Genesis Health Clubs

Genesis does not average less than 2.5 stars for no reason. I will not waste your time reiterating my previous review here, but will focus mostly on concerns since the renovation.
I have a big problem with gyms that force contracts on people, most of whom will rarely use their membership after the first couple of months. I have been watching the New Years surge at gyms for 30 years as people with the best intentions get roped into committing to a year or more of monthly payments. I have not been to a gym in decades that still uses «contract» hard sell tactics like Genesis still does. It is shameful.
The new building looks nice, but the second floor where all of the aerobic equipment is located literally bounces up and down as more and more people use the equipment. I have never been in a building that moved as much other than when I experienced numerous earthquakes while living in California (daily) and Guam (8.2 in 1993). The floor was maxed out last night with the glut of 2016 «resolutioners» and each of the 62 pieces of equipment being used while the floor bounced like I had not seen before. I was more than a little concerned for all our safety.
I brought my concerns about the bouncing floor to the attention of management and the city’s building safety office early in 2015 shortly after the renovation was completed. Both Genesis and the city assured me that the building is structurally sound. I sure hope they are right.
On the same floor, the TVs on many of the aerobic machines either have not worked for months or the ones that do frequently lock-​up at the most in inopportune times. The large windows which all of the machines face have a nice view of 6^th Street, big whoop, but as the sun goes down each afternoon, particularly during winter months, the sun is blinding. Some form of window shade system is required, but there is none.
Their Wi-​Fi has been totally useless since I joined almost two years ago. It is so slow that accessing the Internet is impossible, so I end up using my personal phone data as I am while writing this review.
I used to attend yoga classes and had a wonderful teacher, Apoorva, who taught at a relaxed and calming pace. Since she left, it seems that the teachers see yoga more as a competition, an aerobic workout, rather than the meditation it is meant to be. I had to quit going because, as a disabled Veteran, I was made to feel as if not keeping up with the pace was a character flaw. The reason my wife joined with me was for the yoga, so her membership is going completely to waste because she does not want to attend without me.
The indoor pool is a nice option, but it was so filthy I had to complain a couple months back. To their credit, the pool was emptied and cleaned shortly thereafter, but whoever did the work did not do a very good job because there are still things growing on the sides and bottom. When the adjacent Jacuzzi is working, it is not cleaned often enough with a thick scum accumulating at water level. The new sauna, also next to the pool is only big enough for two strangers or three friends. It is useless.
Finally, when they did the renovation, they replaced all of the water fountains. Unfortunately, they did not install a single fountain with water filtration and/​or the ability to fill water bottles. Earth to Genesis … EVERY single one of your members has a water bottle and it would be nice to have a simple way to fill them, with filtrated water.
On a positive note, the staff are for the most part very friendly and helpful. They keep the place relatively clean except as previously noted and the equipment other than the TVs seem to be well maintained. The steam room in the locker room was a nice addition to the men’s locker room, but it has been shut down from time to time with no notice and temperature regulation has also been an issue, either not hot enough or too hot. I have complained on numerous occasions recently about «near dangerous» temperatures in the steam room, burning the skin, eyes and lungs, but after nearly a week. my pleas have been ignored by staff. Fairly typical.
Get a clue Genesis, this is the 21^st Century and gym contracts went out with the 1990’s. If you run a good business with nice, clean facilities and equipment while offering superior customer service, people will come in droves … and they will much more satisfied with their experience. Just read all of the other reviews, I am not alone.
My wife and I pay close to $ 1,000 a year and as customers we are not getting what we pay for. Come March, when our contract expires, we will likely not be renewing may start going to the County’s beautiful pool and recreation center down the street where there are NO CONTRACTS and use is either free (REC center) or very inexpensive (pool — for county residents).
CombatCritic Gives Genesis 2 Bombs Out Of 10 (1 Star Out Of 5) … More Bombs (Or Stars) Are Better!

The facility is great, equipment and all. The classes are very diversified, from cardio to weight lifting, and offered throughout the day, starting from 5:30am.
Great for both participants just starting to get into fitness or those continuing with their fitness goals. Instructors are great. Truly care for their classes. I highly encourage them to anyone.
Front desk staff are nice and friendly. When it comes down to instructor classes or trainers they tend to lack some knowledge.

