YMCA – Downtown Minneapolis

Three level YMCA with some of the best workout studios, machines, equipment, and classes. Have been coming here with a friend on a buddy pass and the staff is always so happy to greet a member and their guest I always get blown away by the great service. Troy at the desk was definitely one of favorite guest representatives by far. He was so accommodating when we checked in and signed me in for the day pass. Very gracious and fun, always greeting us with a bright smile… so great! 5 stars!
We usually come for the Australian BODY PUMP class that goes on three times a day (usually). It is the most amazing class you will ever attend if you like a challenging, fun, full body workout that leaves you sore for days after. Like daysss after. The instructors are all amazing with Cambria being one of the best instructors I’ve ever had for a class. her energy is always contagious! I would recommend this class to anyone willing to do 800−1000+ reps in one hour! Ahhhh!
On just a regular workout day, this gym most everything you need. Three levels of either studio space, equipment, TRX hit rooms, and lockers. Studio spaces are big and plenty enough for stretching out without having to wait for any classes to be over, too many people in the same space, or feeling like you have to leave sooner than you want to. Equipment is up to date and has most all machines that you’ll need for any workout. TRX hit rooms are on the first level and have a 3+ TRX bands to work with. Locker rooms are big and very clean, providing soap and lotions.
Pool: Check
Sauna: Check
Steam Room: Check
Full track around the fitness area: Check
Awesome place to have a sweat-​filled workout: CHECK!

I love the downtown YMCA. I joined after a 2 year gym hiatus and only because there’s a Y right by my work and apartment. I do not go to the gym if I have to drive so it’s a perfect situation. The instructors can be hit or miss honestly but when you find the good ones it’s magic. I go to core classes tues and thurs and then a gentle yoga on wed. All are 30 minutes which is a perfect amount to break up the workday.
Cancellation you have to go in person but most gyms make it hard to cancel so it’s no surprise there.

Really good gym in downtown Minneapolis. Lots of pros and not many cons:
Pros:
–Great pool facilities, especially if you like lap swimming.
–Nice hot tub.
–Good changing facilities and locker room.
–Large basketball court area.
–Well stocked weight room.
–New «CrossFit» area, with Rogue infinity rack, wall balls, boxes, kettlebells, and rings.
–Nice staff.
–No pressure on contract/​extras.
–EDIT: They now have a FEW bumper plates (total of 145lbs), but they don’t really want you dropping the weights.
Cons:
–Treadmills and ellipticals heavily outnumber rowing machines (this might be a pro for you, but if you like rowing machines, you might have to wait).
–Many of the good classes cost money.
–Parking is difficult and/​or expensive. I’m glad I live downtown.
–Very limited Sunday hours.
For a large gym, this place is great. Despite the cons, I am very happy with it.

I have been a dedicated YMCA member for a very long time. I joined the Downtown YMCA when I was 19 years old… and well, that’s a long time folks. I’ve taken a hiatus from the Y during those years — childbirth, illness, an employment change, etc… but the prodigal daughter returns! Mainly, truth be told, it’s because its so damn convenient. I work in the building, people! There goes about a half dozen excuses for not getting to the gym right there!
There are lots of great things to say about the Y, so I’ll start there. They have a lot of great classes! In the past 5 years or so they have really stepped up the game in new group fitness offerings — adding more yoga, dance, tabata, boot camp, body pump, etc. If you can’t find a group fitness class you fit into — you’re not trying.
I’ve also met some great people there — both members and instructors/​trainers/​staff. They know their stuff and are eager to teach you!
Now for the not so good. First, it’s crowded. They are trying to fit a whole lot of equipment onto those floors. If you want to just find some floor space to do some mat work — good luck. There is a tiny amount around the running track (where people can watch you as they run around the track) — or if there isn’t a training session going on in the «fishbowl» on third floor, you may be able to use the space in there. It’s not uncommon for people to be in the stairwell stretching, or near the drinking fountains doing yoga… or sometimes even in the free-​weight areas on 5.
Second, it’s kind of dirty. Above, I mentioned I had a membership hiatus due to employment change — at that point I belonged to Life Time Fitness. Coming back to the Y after Life Time was a rude awakening. When I went to LTF, I saw a staff member cleaning the machines every day. In my 24 years at the Y — I can’t think of a single time I have seen them being wiped down. Of course they MUST be at some point otherwise they’d be beyond gross and I would quit.
Next, it’s expensive. I pay $ 66/​month for a single membership. I believe that’s on par with LTF. I pay this amount happily because going to workout over my lunch hour saves me a LOT of money. Keeps me out of Macy’s and Banana! But believe me when I say, LTF has a lot more to offer for that money. Plus, my employer has an arrangement with YMCA so that I get free towel service. If not, you would pay an extra $ 7 (or more?) per month to have towels. That’s included at LTF. For lockers, you either pay $ 9 per month for a kit locker — or do as I do and bring my own lock daily and keep my bag of personal items in my office.
Third, it’s a non-​profit. They do a lot of work with the community — and that’s great. Don’t think I don’t appreciate that, I do. However, a few times a year I am harassed as I enter and exit the club to make charitable donations to the Y in their different fund raising endeavors. My employer gives generously to the YMCA — and a part of my income funds that generous donation. Plus… I give them $ 66/​month already dammit! It irks me beyond frustration that they ask for more.
I could probably go on and on — and hell, I already have. But one last negative. That community involvement that they’re so good at? If you go to the YMCA at an «off time», say like 2:00…be prepared to share the workout space with those charity recipients. Most are fine — some are not. Once, I was on a rowing machine and a man walked up to me and took my picture with his cell phone. Another time, I was in the weight room and a man walked up to me to let me know he thought my body was «banging» (gee thanks). I’ve seen a person asleep on a weight bench, a woman masturbating in the shower, a guy using the public hot tub in the pool area in light grey knit shorts (some things you can’t un-​see!). I could give many more examples — and will if you ever want to hear them — they are quite entertaining after all — but we’ll save it for a happy hour discussion.
Bottom line. Go during peak times — and go because it’s convenient when you live or work in downtown Minneapolis. But if it weren’t so convenient… I’d be writing about how much I adore Life Time Fitness!

