West End YMCA

It’s exactly that. Just OK. I use this YMCA primarily because of close proximity to home. It’s full of old men who love chatting away with each other in the weight room and locker room. It’s more of a social club for them than anything else, so sometimes it’s hard to get focused with all the social activity going on around at all times of the day.

The most family-​friendly out of all the other GTA Y’s. If you’re looking for a gym to join as a family, join this one, lots of great lessons for both, kids and adults and really amazing staff who do child-​minding and watch the climbing gym.

Decent gym with a lot of amenities. Basketball court, swimming pool, weight room, cardio machines, a small track running around the top floor, rooftop patio, and several classes taught in their studio. I play a lot of basketball, my source of cardio, and the pick up games can be fun but there are a few whiners always in the mix. I guess that’s to be expected on any court you play on.
The weight room has everything you need but my biggest gym pet peeve is incorrectly racking the weights. There are probably only a few people who do this initially and then it spirals out of the control when the rest of us normal people who want to re-​rack the weights in the correct place find other dumbbells there. It’s not our job to go through and place all the weights on the racks properly so we place them in the closest spot and the cycle continues. They need to have more people up there racking the weights in the correct spot when it gets out of hand. I spend way too much time walking around looking for the correct dumbbells because they are all over the place. This seems like a systemic issue throughout the YMCA system because I have seen this at other Y’s but never at another gym. Maybe the YMCA doesn’t really consider itself a weight lifting gym so they have a devil may care disposition. It’s an easy problem to solve though since I’ve never seen this at others gyms. I’m surprised no one has tripped over one of the dumbbells rolling around and sued, or maybe they have the Y still doesn’t care.
A bit of a tirade but it is a pet peeve of mine. All in all the gym offers a lot for a reasonable price.

While I don’t love this Y for a few reasons, there are a couple positives to note:
–large space
–Usually very clean
–Good equipment, and a large selection
–Staff very friendly, especially people behind front desk and the people who clean the change rooms.
Now for the not-​so-​good (s)
–90% of the classes are not very good at all, of all the classes I’ve tried, and I’ve tried 95% of them, the instructors are not very good. There are 2, maybe 3 that know what they’re doing and actually seem to enjoy it. I’ve seen instructors teach the same to a 70 person as a 20yr old with no modified version. I’ve seen one instructor on a regular basis ask older, out of shape people to do a full minute of burpies… with no modified version! — I’ve also seen the same instructor not correct people’s poor (dangerous) form, that’s how injuries happen. People trust that whoever is given the responsibility to ‘teach’ a class, know what they’re doing and teach people to work out safely. This same instructor also seems to use these classes as an opportunity to show how high he can jump, or kick. it’s rediculous to watch, he’s also worn jeans and no shoes to teach classes, even though there is a rule about both???
–There’s not a lot of room to work out, no private areas, but tons of space. There are a bunch of rooms for teens and little kids, yet they’re all running around the gym. It would be nice if there was a little bit of room to work out. I’ve been asked to move from a personal trainer who wanted to work with their client as there was no good space for them to go, I just feel like there could be a better use of the space available in this gym.
–There’s not a lot of variety with the classes, and one of the only good instructor left.
I would rather shell out a couple extra dollars and have access to a quality gym with well trained instructors who teach people to work out safely.

Very nice! (for a YMCA).
Located in a historic Toronto building constructed in 1911, the oval windows overlooking College St provide plenty of sunshine and people-​watching ability. All cardio machines are equipped with cable TVs (with audio jacks).
There are plenty of group classes (yoga, spinning, pilates, — even tai chi!) included in your membership. The women’s facilities have saunas (full nudity required?), showers, blow dryers, etc. The staff are soooo friendly.
Inquire about special prices for students & low-​income individuals.

I love this gym. Nothing bad to say great for teens, a lot to do. The main work out room is on the top floor.

I was a member at another YMCA several years ago, due to the bargain basement pricing, and thus happily accepted mediocre programming and apathetic staff. Membership dues at this YMCA aren’t cheap ($ 60/​month) so the mediocrity is annoying.
The group fitness classes are below average at best. By and large, they are taught by lazy instructors who use the same music every class and repeat the exact same routines. Many instructors don’t use recognizable songs, but rather the fitness equivalent of elevator music (just beats with almost no lyrics that have been manufactured specifically for fitness classes). They blast this «music» at such a high volume that you can’t even hear what they are saying. The instructors regularly (i.e. around ¼ of the time during the summer) sub in for one another and this isn’t announced or posted anywhere. Because the instructors have VERY different teaching styles, it is annoying if you come all the way here for a class and find out that it is being taught by the guy that yells at you like Jillian Michaels or the lady who teaches at such a low intensity that you would get a better workout lifting potato chips to your mouth on your couch (unless you are into that sort of thing). The instructors regularly start classes 5 – 10 minutes late. All of the clocks in the building are different times, which exacerbates this problem. The inaccurate clocks are also annoying if you are watching the time because you have to leave at a particular time.
The cardio equipment is decent (i.e. has TVs), although it is in short supply during peak times. Because the only thing that makes cardio tolerable is TV, it is annoying that the Y is open until 11pm on weekdays (when it is completely dead) but closes before the start of primetime TV on weekends (at 8pm), when there are still tons of people there. I would echo another reviewer’s complaint that there are often children on the cardio equipment who are just playing around. Also, the water in all of the fountains is consistently lukewarm.
The front desk staff, who seem to be primarily volunteers rather than employees, obviously aren’t being paid enough to care about any of this. Even the paid employees don’t seem to care… I mentioned some of these concerns (especially the late start times) to someone who seems to be somewhat in charge. He told me that he would follow up with the instructors, but the next class I attended started 8 minutes late.

