The Energy Club

I’m not a huge fan, to be honest.
So I moved from an area serviced by an Equinox gym, so maybe my expectations are unrealistically high, but my qualms are with some of the basics.
1) Classes are hit or miss. I’ve been in a few good classes, but most of the classes I’ve been in, the instructors are more interested in getting their own workout. Additionally, I’ve been in a few classes where the instructor has not asked about injuries or offered modifications/​corrections. That’s a little scary, as someone who is prone to sports injury.
2) I know technology is *hard* but come on. Most people complain about the lack of cell service and terrible Wi-​Fi. Sure, those are issues that I don’t like, but I’m a bit more worried by the fact that my billing information is collected in a paper-​based medium. I don’t trust this company with my credit card information, since they will collect that piece of paper and do whoknowswhat with it. They need to move to a secure electronic medium. Somehow they are able to do online booking of classes, but they can’t figure out how to do electronic payment/​change of information? Give me a break.
Aside from those concerns, I would say that the club is decent. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible. I think it’s overpriced for what it is, since it’s a small local gym that thinks that it’s a premium gym.

Pros:
Very clean.
Professional and friendly staff.
Equipment is generally in good working order.
TVs at most cardio machines (most of which actually work unlike at Xsport)
Class instructors seem to be good from what I’ve seen (don’t actually attend the classes though)
Personal trainers run the gambit… some seem good… others seem to be checking their phones more than paying attention to their clients (this is just what I’ve seen. have not tried personal training there).
Towel service. I’ve never seen this gym run out of clean towels which is nice.
Cons:
Only one major con: Lack of reliable WiFi is maddening!!! You can’t even get Pandora in most days, but word is that a fix is in the works for this. Hope it’s soon.
Club is small and can get tight during peak hours.
Locker rooms are small and sometimes you go in there and can barely breathe thanks to some dumbass who has used spray deodorant (who the «F» uses spray deodorant anymore!!!) or has sprayed cologne/​perfume.
They often leave the doors to the group class room open and the classes can get very loud so it’s annoying trying to make your ipod music or whatever compete with the noise from the classroom.
Wish they would wait until closing to mop as I hate breathing in ammonia when I work out.

I joined this gym since I worked right next to it, but man… was it a good decision. Favorite gym I’ve ever joined, bar none. I only left it since I moved roughly 3000 miles away. Part of me wishes I had never experienced it (fantastic classes, great trainers, clean facility, friendly staff) because now I’m incapable of joining another gym :/

I’ve been a member of almost all of the major gym chains in the area and I came to The Energy Club looking for a smaller and less hectic experience. Honestly I made the right choice. This gym is perfect for me. I came off a year long break from being physically active so I needed a place that could gently ease me into a routine. I went from dropping in randomly to now showing up 5x a week and progressively meeting my fitness goals. I feel a level of comfort and motivation here that I have not experienced in other places and I think its because of the overall vibe and feeling I get after coming here.
I appreciate that they have a bit of everything. Plenty of up to date cardio machines. You will never wait for a treadmill or elliptical – even if you come at a peak time. There is also a good variety of weight machines and tons of available free weights as well as exercise balls, foam rollers (a must have for stretching!) and resistance bands. There’s even a rock wall.
This gym has a small and kind of awkward (especially downstairs) space but I think they have utilized the space the best they can. I’ve been at peak times after work at like 6pm and it never felt crowded. Everyone is considerate with not hogging machines or weights for long periods of time.
There are tons of classes offered several times throughout the day so even if you have a non-​traditional work schedule you should be able to find a good class to meet your needs.
The staff is friendly and they try to get to know everyone. The members range in age, although most appear to be young professionals. This is totally the place where you can come and work out alone and be in the zone with no one bothering you but if you are feeling chatty and want to meet new people the vibe is also very friendly and people are open especially in the classes.
Also, this is the cleanest gym I have ever been in. It’s the first locker room that I’ve actually felt comfortable showering in. Crews are cleaning constantly.
Like others have said, wi-​fi is spotty but if the worst thing I can say about this place is that the wi-​fi sucks then that’s not bad at all!

Really? I just came in at 9am to ask about a membership and join, but nobody was there and won’t be in until 10am? WTHeck? Could this be a leading indicator about what to expect for service at this gym? — Shucks, that was a bit disheartening, so I left and bought a loaf of bread next door.

