Not Your Mama's Gym

game over
Originally uploaded by djuless.

Life Time Fitness Centers are not like your typical Bally's or even Crunch. What they are doing is using the YMCA concept of gym as community center as their model, and it seems to be working.

The centers are larger than a Home Depot, if you can imagine that, and inside is a rock climbing wall, child care center, spa, indoor pool, along with all of your traditional gym amenities. They also have a huge cafe and nutrition center. You can take dance classes, join a league, or get your yoga going. To this New Yorker, it sounds familiar, but for people across the country, something on this scale has not been seen at other health clubs. Plus, with the trend of having everything catered to a family experience, I expect to see their first centers hitting Long Island or Jersey by next year.