Worst membership experience of my life. I wanted to give them a shot because I was a member of the Lawrence Athletic Club that they took over. This experience really made me miss LAC.
They force you into a contract that you cannot cancel then, without notice, begin automatically charging your account on a month to month basis after the contract expires.
When I told them I no longer wanted to be a member, that wasn’t good enough for them. They tried to require me to come physically into the gym and sign a termination form in person, which I wasn’t able to do because I was out of town. Then a long back and forth with their manager ensued (because their billing department isn’t empowered to do anything but take your money). It finally ended with her telling me that I was good and I «don’t need to do anything else.» I thanked her for being so helpful and thought that was finally the end.
Several weeks later, I got a call from their billing department again wanting payment, but this time for the two months I told them I didn’t want, plus «service charges» now! Final bill they expect me to pay is almost three times the amount of a single month because they refused to cancel for so long. I read their manager’s email to them verbatim but they still expected payment. They even had the email exchange right in front of them.
This business, who had the audacity to abuse the account information I gave them by charging me month to month without notice and refused to stop charging me, has the further audacity to call me up expecting me to give them that same information over the phone again (Because they were so trustworthy and responsible with it the first time). Then when I refused to give them my new account/​card information for payment of the exact same months I told them i wanted to cancel, they got irritated for telling them to actually mail me a bill. How dare I! Keep in mind, they don’t even offer electronic billing or online account management. They just want your account info so they can freely charge it at will without any notification to the customer.
Why does Genesis feel it’s an acceptable business model to automatically roll their customers over to month to month charges after their contract expires, then make it as difficult as possible to end the relationship/​membership when asked to do so? Why do they feel it’s acceptable to charge their customers for services they told them they don’t want and never received? Beware any business that requires your physical presence to terminate but can’t be bothered to even inform you that they are rolling your account over to a monthly basis and then charges you an additional month plus service charges the moment you cancel.
A business or service should be able to stand on the value it delivers. It shouldn’t have to resort to sneaky automatic rollovers, hidden contract clauses, refusals to clearly communicate billing or membership changes, and burdensome processes to end the service or relationship. Operations like Genesis act more like the mob than a legitimate fee for service business: once they’ve got you, they have no intention of empowering you to leave and will charge you dearly to do so – even after your so called «contract» has long expired.

Awesome place to work out. I love the new look. I go 5 days a week, and enjoy myself. I have never had a problem with the staff. They have always treated me with respect. I can’t imagine why people gave it such a harsh review. I have been a member now since July 2014. The gym is safe and clean, always. I’m a big fan of it. I had thought about checking out other Gyms, although I don’t think that I would like it as much so, I believe that I will stay right here.

Everyone here seems very stuck up and pushy. It seems they care way more about the money aspect then making their customers happy.

I work out 5 times a week average… People that work at Genesis are pretty stuck up snob they can be rude and I never felt welcome there every time I go there. They don’t know your name most gym I go to they will get to know you and welcome you by calling out your name. I like the equipments. But there not enough for everybody to use especially during the rush hour until 8:00pm. I don’t go early mornings so I don’t know how busy that is. I go to the gym anywhere between noon until 4pm so I can get my work out done without waiting to use the equipments. They need to do a better job cleaning the new locker room, showers and sauna. Putting clean towels in there because I have to watch my towel not to be taken when I am the sauna. Some of them guys act like little kids by the way they leave the locker room like that and don’t know how to disposal the towels in the basket. This is not the gym to pay $ 50 something a month with the hours they are open and the amount of equipments they have available for that amount of people. No elevator for elders or handicapped person to get up the stairs to do workout on the bike or treadmill. I feel like I am paying too much for the membership and don’t feel appreciated to be a member at genesis. If Gold Gym ever open up in town for sure they will lose.

The new gym is great. However customer service could improve. Paid good money for a trainer. Been through three trainers in 24 sessions. Was not notified when each of them left. Showed up to train and no one was there. Management was supposed to look into it and contact me back quickly. it’s been over three weeks and still have heard nothing.
Ready to get you signed up then they are done.

Very impressed with this gym. Newly renovated the gym has all the workout equipment you could want, a pool, hot tub, sauna, and shake bar. I have been very impressed with the trainers here as they have really helped me work on my form. I had a back injury and they paid particular attention to this.
Hours are good, though they close early on weekends– 7:00. Which limits flexibility on weekends when most are free and thus I am not giving it 5 stars.
Locker rooms are very nice. Filled with TV’s and chairs. Now offer a keg on certain Friday night – though perhaps this goes against the idea of a health club – it is still nice as a social activity.
The majority of classes are free and they are offered throughout the day. Included in membership is also one free training session per month, which is a great way to hold yourself accountable and continually push your limits instead of falling into the same routine.