I’ve been a member for 7 months, and I’m really loving this place. The staff is friendly and helpful, most of the class instructors are excellent, and the equipment’s clean and well-​maintained.
Yes, Energy Club has a small footprint; it’s an urban fitness club, and space is at a premium. But, the layout is cleverly designed. Also, the locker room is roomy, beautiful, and packed with amenities.
A couple of suggestions for management. First, any health club needs a dedicated stretching area, complete with a padded floor and a big clock with a clear second hand. There were rumors that you were going to create such an area during January 2015 renovations, but it never happened. It’s just wrong that people need to do their post-​workout stretching on the floor between machines. Second, the downstairs is dark and dingy. You might want to add some color, and put something on the concrete floors, to make it more inviting.

I’ve been a member of Energy Club for a year and a half or so. I will say it is true that there is little to no cell service in here. That’s a separate issue from wi-​fi though. Even if you have wi-​fi, your phone calls aren’t going to come through regardless. This is a similar issue at many gyms and studios like my Barre studio in Del ray. Get over it.
I’ve always been really impressed with the cleanliness of this gym. The bathrooms are always clean. They have all the products you’d ever need (razors, shampoo, conditioner, tissues, hair dryers, mouthwash). I could actually shower here and not think I’ll get a disease. Would never do that at Golds or other large gyms.
The staff is also very friendly. Positive vibes all around in here. Nice, small boutique gym and while I was worried it might get too crowded, I feel they have maintained a nice level of membership to keep it feeling comfortable and not overcrowded.
Tabata with Lindsay is really good but crowded. If you’re into Zumba, all of the instructors are great. The spin classes are all solid too.

I absolutely miss the Energy Club! Karmina and Deana took care of me while I lived in the area. The staff was welcoming and friendly. There was ALWAYS someone CLEANING and maintaining the equipment/​machines and the ladies’ locker room/​restrooms. The water bottle station was touchless. The music was upbeat and up-​to-​date, so I didn’t have to listen to my own music. The classes made me sweat hard, were intense, had high-​impact and challenging choreography. There were monthly events, wine tastings, fundraisers and Zumba parties. It was great meeting new people who lived nearby. Wifi should be offered since cell phone service wasn’t available. The layout can be improved, but the space seemed to work. I wouldn’t mind paying this club membership again.

This place is wrong for soooo many reasons. Extremely small, which makes working out uncomfortable and very awkward. The equipment is old, outdated, and regularly ‘under the weather.’ No WiFi or cell service in the gym, which is borderline amazing in today’s day in age. The manager, Joanne, is clueless. STAY AWAY. This town is saturated with gyms that are way better.

I can’t believe I haven’t written a review about this place yet! I’ve been a member since September 2013 and really have enjoyed my time there.
I’ve tried a lot of the classes and have also worked with a trainer. I did Crossfit for a short period of time too, but unfortunately it had to be eliminated due to lack of space. I absolutely love Zumba with Karmina! Her energy is unlike any instructor I’ve ever encountered. If you’re having a bad day just take a class with Karmina and you’ll feel a lot better! I can’t wait to take Piloxing with her this week!
I love to take Tabata with Matt during the warmer weather because it’s held outside on the roof of the parking garage. There’s a ton of space for a lot of people. Unfortunately, once the weather changes the class is moved inside and you have to sign up due to limited space. During this time I choose to do other things.
I tried Body Pump for the first time tonight with JoAnne and loved it! I’m definitely looking forward to doing this class regularly. She’s bubbly and personable and I didn’t feel like I stuck out like a sore thumb.
All in all, I really love this gym. They did a mini makeover recently and added some new equipment so understandably the membership fee increased, but only by $ 5. I’d say that’s a small price to pay to be a part of such a great gym.

I will agree with the 2014 review of user «AB S,» below, the Energy club begs to be inside of a larger space. Wifi is a problem. In 2016, a review of the gym’s cramped space and its wifi delivers the gym a 1 – 2 star rating. My two cents … the gym should relocate /​expand or keep its membership at more rational levels given its small size.
The machinery and equipment is usually in working order. The gym is cleaned by dedicated cleaning staff. The staff is friendly and seem to enjoy working here. The members are nice. Classes are plentiful. These aspects deliver the gym a 4 – 5 star rating.
On average a 3 star rating is fair … A ⁴⁄₅ star rating would be fair if the gym had wifi and a space to stretch and jump rope without being stepped over by other members.

