Richie’s Gym

Great gym for the price.
If you walk in without earplugs your ears will explode, not because the loud, good hip hop, but from people throwing weights.
Its one of the dirtiest places on earth, but one get used to that.

No frills, no BS, no contracts. Love this gym. They’ve got 2 half-​racks, a full power rack, three flat benches, and plenty of barbells, dumbbells, treadmills & ellipticals, lots of equipment. There’s no spa, no luxuries, bare bones locker rooms, though they do make their own protein shakes at the front. Rates are incredibly cheap. I only go once a week so I just pay the door fee of $ 5 each time.

This is not a fancy gym with classes and amenities. Here, membership is cheap ($ ²⁵⁄₁ month, $ ³⁵⁄₂ months, $ ⁷⁵⁄₅ months, $ 150/​year) and you get working equipment to get the job done. 5 or 6 elliptical machines, a dozen treadmills, 4 recumbent bikes and some steppers. The rest of the space is for weights. I mainly go for cardio and almost never had to wait for an elliptical — just know the busy times (around 6−7pm when most folks get out of work). Ample weight equipment to choose from. First visit can be a little intimidating, but you’ll find that everyone is there to get their workouts done and mean business. Use what you’re there to use, wipe the machine down and let the next person on — you’ll be fine.

I’m probably the only white person here. But nobody’s ever been a dick about it.
The M train runs past every few minutes and rumbles everything. I find it charming.
Uh… the boombox blares rap I hate but whatever. I really fucking hate all gym music anyway.
It’s not Equinox. But if I wanted a pristine shower or a pool I’d join some joint that’s steeper with like membership fees and shit… people here are all pretty serious about their workouts. They hit the machines. You can work in. It’s like… idk… tough guys, but extremely polite.
I like it here.

Having only seen prison workout yards on tv, I have to say that this gym comes pretty close to the real life version. Ancient equipment packed tightly, very poor lighting, and sanitizers were NO where in sight. It’s pretty gross. The women’s locker room left much to be desired. I kept praying that my items would still be secured in my locker. Everything is just old
Mamma always said you get what u pay for… parking also sucks…

I am no longer a member but my experience prompted me to write a review.
PROS:
— Cheap membership (I think at the time I was paying $ 20/​month) and full of free weight equipment primarily. At other gyms such as Planet Fitness you will pay the same money but don’t expect to find a real squat rack. So it really depends on what you’re looking for.
— The art on the walls of famous body builders was entertaining
— Community: People would help each other and push each other. They take training very seriously there and as a previous competitive powerlifter this is exactly what I wanted. I felt comfortable asking other members for their advice on how to use specific equipment, do particular dumbbell lifts I wanted to try, etc.
CONS:
— Dirty, like really dirty. After a workout I’d go into the bathroom and wash my hands and the water would turn completely brown. There are mounds of dust everywhere and at one point I was doing some ham work while the AC dripped dirty water on me.
— Like many other people say, absolutely no frills. No classes, towels, no sauna, etc.
— Gross creepy men. Unfortunately as a small female I don’t have the luxury of working out while not being looked at like something someone can jerk off into. On multiple occasions I would be doing pull ups and have men come up and stare at me and lick their lips. I felt pretty violated on many occasions, but this is not really the gyms fault… it’s society. Although they could encourage respect into their promoted culture/​branding.

Great gym, cool & diverse members! Awesome, and helpful staff. This gym is a great pillar in the Brooklyn community cardiovascular equipment that you never have to wait for! The focus of this gym is to lift, you can define try do many other types of training, but it’s a lifting and cardio kind of gym, great shakes and drinks to help you get it going. The price a steal!
The gym has world members whom all have groundbreaking fitness experience, to train within their company is an honor if you get the chance, this is THE BROOKLYN MECCA of bodybuilding.

The price is right, the equipment is good, and it’s probably better than the 3 stars I’m giving… What kills it (sorry) is the ugh «music» forced into everyone’s ears for the entire time we’re there after work. The majority of guests wear headphones to drown out the noise. Other than that, the place is perfect =]

The clientele is more diverse than the other reviews would indicate. There are the grunting massive dudes doing bench presses — and nothing’s wrong with that — but there are plenty of other body types and genders here as well.
That said, the focus of the place clearly is on weightlifting. There are some cardio machines, but not many. There are not really any non-​weight accessories (no jump ropes, mats, ab rollers, etc.). And the lack of stretching space is a downer.
Very cheap membership rates.