As I’m back in town for a bit and am no longer a KU student, plus don’t want to pay $ 300 upfront to workout at the rec for being an alumni I went to one of the only places in town, Genesis
I was very skeptical after reading these reviews, plus a friend that used to go here was adamant this was the worst gym in history. This all kind of blew my mind, bc I’m from Wichita, and Genesis is like the luxury rich people gym there. But even with the complaints, and with little options, I bought the groupon $ 20 for 6 weeks, you really can’t beat that, even if it does suck.
So the verdict;
1. I don’t see what the fuss is about. Ya the place is under construction, but hey, that can only mean better things to come, so can’t judge on that.
2. It’s never packed, even during rush hours
3. They have all kinds of classes, with very little participants
3.5. I mean yoga is $ 10 a class anywhere else, and if you come here, it’s free. 2 classes a week somewhere else $ 80/​month, that’s less than the full membership here, plus they have a pool, can’t beat that.
4.The staff is also super friendly and helpful, *also very cute*
My only real complaints are;
1. Machines are a little hard to find, which is totally understandable, bc of the construction.
2. They probably don’t clean them as much as they should, but I’ve seen much much worse. But they do have spray bottles everywhere with a rag, which is great.
3. BIGGEST COMPLAINT: THE WIFI SUCKS, and hasn’t been working for as long as anyone here can remember. This is an easy fix and should be a huge priority, that alone shows me management isn’t on top of things and makes me worry about how they MANAGE OTHER THINGS behind the scenes.
3. I’m also a bit worried about being hassled when my groupon runs out, but that’s just speculation. Also not looking forward to paying a high fee.

I wish They had zero star, The trainers that are there are very unprofessional I cannot even bring a friend in so we can work out together without them running and jumping on him telling him that he is not a personal trainer and that he cannot train with me, Even though he is my best friend. Anyways I would definitely not waste my membership money in that place, If you are a KU student go to the rec center. At least over there they leave you alone and don’t act so stupid.
Horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible horrible.
Okay I Think I Made my point.1

I have left Genesis due to the cold, impersonal nature of the gym. Since Genesis took over from LAC, the place has gone downhill. Currently, in the men’s locker room, the wet sauna and Jacuzzi do not work and the dry sauna won’t get hot enough to break a sweat. While LAC might not have been the classiest place in town, the staff and trainers at the old gym were always friendly and accommodating. I was appalled at how Genesis treated the LAC workers and eventually was able to seemingly push most of them out by offering less than inadequate contracts. Unfortunately, the best trainers in town left the gym, and Genesis now employs far inferior trainers and cold, impersonal front desk personnel. They all look good in their preppy Genesis polo shirts, so I guess that’s what counts. Unfortunate!
So today I decided to take a look at Summit. I would encourage everyone who belongs to Genesis to drop your membership and come check out the Summit. It is clean, well-​equipped, impressively organized, and, above all, EVERYONE there, without exception, was friendly and engaging. They really want to make you feel welcome.
I was very impressed with the kick-​boxing ring they have set up in the basement. In the men’s locker room, there are free razors, shaving cream, dental floss, and q-​tips. Towel service is available as well. This was my first visit, and it felt as if I was back in the old LAC with the friendly greetings and cordial demeanors. They used my name to greet me and when visiting with me — — something that does not happen at Genesis, but used to happen all the time at LAC. If Genesis wants to resurface itself, it will take more than blueprints of «plans to come.» It will take getting Phil, Nate, Wayne, Keri, and all the other excellent staff members and trainers back on board. These folks, and a whole host of others who left when Genesis took over, are very much missed. They were, in a word, EXCELLENT.
I’m hoping that my new home at The Summit will continue to be a warm and welcoming place. I am very impressed, and I would encourage all my LAC friends to join me there. It will be great!

