Bodyworks Downtown Athletic Club

I enjoyed the gym while I lived in Fredericksburg. It was in my neighborhood and convenient. After moving to another city, I’m having the same problems with getting them to stop billing as all the big gyms. I actually paid out my contract and mailed in a letter according to the contract. I am still being billed and getting no response when I contact the gym.

Great location for me; convenient and thoroughly equipped with what I want in a gym.

I won’t ever pay to go to another «Big Box» gym again. Hours are perfect and ownership is on point.

I’ve been a member of other large chain gyms in the past, and have never been content with them. I’ve been a member of Bodyworks for quite some time and will never go anywhere else. The personal attention given by the owner and the staff is unbeatable. You’ll never find this kind of top notch service in a large fitness club. The gym is clean. The equipment is in good condition. The classes fit my needs. The location is convenient. I’m very happy here. You just can’t go wrong with this place. They make you feel like you matter and you’re not just a fee paying member that’s ignored when you need assistance.

It’s difficult to explain in a narrative how poorly this establishment communicated it holiday class schedule, so I’ll break it down by bullet points.
— The website advertised a weekly calendar of fitness classes and made no mention of a special holiday schedule.
— Their facebook page didn’t indicate that any classes had been cancelled, even though they have used facebook to communicate cancellation information in the past.
— I called three times to verify that the classes were being held, they didn’t answer once; the recording didn’t list any cancellation information, and they didn’t call back as the recording indicated they would.
— I was nearby during business hours and stopped by to check on the class schedule, but their door was locked and there was no one at the front desk to let me in even though I could plainly see people working out on the machines.
— When I showed up for the class, the guy behind the counter indicated that there was no class and pointed me to a poster that was only posted inside the business saying today’s class was cancelled.
— There wasn’t a singular listing of all cancelled classes — each instructor had posted their own notification, leaving the customer to figure out what the calendar for that week looked like.
— When I asked the man at the counter for verification that there would be a yoga class the next day (Thursday) as indicated on their calendar, he replied that there was no Thursday yoga class. I informed him that his calendar — posted on their bulletin board and on the website — listed a Thursday class. He then said, «Check the calendar that’s in the brochure holder.» Much to my chagrin, this calendar listed a completely different schedule than the one on the bulletin board and the website. He went on to give me a line about how the gym had only cancelled two classes over the holidays in the past six years. I’m not sure how that was supposed to help me make up for the time I spent driving to his gym, so at that point I walked out.
I’ve never been so completely flabbergasted by a business’ lack of ability to communicate simple information. I won’t be patronizing this business in the future.

This is a great downtown gym with plenty of cardio machines in excellent condition, plenty of free weights, and a «shload» of weight machines. I’d put the cardio machine count at 27 to 30. The gym is kept clean and tidy, and there is, I believe, 24-​hour access via personal keycode. The only downside I see to the gym is that if you have more than a single raucous toddler, there won’t be much fun for your kids in the «child storage area,» as I call it. But if you live close to downtown and need a gym that has the works conveniently close, Bodyworks would be a great choice.
Yoga, spin, and all those other group classes are on offer — just like any large franchise outfit. Another plus is that it doesn’t have that «meat-​market» ambiance of a certain gym with a national presence. Wayne Gootee, the owner, has years of experience in the health and fitness biz, and he has fine trainers and a first-​class downtown establishment. He’s a long-​time local, well-​known and well-​respected in town.

Was a member here for a few years when I lived down the street. The best small gym in the area. Small town feel, everyone knows your name. Sometimes I wish Wayne would expand and open up a new club outside downtown. ~