Westwood Gym

**Portia**

I'm thinking of joining and have a consultation on Thursday. Has anyone got an opinion on this gym and also does anyone know how much I should expect to pay.
Are the Personal trainers there good?
I want to us gym and classes in Morning and evening 7 days a week.

Thanks!

TommyKnocker

Hi There

Which of the 3 Westwood gyms are you thinking of joining/using?


Best Regards,

M

GSOIRL

Hiya

Which one are you thinking of joining? Clontarf(fairview), Leopardstown or Sandymount?

You'll have to pay a joining fee. They'll try to charge you anything between €200 and €500 but don't pay anything more than €80 if you do decide to join. Then it's €75 a month.

Check out this recent post http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055963336

Jessup1

i paid 70 a month wit a joining fee of 100 i think at the time.

i liked the gym. it was jsut mad money. but they have most things ud want and the squash courts there are good.

bubble_wrap

getting on a bit these days, need to update the equipment, the trainers are total rubbish, minimum wage job, i like some of the old trainers though but they left,its gone down hill a bit for what you pay for but its ok i guess

**Portia**

Sorry it's Clontarf. So has it gone a bit dated now?

bubble_wrap

yeah i was in Clontarf, it has gone a bit dated but its kinda down to the manager/managment, for instance they recently painted the gym and done up the reception, put lockers in the mens(which are cheapo crap!), put in a big reception desk in the gym, great you say, i say so too, except they didn't bother to update the damn equipment, you know the stuff that we actually use! so yeah it has gone a bit dated! for what your paying, the gym staff are total rubbish, they let the good ones go, probably over wages, not sure, now when you join they give you a quick demo of your routine, whereas before when i joined(many years ago) they actually took the time to show your your routine over how many days a week it was and stayed with you while you done your exercises(so if you had a 3 day week routine you scheduled to meet up on each specific day for the first week and they took you through it), not anymore, if you want further assistance you gotta pay for a PT session, think you have to buy them in a batch and they are uite pricey, especially now with all the rubbish trainers there. Its stllla good gym and isnt too over crowded because its so pricey but is it still worth that price? i thought not and left, i do miss it but its just not worth it for me anyway!

GSOIRL

As the above poster said. Westwood are managed by hotel managers and therefore it's seems to be about style instead of substance. Reception all slick and loads of fancy tv’s around the place but the equipment not being updated.

The management now insist that the instructors use pre printed programmes for members. So same programmes for everyone. Which is obviously completely stupid.

knird evol

**Portia** wrote: »

Sorry it's Clontarf. So has it gone a bit dated now?

Pretty Good Gymn. There is one lad even, who travels all the way up from Cork every day to it.

bubble_wrap

knird evol wrote: »

Pretty Good Gymn. There is one lad even, who travels all the way up from Cork every day to it.

yeah right!

johnn

GSOIRL wrote: »

As the above poster said. Westwood are managed by hotel managers and therefore it's seems to be about style instead of substance. Reception all slick and loads of fancy tv’s around the place but the equipment not being updated.

The management now insist that the instructors use pre printed programmes for members. So same programmes for everyone. Which is obviously completely stupid.

I think part of the problem is people have no clue anyway when first going into a gym like westwood and would be intimidated if they were led straight over to a power rack in the centre of the gym to be shown squats/deadlifts and the myths about "getting too big" etc. so they have these pre-made workouts that most newbies wouldn't mind doing.

This was what i was like at first anyway and I did machines for ages, but after reading what needs to be done on here mostly i asked for a new programme and told the intructors what i wanted to do and they simply crossed out things on the pre-printed cards and put in my own programme and had no bother watching my form on squats/deadlifts

With regards to the classes OP I only really do the spin class, and they are usually good but the better ones are usually when there is a class sheduled around 6pm and you get a really packed house makes for a good atmosphere and keeps you motivated

**Portia**

Hmm quite mixed reviews, I'm a bit put off now, if it's true that they just give you a generic workout and hassle you for as much of a joining fee as your willing to fork over then I'm not too sure I'm willing to part with my hard earned 75EUR (plus) a month!

GSOIRL

I strongly disagree with you in regards the pre-made programmes. I think they are a shocking thing for a gym to have. Surely the instructor can design a simple non scary programme for a newbie as you say. Every single person will have different experience, goals, past injuries, imbalances, strengths, weaknesses etc etc etc. Programmes should be designed on an individual basis for every single person.

The classes are good in general depending on which instructor is teaching. Most are good.

tomdublin

The other problem with Westwood Clontarf is that the gym floor can get very messy as the dumbells are strewn all over the place. Until about a year ago during busy times they used to have someone who was tidying up the gym floor continuously, but that position has been elminiated. Many weights also aren't clearly labelled, which makes finding them even more difficult. For every exercise it takes several minutes just to find the right dumbells amidst the chaos of the gym floor.

empirix

GSOIRL wrote: »

I strongly disagree with you in regards the pre-made programmes. I think they are a shocking thing for a gym to have. Surely the instructor can design a simple non scary programme for a newbie as you say. Every single person will have different experience, goals, past injuries, imbalances, strengths, weaknesses etc etc etc. Programmes should be designed on an individual basis for every single person.