Love working out here. I live downtown so this spot is close and convenient which is a major plus. One complaint is parking. I prefer not to pay for it considering I already pay heavy dues but that requires knowing the parking patterns of the busy city, and a heavy dose of luck while Also costing time in finding the spot and the few block walk. But that basically ends my rant. The facility is clean and modern, the staff are friendly and helpful, and they offer all the major amenities: pool, hot tub, sauna, racquet ball courts, classes, towel service (it’s extra, $ 11/​mo or $ 1/​time). This will remain my gym for as long as I’m here.

BEWARE of Cancel Policy. Nov. 18^th I made a cancel request — I was told they MUST bill me on Dec 1^st for the complete month of December — therefore my cancel would not be accepted until Dec. 31^st. That is a total of 43 days to expire my membership. When I joined I paid a pro-​rate for the days before the first of the month — however on exit, I was told «we can not pro-​rate». Catch-​22? YMCA enforces a 15 day notice BEFORE the next bill date — anything under 15 days you be charged for the entire Next Month as well.
If you are even thinking about cancelling with these folks DO IT EARLY …
AND you must be there in person to sign a cancel document. These are the «small» things they fail to tell you when you take the tour.

I agree with many comments previously made. But I have different observations about the one about the noontime swimmers. True, there are a lot of them and they take most lanes. But they are full paying members and first come first served. I have noticed more than once that they swim with more people per lane than anyone else and have observed them make accommodations for others.
Of more concern is the Y’s renting of lanes to a local college, forcing year-​round members out of the pool or to crowd into the remaining lanes. Why the Y allows outside groups of non-​members to reserve lanes in preference to those of us who pay membership fees is completely unfair.

GET A MEMBERSHIP AT A BETTER GYM THAT MANAGES/​CANCELS YOUR MEMBERSHIP OVER PHONE. THESE NEANDERTHALS TO TECHNOLOGY (NO OFFENCE TO NEANDERTHALS) WILL NOT.
FORGET ONLINE CANCELLATION, NOT EVEN OVER THE PHONE. YOU HAVE TO BE THERE IN PERSON. MY COFFEE MAKER MACHINE IS MORE ADVANCED AND CAN BE CONTROLLED OVER THE INTERNET.
Apologies for the all caps– but that grabbed your attention, didn’t it ;-)
Haha! YMCA Downtown Minneapolis has become a joke! I don’t know who heads it now but he/​she should (insert something here)
I had extremely low hopes of this gym anyways. But I think my lowest point for a gym’s existence is much higher than what is required for it’s existence.
It would help that a plus five rating and a minus five rating were possible. This YMCA used to rock between 2006 and 2011. I stayed at an apartment building in the same campus. I used to go there when I wanted to and canceled my membership when I did not want to.
Now it is a minus five rated, if I were feeling extremely generous. Why you ask?
1. You take a membership based on their advertisements. I say go for it. But, if you for any reason, might have to cancel it, haha! shame on you. You should have read the fine prints. And the fine prints to the fine prints in separate documents. And the update to the finer prints relating to the fine prints in the ninetieth update document that they sent to you. Your membership price might have gone up by a notch– x times as much as what you thought!
2. They will not cancel your membership till you show up with your immediate family, your second cousins and all their extended families. And your friends, and obviously, as you would have guessed, the extended families of your friends. Well, of course, you will have to enroll them first– not over phone, not over email– not over the ubiquitous email– but in person. For $ 25 at-​least or more a pop or else, your credit card would be charged all over again
3. Then you would run into the dilemma, YMCA is for good cause. I should keep on paying this gargantuan amount for my immediate family, my second cousins and all their extended families. And the extended families of my friends. That is where, my dear listeners, your logic should override your sense of pride/​self/​community. You are not benefiting yourself– you are supporting a lost cause that would further rob the community (note: like they are robbing you)
I hate to write this review. I hate that they have a Marketing department– if I knew that YMCA had to resort to marketing, I would have stayed miles off of it.
They are leaches. They are YMCA in words, not in spirit. I hope I would have never had to write this review.
tl:dr: cancel your membership today. These guys have become a leach on the society. Just walk in there, see what causes they are supporting, how many people in need are there as compared to the Hennepin County Library or just sitting outside Target on Nicollet Mall and you shall have your answer.