Coming from a privately owned gym on Long Island that was voted the best group fitness classes 8 years in a row it was hard to relocate and try to find that kind of gym again.
Then I found the energy club. It is on the pricier side BUT they offer a variety of classes all day long which makes it easy for anyone to attend, no matter what your schedule. My favorite class (along with pretty much everyone else) is tabata with Matt. He has made my transition to the Virginia area gym scene so much easier just by being himself. My other favorite class is energy combat, which is the most intense boxing class I’ve ever tried, and I kickboxed 4 times a week for the last 5 years.
The only thing I don’t like is the fact you’re only given a 3 day pass. For someone who is heavily into group fitness I think you need at least a week to try different classes and instructors just to see if it’s the right fit for you, especially given the monthly membership fee.
If you’re looking for a great gym in the alexandria/​Arlington area, look no further

The classes and their scheduled times are great for an early-​riser or someone like me who likes to come later after work and into the evening. 6am High Intensity Training (HIT) classes with David or Adrian are great replacements for coffee! The Body Pump, Yoga, Zumba, Spin classes in the evenings are superb.

Gosh, I felt the need to write a Unilocal review for the energy club to respond to Erin O’s review. I’ve been going to the Energy Club since 2005, on an average of four to five times a week.
1. The gym is clean. Cleaner than most gyms. Yes, one of the work out rooms doubles as a child care room, but unless you are putting your mouth on the toys (which are kept out of the way), there’s no way you are going to pick up a kids’ germs. You don’t need to be an expert in epidemiology to understand this. The allegations about strep just illustrates the reviewer’s ignorance.
2. The cleaning crew is there nearly every time I work out (which is four to five times a week). I know Juan personally and knew his wife, Anna, when she cleaned for the Energy Club. In ten years — with probably the number of visits in the thousands — I can count on one hand how often they’ve been out of towels, etc. The cleaning crew numbers three, four strong.
3. My wife takes a number of their classes and finds them to be sufficiently challenging, apart from one or two classes, which she has spoken to management about.
4. The equipment is always well maintained and top-​notch (as are the trainers.) I work at 101 Constitution and stay at a lot of four, five star hotels and the equipment at the Energy Club is far superior.
5. Yes, half of the gym is in a basement, but the lighting is good and the ceilings high. I don’t know about LA, but there’s a variety of locations for gyms in the DC area, including basements, strip malls, office buildings, etc.
6. Most classes start late because of a combination of work schedules and the DC commute.
7. Can’t speak to the contract, but I do find the Energy Club a little on the expensive side.
All in all, I’m obviously happy. Do I wish they had a pool? Yes. Would I like to pay a little less, yes? What’s great about the Energy Club is that they do foster a sense of community (happy hours, etc… even if I don’t really partake in it) and they have found that middle ground that’s so important for a gym: not overcrowded, but not dead either.
With all due respect to Erin O., her review is way off (with the illness comments just beyond comprehension). Then, again, she did favorably review Zaytinya, which is just about the biggest cliché in the entire DC metro area.

I enjoy being a member of this gym. The equipment is always clean, the classes and instructors are fun. The bathrooms are equipped with anything a girl could need.
***Before you join, you should be aware there is NO cell phone service in the building at all. Energy Club NEEDS to improve their WiFi.***
If you intend to workout to any streaming music, YouTube, pandora– you need to connect to their wifi which is unacceptably slow in my opinion.
Other than that issue, it’s a great gym. But having music to work out to is extremely important to me so until they improve their spotty wifi, I can only give three stars. Having strong WiFi these days should not be difficult for a gym that costs a fair amount a month to belong to!

I was a member here for a few months, and enjoyed the gym because I was able to work out midday when no one else was there. I like free-​weights and also high intensity intervals, so I liked using the fitness class rooms and spin bikes when they were free. Fast forward to working normal business hours and the place is super crowded during rush hour. I can’t even do a jumping jack in a corner without being in someone’s way. Forget about jumping rope. I know jumping rope takes up a good amount of space, but there is absolutely no place for one person to jump rope. Same thing with stretching; there’s no space to lay on the floor and stretch out without someone stepping over you.
The initial «free fitness assessment» that I got when I signed up was a joke. First, the trainer sighed like it was such an inconvenience to do it, even though I scheduled the appointment with him. Second, it wasn’t helpful or enlightening at all.
A few of the trainers are good, but a few could be let go. Steve’s off-​color comments are inappropriate and his training style is to energetically count for you, but not much else. Bruce’s you’re-wasting-my-time-and-I-hate-working-here attitude got old. Tabata instructor Matt is great.
I think crowded gyms are inevitable in Northern VA, so that’s probably not Energy’s fault. I got tired of it, though, and would avoid going to the gym because I didn’t want to deal with the parking and the crowded space. I cancelled my membership and will look elsewhere.

