Chicago Area Bally Total Fitness Locations: Review

This guide will provide the locations of the various Chicago Bally Total Fitness gyms, along with relevant commentary. Overall, Bally is a no-frills establishment for those that are able to work out irrespective of creature comforts and various bells and whistles. Extensive marketing, cheap membership fees, and nationwide locations are the ultimate draw in regards to this franchise

Still, the Bally Corporation is languishing beneath piles of debt and is seemingly always teetering upon outright collapse. The company is embroiled in scandal - notorious for strong arming contracts and payments.

Service and cleanliness have declined noticeably at all of these locations. Legions of workout fanatics are dumping their Bally's memberships in exchange for the 24-hour XSport Fitness clubs that compete in and around the Windy City. Still, Bally's remains the cheapest option and is a solid value for the straightforward consumer.

Let's introduce and review the several Bally's locations that are within Chicago City Limits.

Chicago Loop Bally's Total Fitness Locations

East Washington

25 E. Washington Street

(312) 372 - 7755

River City - Bally Sports Club

800 S. Wells Street

(312) 431 - 0100

Both of these gyms carry similar demographics. The downtown crowd is mixed ethnically and the two Bally locations cater to the after-work white collar set. These gyms are dead after 7:00 p.m., and East Washington is closed on the weekends.

The Bally Sports club is more aesthetically appealing than 25 E. Washington. The River City spot features racquetball, greater numbers of machines and an open, airy layout, with views of the South Branch of the Chicago River. Of course, Bally's members must pay up for service, and fees to sign up for Sport Clubs may cost an additional $50 per month, or $175 extra for existing members to convert.

The 25 E. Washington location is notorious for dirt and grime. The locker rooms are despicable, theft is a possibility, the women are snooty, and this place seems to be a strange meeting place for "Down Low" brothers. Oh yes, athletes are promptly ushered off the gym floor 15 minutes prior to closing. Besides that, the employees seem nice.

North Side Chicago Area Bally's Total Fitness Locations

Century City

2828 N. Clark Street

(773) 929 - 6900

Century City does offer the best views of the Chicago skyline from the top - level. Yuppie white people predominantly make up the crowd. Black people that frequent this gym are few and far in between. African Americans working out at Century are generally highly educated transplants new to Chicago, and have moved into Lakeview from the Coasts. Besides the race element, this gym attracts a litany of "non conformists" and freak shows.

This is Lincoln Park.

Century City is a good place for men to meet women that are in shape. First, cardiovascular health is stressed on the North Side. Secondly, the amount of gay men that frequent this gym definitely slashes the pool of regular competition.

Webster Place

1455 W. Webster Avenue

(773) 929 - 8114

Webster Place is a toned down version of Century City. The crowd is younger and predominantly white. Interestingly, this is the closest gym in the city to the largely economically depressed West Side of Chicago, which sometimes makes for an interesting mix.

Webster Place clientele typically place more of an emphasis upon cardio, than strength training. Banging 225 on the bench for reps is not the routine here.

Street parking is readily available within the surrounding neighborhood at Southport. The movie theatre, Potbelly Sandwiches, and dive bars across Clybourn add flavor to the tedium of working out. These adjacent watering holes are stomping grounds for Big 10 and University of Arizona alumni. Webster Place is a good couples gym because of the prevailing entertainment options.

Six Corners

3970 N. Milwaukee Avenue

(773) 481 - 2400

This is a largely Hispanic crowd. The clientele becomes increasingly older and more blue-collar as we work away from the Loop. The people at Six Corners are genuinely friendly and down to earth.

Personally, I like to rock out with a large $5 Little Caeser's pizza at Irving and Portage Park before hitting this gym.

Hey, at least I did not scarf down a Wendy's Baconator this time!

Cumberland

5444 N. Cumberland Avenue

(773) 380 - 8600

Cumberland proves that Chicago does indeed feature the world's second largest Polish population behind Warsaw. This gym is stiflingly cliquish and it appears as if these patrons have been working out every day together for the past fifteen years.

Rogers Park

7529 N. Clark Street

(773) 274 - 1686

Rogers Park is a newer construction that features the most diverse crowd of all the Chicago gyms. The locker rooms carry flat panel televisions, which may be viewed from various sight lines. Still, something seems a bit artificial about this place. The "feel" is best described as stale. Maybe, it's the rubber weights and flooring. Maybe, it's the Northwestern kids and cookie cutter stainless steel rehabbed condos that sprung up along Howard Street amidst the foregone real estate boom.

I do hate that piped in Fleetwood Mac music.

Skokie

3200 W. Touhy Avenue

(847) 647 - 5600

This gym is right across the canal and Skokie border from Chicago. This is a mixed crowd per age, sex, and race. There is nothing terribly notable about the strip mall location. Skokie - Touhy Bally is like, um, so Midwest. Well, parking is plentiful, at least!

South Side Chicago Bally's Total Fitness Locations

Hyde Park - Bally Sports Club

1301 W. 47^th Street

(773) 924 - 9889

This is the Bally for Black people to see and be seen. Does anybody even exercise at this place?

Da Bears train during the offseason here.

Enough said.

Westport Commons

3348 W. 87^th Street

(773) 925-0400

This is Skokie - South. Westport Commons is located at a strip mall, across from Evergreen Park and Luther South School. 87th and Kedzie Bally features a mixed crowd, but with larger amounts of African Americans than the Northern outlying areas. I find nothing notable about this place.

Well, there does seem to be a solid mix of young, good-looking women; and regular old-timers still pretending to be players. I stay getting challenged by middle-aged men at Westport - desperate to prove that there is still something left in the tank.

Ease off, Old Man!

Chatham Ridge

112 W. 87^th Street

(773) 994-0203

Chatham Ridge is where you go to get SWOL.' Period.

Besides morning Boot Camp aerobics, there are no women here.

The few ladies that do venture out onto the floor will be approached consecutively by a parade of aggressive suitors. I must speculate that some of these females actually show up simply to flirt with, and ogle the men.

Black males dominate the crowd, and this is the baddest, meanest, roughest, toughest Bally's in Chicago. I promise you, during the peak morning hours, it would appear as if particular clientele actually live at the gym. Why are you not at work at 11 a.m.? Why are you wearing jeans to the health club?

The 87^th Street location does double as a meeting place for Black Males to chop up Game.

This is muscle beach. Men that cannot bench - press 225 pounds for a clean, 10 reps should never dare to show their faces at Chatham. Respected senior citizens may get a pass on this mandate. However, weaklings shall stay in Hyde Park, or continue west along 87^th Street to Westport to get their collective weight up, first.

Do not embarrass yourself.

Chicago Area Bally Total Fitness Locations - Review, Sources:

The Official Web Site of Bally Total Fitness, http://www.ballyfitness.com/

City Search, Bally Total Fitness Chicago Reviews, http://chicago.citysearch.com/profile/11648472/chicago_il/bally_total_fitness.html#profileTab-reviews

Google Maps, Bally Total Fitness Chicago Locations and Reviews, http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=bally+total+fitness+chicago+locations&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&ei=FUsnSqnuOIP0Mtyw9YYF&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&resnum=4