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April 10, 2006
Onward And Upward
Posted at April 10, 2006 06:11 AM in Health/Fitness .
Well, my interest in the Altadena 24-Hour Magic Johnson Sport club has waned. Though it is a minute or two from home my club experience was more like a nightmare than a joyful experience.
My first evening there I found the club impressive. Though I never made it to the sauna – the reason why I was there in the first place – I did enjoy the steam room and the facilities were nice and comfortable. However, my second evening there I, and a few other middle-aged folks, were completely ignored because the girls were more interested in looking into the eyes of every young boy that showed up, every young boy who showed up to jump in front of us old folks knowing the girls would be more interested in looking at them. As such, we old folks decided to just walk into the club and guess what, we were never stopped, by anyone.
That same evening, though I was able to sit in the sauna, the temperature gauge told me the sauna was not working. In fact, the temperature was actually decreasing as I and a couple of other women looked on. Two other women joined us and one of them complained bitterly about the club and its facilities. She said the sauna worked the day prior but there were too many bodies in there so she left. Here it was Friday and the thing was not working. Needless to say, back to the steam room I went on Friday and vowed to return over the weekend to hopefully use the sauna.
This weekend I heard a number of complaints about the club and the complaints came mostly from women. Many feel the club was not set up with women’s safety in mind. Some of the complaints I heard hinged on the unisex sauna and steam room. This was a bit disconcerting to me as well; however, the Pasadena club has unisex facilities as does the Glendale Super Sport. In essence, and this is what I told a few women I spoke with this weekend, many women fought for inclusion, equality, etc. and as such, unisex facilities are pretty much standard procedure now. If women continue to do some of what I’ve heard like storm the men’s sauna, within their locker room, to protest poor service in their own sauna, then yes, unisex is better than maintaining separate facilities.
I certainly understood their complaints and now, armed with a bit more information, the women understood this as standard faire and if they’re interested in 24-hour fitness facilities, particularly the ones nearby, this is what they will see and experience unless they are willing to travel to an older club which might have separate facilities.
Now yes, I did note the outside door is too close to the pool area where the sauna, steam room, pool and women’s locker rooms are. And yes, I did see this as a potential problem. And yes, the women’s locker room is too easy to access. And yes, the parking structure is a problem particularly when you see guys in long white t-shirts hanging out in there. For those who did not join during the presale, they are grateful. For those who did, they are angry and bitter hens.
Speaking of bitter hens, I was a bitter hen on Sunday evening when I walked in hoping to finally see and use the sauna. Upon entry and because there were no young men to occupy the young women there, I was told the club is no longer honoring the 10-day passes. It did not matter I had only been there twice. It did not matter Sunday counted as day four for my pass. It did not matter. The young woman told me I could not enter using “that card.” I did not have a card, I had a piece of paper printed from my printer but then, that’s semantics.
I returned home and fired off a “bitter hen” email to their corporate offices. Needless to say, I’ve heard nothing from them and I honestly do not expect I will. In truth, their website states the 10-day passes are at the discretion of the clubs and could be revoked without warning. Truly, this was without warning and I am a believer everything happens for a reason.
Though I wanted to explore something closer to home, in truth, the club is not for me. The club is more for young people, not older or middle-aged folks like me as was the experience Friday evening. The club really is not safe for women unless she’s packing Mr. Smith’s & Mr. Wesson’s 22A, 22S or a Thunder Ranch, just in case. Okay, so I’m a little fond of those little fellas.
In truth, there is no safe place in the world. In an ideal society – which we do not have – you might look for and expect safety everywhere. The best we can do is maintain our guard and hope for the best. My grievance with the club has more to do with service and the feel of walking into a Costco or Sam’s Club, not a fitness facility. I’ll give the club another couple of years before revisiting the place. At this point I think I’ve made my decision.
I did have two other clubs in mind prior to hearing of the opening of the Altadena club. Now, having had the experience, I’ve decided to join my friends over at Equinox and L.A. Fitness. Why two clubs? Well, not only is that the popular thing these days but for me, Equinox has a few amenities I like, actually, I really, really, like this club. Equinox has a spa (shiatsu message, oh my), Pilates, yoga, and a steam room. Unfortunately, they close early on the weekends. L.A. Fitness has a sauna and are open later during the week which works fabulously well with my schedule.
Though I have a lot of workout equipment here at home, it’s nice to go out somewhere to enjoy the camaraderie of others but the sauna is a must. Sure, it would have been nice to jump in the car, walk, or ride my bike to a club that is not even a minute away but, everything happens for a reason and I think this is best for me.
Okay, so onward and upward because I’m looking to be a “video ho” by summer. Okay, I’m just joking. I’m not serious, I’m joking – just a little.
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