So disappointed. I moved from LA in July and cannot find a decent gym in the area. I worked out at Equinox in LA and loved going to the gym everyday.
I settled on energy club as I was told that the instructors were top notch and some of them came from EQuinox. Due to my move, I barely worked out for three months and felt that my fitness level was low. I was worried about not being able to keep up in the classes. Much to my dismay, I took several classes and barely broke a sweat or had a challenging workout. The spin room is terrible. There are like 15 very old crotchety bikes. I took a few classes that were terrible and so low energy-​not what you want in a spin class. The absolute worst was an instructor naked Cheryl. She played cool down music during speed runs and was very awkward. The classes of 15 people max don’t fill up. Most spin classes I’ve been in have 50 bikes and fill up. The schedule does not offer enough variety of classes. If you work out at 530 right after work, the only classes are yoga or some sort of stretching class. Want to take pump of tabata? Need to wait until 730.
Even though the gym offers free mats, they are ripped up and never cleaned. I found the gym dingy and dirty. It’s dark and in a basement. Also the child care room doubles as the yoga studio. That’s gross. Kids are full of germs and this gym is not cleaned on a regular basis. Since I’ve been taking classes, I’ve contracted an eye infection and strep throat. Disgusting.
I tried this gym for about a month and a half. It’s clearly not for me. I was told initially that the contract was not difficult to get out of if I was really displeased. The person who signed me up, is of course no longer there.
The worst part is this gym is like $ 80 a month and they think they are a boutique gym. I will be doing everything to get out of this membership. I can work out better and smarter on my own.

This place is really great — from the process of trying it out and sign up to using it day-​to-​day.
The Energy Club has the opposite business model of most gyms, which make money when customers DON’T come.

I’ve been a member of this gym for several months now and I’m hooked. The group classes are quite challenging and the instructors are top notch. The schedule offers enough variety so that I don’t get bored too. I’ve taken just about every class and I recommend them all, especially Tabata and Zumba. The locker rooms are also very well-​kept, which I truly appreciate!
My only gripes are that I have gotten inaccurate information from the front desk on the 3 – 4 occasions that I’ve called to ask questions about the group classes and no one ever contacted me to arrange my free personal training session when I joined so I just let it go.

I go to the gym for cardio machines and classes. If I wanted weights and a cheap membership fee, I would go to Gold’s. I used to like this gym because it was clean, the machines were nice, it felt new and I liked having fresh towels available.
When I went today, the first elliptical I got on had gum on the front of it and some trash in the cup holder. I’ll blame that on sloppy, previous users and not the gym. I threw away the trash and decided to ignore the gum… then I realized the sound didn’t work on the TV so I stopped my workout and switched. The second elliptical had an «out of service» sign on it. I skipped to the third and started doing my thing. Within a few seconds, the rubber casing on the arms started flopping off because they are over used and had not been glued down. I was losing time so I decided to just ignore the problem though it was very distracting.
Fast forward 30 minutes and I go downstairs for a class. There is a wait outside the studio. When the doors finally open from the previous class, everyone rushes in to get a spot. I grab my gear and set up only to realize I am off by a day and it is not Body Pump but Tabata, which I have never taken. The instructor first makes fun of me and says «this isn’t a step class, crazy». I explained that I had the days mixed up and then asked what I needed for Tabata. He said I needed a yoga mat and directed me to the area where they normally are but had all been taken. I decided just to use a towel and started looking for a spot. I felt like a kid on a school bus as everyone kept saying «this space is taken… no room here». The instructor made no effort to help me find a place. With no room available, I left feeling crappy and embarrassed.
I went back upstairs to use a treadmill and while the sound worked, the monitor did not. It’s hard enough to get to the gym at the end of the day when you are tired and miserable. And the Energy Club let me down big time. The machines are old and broken, the instructor was not welcoming, there wasn’t even room for me and I left feeling depressed.
Oh, and to top it all off, when I got home I had a letter in the mail saying they were raising their rates. Must be for the laundry services; they always have plenty of towels.
I think I will be looking for a new gym tomorrow. Gold’s couldn’t be this bad. At least you get what you pay for.