Pros:
— This place is cheap. 75 for five months is a great deal to me.
— Great hours (it’s open until 11pm during the week).
— If you are a free weight lifter like me they have three squat cages so you can get your stronglifts/​wendler/​whatever done.
Cons:
— No 2.5 lb. weights (I bring my own, the other one in Ridgewood does have 2.5’er weights, though).
— NO ONE ever puts the weights back and many times they just flop them n the floor. Be prepared to hunt for anything that isn’t a 45 lb. weight.
— It gets crowded at night, so be prepared to wait if you need to use a machine.

If this were Richie’s two years ago, I’d give it 4 stars. It was no frills, mostly just weights and lifters. Some machines were broken but it wasn’t super crowded so there were alternatives. No judgments whether you’re new or experienced. I really liked it.
Now, it costs more and there was no tradeoff-​it got way worse and way more crowded. Machines are old and break constantly. It takes management months to fix it. Dumbbells are never in the right place, even in the morning when you’d assume they put them away properly the night before. It’s incredibly dirty. The clientele are super disrespectful, never put their weights back, and leave their bags on equipment they aren’t using. No rules are enforced by the management, who need to start refusing service to certain clientele. I know Planet Fitness and Crunch are worse, but this is only slightly better (it’s like comparing a turd sandwich to a giant douche). I’ve been going here for a few years now and once my contract is up I’m not going back. jeez I’d rather go to the Y… or hell.

The gym is old but you can get a decent workout. My issue is the gym allows a man named Frank to train people he is unpredictable, unprofessional and violent and I learn this lesson after I paid my money for him to work as my personal trainer he is also a thief. He became abusive and violent when he became angry about my lateness. He threatened me, cursed me out and told me to suck his private part. And the people who run the gym did nothing to help me. Please do not give Frank any of your business. Ever!

This gym is the real deal, no frills, i-​want-​to-​get-​ripped, no excuses gym. No cutsey gym outfits from chicks. No spin or yoga classes. Straight up rusty weights, dumbells and pullup bars. Plenty of equipment for you to get right for life. Everyone here is ripped… like prison yard at 12pm ripped. They are all friendly and welcoming. No problems asking for a spot and they will encourage you and teach you new things as long as you’re about your business.
Also the price cant be beat.
Oh and there is a sign refraining people from wearing timberlands on the treadmills, lol

$ 25 for 1 month, $ 35 for 2 months, $ 75 for 5 months. No other fees, no contract required. It’s no Equinox… but for the price, I’m more than ok with it.
This gym is dirty looking, no one puts their weights away, there’s no barbell clips or 2.5lb plates to be found (maybe I haven’t looked hard enough?). Plenty of dumbbells, barbells, benches and cable machines. There are 2 squat racks and one power cage. The women’s locker room is fairly clean, and the paintings of famous bodybuilders on the walls are a nice touch. Good enough!

This is a REAL HARDCORE GYM! There are no house trainers, floor staff racking weights, people pestering you about your workout, fancy bathrooms, or eucalyptus towels. It is the only gym I know that only charge $ 5 for a daily non-​member rate and only 20 – 30 $ /​month depending on if they are running a special. This is a place where you go to sweat, train, and be around people that are there for one purpose and one purpose only… TO WORKOUT! You don’t need a lot of frills to train hard. This is a breath of fresh air when all gyms these days come with a corporate white collar approach to fitness.

If you know what this place is and are cool with it then it will be perfect for you.
It’s a bunch of dudes throwing around lots of weights. It’s busy during peak times, but if you know what you can get it done. You’re going to say «escuse me» a few times and have to be confident about setting out a place to lift free weights, but the crowd there is all no-​nonsense. A lot of working guys coming in to get their workout and and get out.
Yes there are guys there in non-​gym clothes, but everyone there seems serious about getting their workout done and getting out. The gym at my school is full of people who putz around and barely break a sweat. Here people are busting their bodies and it’s a contagious mood.
$ 20 for a monthly membership or $ 5/​day is a great offering and it’s right next to the M and L subway stop.
Be prepared to hunt for some of the dumbbells at peak times, but they’re around.

We need more gyms like this in this neighborhood.
all these gyms that pretty much cater to people who do not want to work hard or lack motivation is an awesome way to make cash, but not a good way to actually help people. dont get me wrong, if your a beginner walking into Ritchies can be intimidating. But if you want something real bad, there are a couple of things you need to do if you want to go to this gym:
1) Man the hell up
2) research on what it is you want to do
3) Not worry about other people in the gym
Once you become a regular at this place you get use to rugged, sweaty and gritty atmosphere, you will realize who freaking JACKED you are.
To many gyms are opening up that have NO squat racks, NO barbells or limit their dumbbells to a specific weight. Not this place. And for the price… you can’t go wrong.

