend to go closer to 7-8pm or lunchtime)
 
Had a free pass for Recreation South Melbourne, so gave them a go last night.

Was surprisingly popular and equipment was packed in more tightly than I'm used to. That said I got what I needed - but given that most of the stuff there is machine based, I was just lucky I think. I saw one person doing (not very deep) squats - but can't recall if it was a Smith machine or squat rack though, but didn't see anywhere else to do them.

Was lots of posters covering the walls, each advertising a different PT. FF tends to advertise all their PT's centrally as if they actually work for FF, so that was a change.

Recreation may be closer to what a lot of gyms are re: the gear the have etc, given my experience really is limited to the Platinum QV.

So yeah not a bad place but not suited for me.
 
Have been going to Olympia the past week to check it out.

Definitely an old gym and everything that goes with that (both a good and bad thing). Cheap, relatively close by, and clearly lots of dedicated BB's there. Not many small fry's like me there. They either get scared off or get big I assume!!

Going to see how it goes when I go back to work, re: trying to park there / how busy it is in evening hours. Montague st can be a pain sometimes so need to test it out.

Mostly has everything needed if I were a pure BB, lots of dumbells, and a ton of machines. Only 2 squat racks.

I occasionally like to do box jumps, some plyo work and rebounder ball work. Definitely not an option here (likely the case most other places also).
 
Latest centre checked out today, link here. UltimateYouFitness at 300 City Road, Southbank.

Cheap, close, quiet (for now at least), brand new gear. It's under construction so only half built, but free until launch if you sign up, and $10 per week for anyone that signs up before official launch in Feb.

Has a few power and squat racks, brand new free weights and a decent variety of new hammer strength machines. 3 people myself included had all this to ourselves, though don't expect that to always be that quiet!

They also seem fairly focused on group training - bootcamps, a strongman area, mma/bjj/boxing, spin, lots of KB's and other gear, bands etc. Not too interested in this myself but like some of the gear for some occasional plyometric training (this is what Olympia was missing for me - that said I don't reckon many at Olympia would actually want this gear).

Have a week free so see how it goes.
 
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Results Based Training (Thistlewait St, south melb), is just around the corner from Olympia gym - give that a look, has a big grassed area for plyometrics, and a weights are. Not flash, but goes ok.

also Bodyworld Balaclava, as equipped as you could want a gym.
 
Hdc said:
Results Based Training (Thistlewait St, south melb), is just around the corner from Olympia gym - give that a look, has a big grassed area for plyometrics, and a weights are. Not flash, but goes ok.

also Bodyworld Balaclava, as equipped as you could want a gym.
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Do you use either?

Bodyworld a bit far away for me.

Frustrated as Ultimate You is ok (ok range, but new, close), and good value if I sign up for a year ($10 pw). But could be on the move soon and don't want to sign up for a fixed term - a problem I'll have anywhere.
 
Stewstews said:
Had a free pass for Recreation South Melbourne, so gave them a go last night.

Was surprisingly popular and equipment was packed in more tightly than I'm used to. That said I got what I needed - but given that most of the stuff there is machine based, I was just lucky I think. I saw one person doing (not very deep) squats - but can't recall if it was a Smith machine or squat rack though, but didn't see anywhere else to do them.

Was lots of posters covering the walls, each advertising a different PT. FF tends to advertise all their PT's centrally as if they actually work for FF, so that was a change.

Recreation may be closer to what a lot of gyms are re: the gear the have etc, given my experience really is limited to the Platinum QV.

So yeah not a bad place but not suited for me.
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i just finished up a membership at a re-creation in the outer western suburbs. for a commercial gym i really couldn't say a bad thing about it, 2 squat racks, allowed to deadlift, plenty of free weights, no lines for machines, minimal amount of "brahs" and reasonable pricing. only thing i hated was the hyper extension bench was upstairs so i had to walk up their every time i wanted to use it but the cardio bunnys were up there anyway so it was worth the walk. only reason i didnt renew was ive set up my home gym again in my garage and theres not much i cant do in there that i need a commercial gym for.
 
CaT_SPeW said:
i just finished up a membership at a re-creation in the outer western suburbs. for a commercial gym i really couldn't say a bad thing about it, 2 squat racks, allowed to deadlift, plenty of free weights, no lines for machines, minimal amount of "brahs" and reasonable pricing. only thing i hated was the hyper extension bench was upstairs so i had to walk up their every time i wanted to use it but the cardio bunnys were up there anyway so it was worth the walk. only reason i didnt renew was ive set up my home gym again in my garage and theres not much i cant do in there that i need a commercial gym for.
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Re-creation in South Melbourne sounds similar - it wasn't bad.

The home gym is a serious option. I'll need a gym while I'm living where I am, but if that changes, be looking for somewhere with a shed!
 
Hdc said:
Results Based Training (Thistlewait St, south melb), is just around the corner from Olympia gym - give that a look, has a big grassed area for plyometrics, and a weights are. Not flash, but goes ok.

also Bodyworld Balaclava, as equipped as you could want a gym.
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Checked out RBT last night. Did one of their 6:1 classes as a way to check the place out.

Can get a vanilla no commitment gym membership for $10/w, classes are extra. Not bad. They don't have the most gear from a machine/free weight point of view as setup primarily for classes, at the same time, no one is on that gear! There's enough to get the primary lifts in at least. And they have some boxes etc for plyo's, must check if they have a rebounder/medicine balls. I was the only one there at 8pm.
 
Time for another update as on the search again. Trialed Transcend Health and Fitness in South Melbourne. A deliberately quiet gym, good gear. I don't think they advertise, being more or less a facility for their trainers to use and bring through their clients.

Opening hours only concern for me, closing up 8pm.
 
Also trialed Genesis from this list. Facility seemed a little old, and frankly over-priced. I think they're a good option for the workers in the area needing to get sessions in before work/over lunch etc.
 
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