Best. Gym. Ever. And I’ve been to a bazillion. If I lived in Mpls I would join this place in a heartbeat. Standouts:
1) Super clean. Everything smells clean, looks clean. Very clean.
2) Huge. 4 floors, great selection of cardio machines, weight machines, lockers, showers, and everything else.
3) Location: downtown, indoor parking, right on skyway.
4) BEST OF ALL: the friendliest place on earth; rivals Disneyland. Many thanks to staff member Craig who gave me a lot of his time helping me figure out new machines and lift weights right. Front desk ditto. And other gym members — you’d think they were paid recruiters. Incredibly welcoming and motivating.

I have been thoroughly impressed with Downtown YMCA. I think the facilities are great, the price is low, and the perks are high.
I find myself doing new group exercises every week, and group fitness class schedule is really flexible. I have never had to wait for a racket ball court, cardio machine, or swim lane.
The staff is always welcoming and helpful, and the instructors for the group classes are informative and friendly.
I suggest taking the tour, and see for yourself.

I gave this gym 2 stars in part because as of right now the gym membership I was quoted ($~60 a month) is about the same price as what I found for a number of other gyms in Minneapolis, so the benefit of being a «cheap option» does not hold.
This gym excels at some things and really drops the ball on others. There are many cardio machines and they are fairly new, many have tv’s and there is usually no waiting for them. So if you’re the kind of person who does cardio for an hour and maybe watches some TV, then this gym is solid. There are also a few basketball courts where games are fairly competitive, so if that’s your style then this is also for you. There is also a pool, which appears to be of standard quality. Last but not least, the location is skyway connected and generally accessible, unless you are working out after 7pm when a number of the stores which you have to walk through to get there close.
The cons are that the gym is almost too large for its own good. The staff is nice, but pretty so so on motivation and customer service when a real issue comes up. The towel service is $ 10 a month and only gives you 2 towels a day. Most towel services are included in memberships and have unlimited towels. The locker rooms are not kept up throughout the day, i.e. there are old towels hanging around. The showers smell bad, and if there are 4 or more people in them then the hot water runs out. For some reason people bring a lot of their beef from the basketball court into the locker room, so expect to hear people cursing and talking about unfair fouls while you change. The free weights are pretty awful, they are old and they are generally out of place, the benches to lift them on are also old and rickety and there is not much room to use them. The track is also the most basic track you can get. The lighting after dark is also bad. And lastly, the group fitness studios are pretty poorly set up compared to other gyms.
So there you have it. The Y is pretty expensive now, and as such it deserves to be compared to other health clubs and not given slack for being cheap. If you really care about getting the most value for your dollar then you should try somewhere else.
At the very least ask for a guest pass for a few days to try out the gym before you sign up as they don’t offer a money back guarantee period. If you are denied a guest pass then don’t join the gym.
I would recommend almost any other gym to this one.

I’m reviewing the YMCA as someone looking for a pool to swim laps at in the winter and my experience was limited to a 5 day guest pass. This review is geared specifically towards the pool and it’s facilities.
They’ve got an olympic sized pool, with 6 lanes or so. It wasn’t too busy between 10am-​12pm or 2−4pm when I came in. The pool seems pretty standard, with kickboards and pull buoys and a hot tub. If you’re looking for a pool downtown I would recommend it. The lifeguard said they have a master’s swim team that swarms the pool between 12pm — 1:30pm on the weekdays.
The locker room was huge, with towels costing $ 1 per visit and no soap. You’ll need to bring your own toiletries and your own lock when you visit.
All in all, $ 65 per month is a bit steep if you’re only looking for a pool, but the Y seems like a decent option if you’re confined to the downtown area.