Genesis recently purchased the old Lawrence Athletic Club and the changes are amazing. All the cardio equipment is new and they have a great variety of Stairmasters, treadmills, ellipticals, bikes and a few other unique devices to get your heart racing. Most of these devices have built in TV signal as well as 30-​pin ports so you can play content off your iPhone, iPad, or iPod.
The weights are a good mixture of free weights and stand alone machines giving you an all over workout. While I’m not a gym rat, I do enjoy lifting and they’ve got dumbbells up to 150 pounds which is nice and most of the machines will support high resistance. Maintenance of this equipment is much better than it was at LAC.
Although I haven’t used any of these benefits, I do know they have a pool, racquetball courts, basketball courts, child care and a variety of classes. The other clubs have a shake bar, but this one currently only sells after workout supplements and drinks.
Front desk staff is friendly and helpful and they do have a staff of trainers. I’ve not had the best of luck with the trainers as they can dominate the workout facility and sometimes feel their clients take priority over other members working out. This isn’t the end of the world and I know management has been receptive to complaints about this.
My biggest complaint is that when the facility gets busy it’s hard to get in a workout. The cardio equipment is fine but with a limited amount of lifting equipment I often have to adjust my workout and wait for my weights. Annoying for sure, but I understand the limits of the space. Similarly the parking lot is terrible. The spaces are too small and there aren’t enough of them and my family has had our car damaged multiple times as members.
Overall a good facility that is clean and accommodates a variety of workout styles and clients so long as you steer clear of some of the trainers while they are «in the zone.»

This is the original and last of the Lawrence Athletic Clubs. In the heyday, they had three locations.
Overall the place is ok… they have a large variety of equipment. The problem is the equipment is always down. On any given day it’s usually about 1/3−½ of the ellipticals are broken or the treadmills are in need of service. Failing to repair them causes more stress on the other equipment, which causes it to fail creating a perpetual cycle. Heck, even the front door is broken half of the time.
Beware the parking, it’s a nightmare. The spaces won’t fit anything larger than a Mini-​cooper so be prepared to get very intimate with your parking companion and expect lots of dings and scratches if you go here regularly.
The best part is the signs on the wall: riddled with spelling and grammar errors do make everyone laugh!
Seriously though, the club has some good classes and trainers and when it’s not busy you can get in a decent workout on a variety of equipment. During busy hours, forgetaboutit!
Skip this place if you like to have working equipment and a place to park.

When I lived in Lawrence I had an LAC membership for years. I mostly used the weights, cardio machines, and occasionally the basketball courts but they also have a pool, racquetball court, fitness classes, etc. The employees are always nice, the machines are clean and well maintained.

Worst membership policies ever.
I had been holding out on putting my review of LAC, despite the fact that the location closest to my house just up and closed one day in February. I was told by the owner to just go to the location that is 6 miles from my house instead and that I wouldn’t be charged for the change. Wow, that’s nice of him to offer, seeing as I had a membership that allowed me to use both clubs, but whatever. I mean, I had *just showed up* to work out and they closed *that very day* without any warning!
Not wanting to stop working out, I had to go out of my way to the other location after I got off work, through roads packed with traffic, adding on an additional half hour to 45 minutes in traveling time.
But, I didn’t complain.
Now, I’m moving. I just called to see if I could cancel my gym membership, you know, like most gyms allow if you’re moving. Guess what? Unless I *sell* my current membership, I’m shit out of luck and will have to pay until my membership expires.
I haven’t heard of such backward club policies since reading classified ads where people were trying to sell off their Jack LaLane memberships in the 90s. I’ve belonged to Lucille Roberts, Crunch and one smaller, independently owned gym in New York City and never, ever had a problem canceling my membership when moving.
Regarding the gym itself, although I did for the most part enjoy working out here over the past year, broken equipment is common (would have been way more of an issue if I had to work out during busy hours). I was willing to overlook it because the membership fees were really cheap and I figure you get what you pay for.
I must add that the staff here are *excellent* because I don’t want any of them getting any flack for this review. I never had a trainer, but the desk staff and membership people are really nice and accommodating. One of them even drove me home when I was stranded during a tornado.
There are new gyms opening in Lawrence. Skip the LAC and its tres shady business practices.

This is the larger of the two LAC locations in town. They have a pool, racquetball courts, and all the standard weight and cardio machines. This is the location for LAC classes, which are fantastic. The yoga classes with Nasrina are worth membership in LAC, she is such a fantastic teacher! This location also has an upstairs cardio room where Cycle classes take place. This location is pretty busy, but there are lots of machines, so you don’t have to wait long if at all. Like LAC East they have towel service and child care.