It has taken me so long to review this because of mixed feelings I have been having. I’ll do the simple Pros and Cons to get my point across.
PROS
— Lots of space. If nobody has explained it already, this is the biggest gym I’ve been in, in Toronto. *Note, I haven’t been in a lot of gyms in Toronto.
— Free weights are a plenty. Not like a crazy amount, but there is enough here to do what you need to do during non peak hours.
— Elliptical machines on the top level have their own personal tv.
— Front desk people are crazy nice, chatty when it’s not busy, even funny!
— Squash courts.
CONS
— Small children running around in the weight room, cardio. The other day I had a little one biking next to me, which I found cute, but I’d like to point out that it’s a busy gym as it is with adults. I guess this could be a PRO for parents.
— The floor is soft. Forget about doing squats, deadlifts etc.
— Towels are extra cost.

Great facilities, but gets pretty busy, and lots of old naked men in the change room who shave in the sinks.

I love the West End YMCA. It has so many incredible things for all groups of people.
As a parent, it gives me a place to work out that is casual and easily accessible by transit, bike or car. In addition, my kids have a place where they can have fun in the play-​structure or hang in the gym on the weekends. Also, with my membership the kids can access swimming lessons, dance and tae kwon do.
My partner and I are enjoying being able to spend time to work out, while the kids are happily amused. Hooray West End Y.

Centre de fitness avec toutes les installations necessaires, vous pouvez payer le tarif mensuel de 35 $ si vous justifiez que vous êtes en recherché d’emploi. Il faut juste amener une pièce d’identité, un relevé de compte et un moyen de paiement.
This is one of the best and cheapest fitness centers in Toronto. You can pay only 35 $/​month if you can justify you do not have a job, just bring an id, banking account receipts and debit or credit card.

My husband and I joined this Y recently (me in May and him in July).
We are on a family plan and it’s only $ 107/​month for the two of us.
There’s everything we need … pool, hot tub, tons of classes to choose from, modern weight machines, friendly staff, etc.
Yes, it does get busy at peak times but I haven’t encountered much of a wait (if any) when I want to use machines.
I was a member back in the 1990s when I lived in the ‘hood and had fond memories. I had eventually become a volunteer and taught an aerobics class for a few years. I like that it’s not just a gym, it’s a big part of the community.

I am a personal trainer myself. I did the course at this Y.
As you can expect from a YMCA they are very family orientated.
A great atmosphere and wonderful staff.
I liked:
— Good selection and quality of equipment
— No long term contracts!
You can stop and reactivate your contract as you like.
— Great staff!
— Kettle bells are available for all to use!
— Best in town regarding program amount and variety!
— Discount membership for low income households
— Childcare (for an additional price)
— Squash courts
I didn’t like:
— Pretty crowded during peak hours.

I’ve been a member here for a year and find it exceptional value. The equipment and facilities are well maintained and very clean. There are a wide variety of classes– martial arts to spinning to yoga– and in my experience it’s easy to drop in fairly last minute. Other gyms are crowded with steroid addled lunatics, slamming weights around and grunting like ogres; none of that nonsense at the Y, as it’s a mix of all kinds of people. Every neighbourhood should have a facility like this, open to whoever wants in, and I’m happy to pay my membership dues even when I’m procrastinating workouts for months on end.

This Y has got it all.
Clean change rooms, new machines, a pool, a few gyms, courts, a track, babes in lulus and hipster glasses, and several Canadian rock icons (SLOAN dudes work out here).
The negatives are the high amount of greasy dudes in the weight room with fades in their hair. Portuguese, I assume. I don’t shower here so I can’t comment on how YMCAish it truly is.
Monthly price is like $ 60/​month… or down to $ 30 if you’re a poor son of a bitch.
They also sell Jamaican patties here. Weird.

This is one of my favourite YMCA’s in the city. If you’re a member, you can use any facility — but this one is newly renovated and kept very clean!
I go for the classes, which are all included in membership fees: spinning, gravity, yoga, pilates, bars and weights, box fit, running club, walking club, step, etc. The instructors are great, very friendly and upbeat. Classes are offered all day — from 6 am to 730 pm at night, so it’s easy to find something that fits with your schedule. They fill up fast after work through the week and on Saturday mornings, so it’s best to go early to reserve a spot, especially iin the winter.
They also have squash courts, a pool, full gymnasium, day care, and taekwando studio. They have an indoor track, but it loops around the cardio machines/​weights, so it’s a bit awkward. It’s only two lanes and people constantly walk across it. They have lockers to rent for the month with towel service, but you can use for free for the day. There’s a small café inside with smoothies, drinks, pastries, fruit, etc, with tables/​tv/​newspapers, but there is also a handy Starbucks across the street.

I’ve been an on-​again, off-​again member of the West End Y for the past three years or so. And the off-​again part had more to do with my own brokeness/​laziness than any shortcomings on the part of the Y. With hundreds of square feet of equipment, gymnasium, pool and multipurpose areas, I am never surprised by the amount of people I know who have a membership.
The Y is a great gym to go to because they have so many diverse programs at your disposal, pretty much none of which cost anything above and beyond the regular membership fees. Whatever floats your boat — yoga, pilates, adult basketball, swimming, weight lifting, cardio machines, dance classes — you can do a whole lot of fitness activities for a very reasonable price.
Now that the renovations are nearly complete, the West End Y is beginning to look like a shining star of the 5 or so GTA YMCA facilities. But don’ t knock the other guys — you can use your membership at any of them, which means if you work downtown you can hit up the Central Y location. This also comes in handy when there’s a specific program you want to attend that isn’t offered at your home Y branch.