Great gym in a great downtown location! I take the BodyPump class a few times a week as well as the Step Class. The instructors are wonderful and make you work out without making you work out. They make sure you are getting your moneys worth! If you take these classes a few times a week. You will see the results! The equipment is fairly brand new (downstairs at least). The staff is VERY friendly which is always a plus anywhere you go!

I worked and worked out here for a very long time when I lived downtown in Minneapolis. I loved the variety of people. I loved the atmosphere and the energy, whether it was summer or winter, there were just enough people there. It is a large, downtown facility that is six stories high — so there’s enough space and you’re not crammed in together like many places that haven’t done the planning for the potential membership base.
The only downside would be the hours. Since I left, a lot of these 24 hour places have sprouted up around the state and if you don’t use the pool or take classes, it’s much cheaper to go to those places and also not deal with the amount of people all the time. We have Snap Fitness up here and its nice to be able to work out really early on Sunday mornings or on holidays and sometimes get the whole place to yourself!

Great facility connected by Skyway in downtown Minneapolis. I enjoy the classes that I take there, especially bodypump. The locker rooms are nice, especially now that they’re remodeled them and occupy two floor — the only gripe is at peak times, there are not enough «public» lockers — most of them are taken up by people who have a monthly locker space. Indoor pool is bright and airy and has ceiling to floor windows that let in the light — especially welcome in the chilly dark winter days. Pool temperature is kept a bit cooler than other suburban YMCAs, partly because they don’t have as many kids swimming there so they can drop the temperature a bit. Only caution about using the pool is to avoid the lunch hour where these adrenaline charged rude yahoos take up most of the pool for their masters swimming and don’t allow anyone else to swim. While supposedly, non masters swimmers can occupy the end lanes, they make you feel unwelcome and will push you out of your lane if there’s an opportunity.
Other than the unpleasantness of the pool at lunch, the classes are good, the machinery is well kept, there’s a nice indoor running track and the locker rooms are roomy and clean.

A great gym with an equally great downtown location. I have taken a number of the classes, including spinning, boot camp, BodyPump and a yoga class. Spinning and boot camp are intense, but you can go at your own pace without getting dirty looks from the more hardcore athletes. The instructors for both are terrific — they push you without being all drill sergeant about it. BodyPump incorporates aerobics and weight-​lifting, and is great for toning arms and thighs. The only thing I don’t like is that the instructor makes you run around and give people high-​fives periodically.
You can’t beat the price, especially when they routinely waive the one-​time membership fee. The workout equipment is in excellent condition, and the pool is clean and kept at a good temperature. You might have to share a lane if you come right after work, but most other times you’ll get a lane to yourself. At least for the women’s locker room, the fourth floor is a bit nicer than the third. The fourth floor also has the steam room, which feels so good after a hard workout and a cold shower.
Other things to note:
–Towels are $ 1, but free on Tuesdays (not sure if this is just for Feb or all the time, but they do other free towel days every now and then).
–Most of the evening classes start at 5:30 and are hour-​long.
–Evening spin classes fill up fast, but you can reserve a spot online 24 hours in advance.
–You can also call ahead to reserve racquetball courts.
–The track is on the fifth floor, and you will have to run past weight lifters and people on the treadmills which is a little disconcerting.

I have been a member at the downtown Y for about 12 years now and it is fantastic. I did have my wallet stolen from my locker once, but that was the only bad thing I have had experienced at this upscale Y.
The bottom floor has some cross trainers and recumbent bikes and a bunch of treadmills. Upstairs are the great free weights and a running track. A lot of nautilus equipment and more treadmills and cross trainers.
My favorite is the LifeCycle Cross Trainer and they have lots of TVs you can watch. It would be nice to have a TV on each machine like I have seen at other Y’s
The staff is Top Notch and Joel is a great trainer. You can also do Fitlinxx and earn points towards prizes everytime you work out. Kind of fun.
There is a basketball court on the fourth floor and a swimming pool on the third, which doesn’t seem too busy. Also a few racquetball courts.
Besides the stolen wallet, it is a great YMCA.

I really do enjoy working out here. I’ve been a member for 2 months now and I’m really happy with what they have to offer, as well as very pleased with the staff. Everything is in very good, almost new condition which makes it a lot better. The pool is a good sized pool and is typically not busy so there is always room to get some laps in. As for the rest of the gym it never seems to be too busy, even at the typical peaks hours of the gym. Also there aren’t any of the grunting gym dudes and I like that even more.

When I lived in Minneapolis, I went the cheap route and joined the YMCA versus a costly gym. That was one of my most brilliant ideas I had in a long time. Not only were the classes top notch, but the equipment was good and the instructors and staff were very helpful.