[tbrock555]

I see a few rec centers have what they call fitness centers, I am guessing a gym. Does anyone know about these gyms, how good, or not good, are they. Free weights, machines, cardio equipment, Heavy bag, battle ropes? What about the private gyms, I see there are MVP Athletic clubs and Anytime Fitness gyms in area. Any info on those, amenities, prices, other gyms, etc. Thanks for any info.

[Accidental1]

In my opinion, the fitness centers are adequate for the clientele. They have a decent assortment of weight and cardio machines but to my knowledge you won't find heavy bags, battle ropes, or free weights (other than dumbbells). The fitness centers are relatively small, perhaps a couple thousand sq-ft.

[JerryLBell]

My wife and I had been members of Lifetime Fitness in North Carolina before moving here. This is a chain of gigantic gyms that are open 24x7 with hundreds of pieces of equipment, multiple fitness rooms, climbing walls, racquetball courts, pools, etc., etc. Coming here was a bit of a shock. The workout facilities at some of the regional rec centers are basic at best. A dozen or so pieces of equipment (treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, etc.) with no classes and with fairly limited hours. We glanced at the Anytime Fitness on State Road 44 and kept on going. Unless it pulls some kind of Doctor Who magic and is bigger on the inside than the outside, it is a small gym. We ended up joining MVP (they only have two locations, one in Brownwood, one in Spanish Springs) and thought of them as a fraction of what we had been used to despite charging nearly as much. However, once we joined and started taking some of the classes, we found we really liked the gym. The only downside to them is that they can get really crowded. When the snowbirds are in town and January comes around with everybody making a New Years resolution to get fit, it gets hard to even find parking near them. A couple of years ago, United Healthcare (an extremely popular health insurance provider here due to their tight relationship with the Villages health system) started including memberships with many of their plans. Whoopee! Free gym membership! The crowd situation got even worse. We gave up going for January and February last year as we just couldn't get in. Then COVID hit and they closed for a while. When they opened, they did so at reduced capacity, particularly with classes. I think they're doing as good a job as anybody could possibly do, but you now have to get reservations 24 hours before classes open or you cannot attend them. That can be tricky as some classes fill to capacity very, very quickly. As more of us get our vaccinations and we approach herd immunity, they will probably open back up to full capacity and we'll get back to normal, which means busy-to-extremely-busy in the winter and pretty available during the summer. I do wish they would open up a few more locations to handle the explosive growth in The Villages to the south of State Road 44 though I haven't heard of any plans to do so.

Keep in mind that the clientele of any gym in The VIllages will be mostly or all Villagers. If you're expecting a Gold's Gym-type experience with VERY muscular and steroid-enhanced young men grunting while lifting massive weights to impress themselves and others, you will be disappointed. What you get are a bunch of retirees working hard not to get massively fit but instead to just slow down our inevitable declines. And you won't get a lot of negative judgement if you are in less-than-optimal condition yourself.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

I used to go to mvp I left area and when I came back I decided I couldn’t do what I wanted because of the crowd, I missed the friends I made there but I moved down to planet fitness in Leesburg yes it’s a little far to go but I love it there . I go around noon and I can get my workout in as fast as I want , I can move between machines and benches and not worry about people sitting and socializing . The place is very clean and there is quite a bit of equipment both weights, cardio and machines and all for less then $10 a month and as far as the drive , do you really have someplace to go ? I’m 82 and it’s not a problem for me so why should it be for you . Try it you’ll like it first left off 44 then left at the Publix it looks small outside but it’s very big , go Patriots tonight get that QB

[karenzeee]

That's the one downside to TV is the gyms and the prices. They are so expensive if you don't have silver sneakers yet. MVP is beautiful, but almost $400 to lift weights is outrageous. I am not a class person, just like lifting. I too will find an outside gym to join for $10 a month. Not a fan of Planet Fitness, as they are geared towards cardio machines. But the search is on, so any suggestions to a good inexpensive gym for lifting would be appreciated. I am in the Northern part of TV Thanks!

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

You must be thinking of some other place I’ve been in all the gyms in area , none have as many free weights as planet fitness this is not like the gyms at home in Boston or when I winter in Hawaii or Miami Besch ( before Covid ) but there’s nothing you can’t do with the free weights here , double racks going up to 110 lbs at some weights 4 sets of each weight and 2 machines for every body part, 2 rooms for an work and free fitness lessons every day and one room with a 30 minute cycle of exercise machines

[tbrock555]

Thank you all for your replies. As someone mentioned here, I am most definetly not a young steroid induced lunkhead. Though I do enjoy lifting, free weights and machines. Also love hitting the heavy bag but I know in most places they are hard to find, don't know why, great workout and stress reliever. I am not a class person, I prefer just working out on my own. I am not anti social, am actually very social, just when working out I like to get in and get it done, then we talk all you want. Just asking these questions because on another thread I saw some pretty negative comments about the fitness centers inside the rec centers. Will be coming down for a stay next week so I guess I will find out first hand. Again, thank you all for your responses, appreciated.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by tbrock555

I see a few rec centers have what they call fitness centers, I am guessing a gym. Does anyone know about these gyms, how good, or not good, are they. Free weights, machines, cardio equipment, Heavy bag, battle ropes? What about the private gyms, I see there are MVP Athletic clubs and Anytime Fitness gyms in area. Any info on those, amenities, prices, other gyms, etc. Thanks for any info.

Village Community Development Districts

[elevatorman]

Planet Fitness Leesburg-- one day free trail. $10/mo. with 1 year commitment. $15/mo. no commitment. Never had to wait for a device or free weights. Short drive.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I got to Anytime Fitness. There is one in Lady Lake on 466 about a half mile east of Rolling Acres, one on 27/441 in Summerfield and one on 44 in Wildwood. They are part of the Silver Sneakers program which is included in my and and many other Medicare supplemental and advantage plans.