My boyfriend and I go here because it’s the closest gym available (can Bushwick get some more gyms, please?), because it’s inexpensive, and because it has high weights, as he is very strong and needs higher than what Planet Fitness can offer.
I’ll echo that it’s a no-​nonsense gym. Just two lines of cardio machines and the rest is weights (free, cable, bench, etc.). I’m fine with that, but I have a few issues.
1.) The women’s locker room has, like, 12 available lockers, two of which are broken. On peak days like Monday and Tuesday, you will have to wait for a locker if you’d like to lock up your purse and change of clothes. Sometimes you’ll wait a LONG time. I’ve opted to carry it around with me on some occasions when this happens, but it’s a pain.
2.) No stretching area. You come out, ready to get your sweat on and there’s nowhere to limber up. As I start with cardio, I often opt to stretch on the machine itself, but that’s a little annoying. No stretching area also means there’s no place to do unweighted floor exercises, like situps. My bf and I do cardio, then several types of situps. We use the incline bench for the first type, but usually we put it flat and do the rest on top of it because there’s nowhere else to be. The alternative is doing situps in the area people are using free weights, which is slightly frightening as people are dropping 100-​lb dumbbells every few minutes.
3.) People don’t put their weights away and the staff doesn’t help with this. Want the 35-​lb dumbbells? Try next to the squat machine. Want the 20-​lb dumbbells, try under a bench by the front desk. It’s wild country in the free weight section and it’s not very safe.
4.) Which brings me to the lack of LOW weights. We went to this gym because my bf needs HIGH weights, which are everywhere. Clearly, this is a gym for legit body builders, as there is spray paint art of some of the greats on every wall. But what about the people just starting out, Richie’s Gym? I’m sorry I can’t curl 65 lbs yet, but I gotta start somewhere.
5.) Lots of loitering. This gym isn’t as much of a meat market in terms of being hit on by people not even PRETENDING to be working out (i.e. the Duffield Planet Fitness), but there are a lot of people taking up machines by «resting» on them. These people are often not wearing gym clothes, do two reps at 200 lbs, then spend 10 extra minutes drinking their protein shake on the machine and talking to everyone around them. It’s a little annoying for anyone who prefers to work out more efficiently.
The general theme is that this gym is geared toward extremely strong men. They have equipment you can rent/​buy and plenty of protein shakes and supplements at the front desk, which is great. All in all, though, the bf and I will be checking out another Richie’s to see if it has more space. If all else fails, maybe it WILL be Planet Fitness after all.

For $ 20 a month you can a get solid work out while feeling like a beast/​olympian/​gangster at Richie’s gym.
I don’t know what is it about this place. Maybe its the gangster rap or maybe its the huge guys curling over 100lbs on the squat rack or maybe its the giant hole on the façade of the building that lets in air acts as DIY air conditioner but I love Richie’s and my workouts are always great.
Ever since they opened up the Planet Fitness the crowds have thinned considerably. The gym has a nice assortment of cardio machines that I happily never use. It also has a considerable amount of cable and isolation machines that happily never use. But more importantly it has a solid power cage and a squat rack which I DO use!
The main reason why I go to richie’s is the price and power rack. This gym is dirty and HOOD but you know what it motivates me to do what I have to do and get the hell out. If you’re intimidated by the atmosphere, ovary up and walk with confidence.

I’m in love with this gym. No cheaper spot can be found ($ 20 a month or less depending on how you finance). They carry every type of muscle and energy drink sold in the country and some that I’m pretty sure aren’t supposed to be sold here. They blast choice hiphop so headphones aren’t needed. There are giant, glorious airbrushed murals of the great bodybuilders of our time: Ronnie Coleman, Lou Ferrigno, and an especially choice one of The Arnold working out on the surface of the moon. The TVs are pretty much always playing Closed Captioned versions of Scarface, Godfather, or Maury.
Be warned, this gym is not for the weak of heart. It draws 90% tough guys and meat heads. There is literally zero space for stretching/​aerobic work but that is because this gym isn’t made for any pansy junk like that. It is made for putting lean muscle meat on those bones. To paint a picture, the following is a list of things that have happened to while at the gym:
— There are signs everywhere explaining that boots are not allowed on the treadmills but that doesn’t stop people from jogging in jeans.
— A man in full UPS regalia was doing sit ups next to me. There was a clipboard under the incline.
— Another man approached me and asked what I called what I was doing. I said V sit ups. He told me they look more like Gay sit ups. To his credit, they were kind of gay sit ups.
— The biggest man I’ve ever seen came up to me and asked if I was trying to get huge. I said yes and he opened his bag and offered to sell me a slew of supplements and anabolics there in.
Other than that and that it gets pretty crowded during peak hours, it is a gym that will change your life. For the better!