The classes are good in general depending on which instructor is teaching. Most are good.

seconded - everybody is different and its the responsibility of the trainers to assess an individual, as said above,one could have an injury which a particular exercise could aggravate - really important in my opinion

empirix

tomdublin wrote: »

The other problem with Westwood Clontarf is that the gym floor can get very messy as the dumbells are strewn all over the place. Until about a year ago during busy times they used to have someone who was tidying up the gym floor continuously, but that position has been elminiated. Many weights also aren't clearly labelled, which makes finding them even more difficult. For every exercise it takes several minutes just to find the right dumbells amidst the chaos of the gym floor.

this is annoying but this happens in a lot of gyms, get over it, i do agree though about the weights being labelled accordingly, bloody annoying and an example of equipment needing updating/maintaining!

cagney88

**Portia** wrote: »

Hmm quite mixed reviews, I'm a bit put off now, if it's true that they just give you a generic workout and hassle you for as much of a joining fee as your willing to fork over then I'm not too sure I'm willing to part with my hard earned 75EUR (plus) a month!

I suppose it depends on what you're looking for.

It has a massive variety and is one of the biggest gyms Ive ever been in. For cardio workouts its really good and you never have to wait to use a machine. The pool is olympic size but the sauna etc are a bit dated (people tend to be utter kn**kers when it comes to hygiene too.)

As for the manly, lifting area....I have absolutely no clue.

The way some members try to use 3 different weight machines as the same time and get p*ssy when someone starts using one of 'their' weights is funny to watch though.

TommyKnocker

People doing circuits or metcon type workouts may use multiple machines or benches/weights and it is not always possible to have all the items you are using close together.

IMHO if there is someone close to the a bench or weight or machine, it doesn't take much to ask if they are using the equipment or if you can work in with them.

M

tomdublin

People hoarding weights/equipment are just selfish a$$holes (and Westwood is full of them, though to be fair that probably isn't the gym's fault....). I don't even ask them if I can work in with them I just take whatever I need and let them sulk. It's not nice to monopolize equipment if there are others waiting to use it.

B-Builder wrote: »

People doing circuits or metcon type workouts may use multiple machines or benches/weights and it is not always possible to have all the items you are using close together.

IMHO if there is someone close to the a bench or weight or machine, it doesn't take much to ask if they are using the equipment or if you can work in with them.

M

Scuba Ste

tomdublin wrote: »

People hoarding weights/equipment are just selfish a$$holes (and Westwood is full of them, though to be fair that probably isn't the gym's fault....). I don't even ask them if I can work in with them I just take whatever I need and let them sulk. It's not nice to monopolize equipment if there are others waiting to use it.

But it's really nice to just take things that others are using, go you.:rolleyes:

OP I'd go along with what most others are saying, there's more emphasis on the appearance of the gym than the equipment and the customers health and fitness. It is quite big, lots of room, lots of cardio machines, lots of resistance machines, good free weights equipment. It is very well equipped but the some of the equipment needs replacing imo. The staff are for the most part poor and don't seem too knowledgeable and their pre printed programs are crap.

On the other hand if you want to faff about on a couple of machines and watch tv then its really good.

If your going to use all the facilities like the climbing wall, 50m pool, tennis courts and the gym then it's probably worth the money, if you just want a gym it's not. Tbh for similar money you could join somewhere like Informed Performance and get a much better service.

mollydog99

Why should other people be put out by those doing circuits? Yay you!

WalterMitty

Anyone know how heavy dumbells in westwood clontarf go to?

empirix

in the kinda more hardcore weight room(if you can call it that!), i think its 40kg certainly not over 50kg

Ace2007

So what is westwood like now, is it good or bad?

BigDuffman

tomdublin wrote: »

People hoarding weights/equipment are just selfish a$$holes (and Westwood is full of them, though to be fair that probably isn't the gym's fault....)..

+1 There are some amount of ar$eholes in WW Clontarf. If you go anywhere near peak time the weight room will be a mess of Dumbells. As it seems no-one likes to rerack their weights...also hoarders really get me going.

I tend to leave training till late in the evening 1900 /2000 or else on my lunch break to avoid getting annoyed!

There is a poser / guido like element that tend to hang around in groups tying up benches and weights for ages.

There is also some great lads down there. Some serious lifters are there in the early mornings and late evenings.

All in all though. Good gym, decent facilities they have refitted the weight room and got new weights in (most of which have labels this time!). Don't really have a need to interact with staff / trainers so I can't comment. Also yummy mummys galore