NorthRidge Fitness

I went in for the free three day pass and on the fourth day paid for my year membership. The staff are wonderful! You can’t beat the value! New equipment, plenty of towels, not overly crowded, better hours than my old gym, free spin/​step/​yoga/​etc. classes with your membership. Check them out!

I am active duty in the Marine Corps, but from Tuscaloosa. I have traveled and been stationed all over the world from places such as South Carolina, North Carolina, Twentynine Palms, Ca., Okinawa, Japan, Darwin, Australia, Hawaii, and now San Diego California. Out of all the places I have been and lived I have yet to find a gym I LOVE as much as Northridge Fitness! You would think living in San Diego and the hundred of options they have I would have found somewhere, but no! I always find myself wishing I could bring Northridge Fitness with me and I always look forward to coming home just so I can workout here! Every time I find a gym somewhere else, it either doesn’t have a spin room, or no tanning beds, or its old and the equipment and bathrooms are nasty-​none ever seem to have everything NRF has! I absolutely love this gym and the staff is so nice. I miss this gym so much to say the least!!!

Before arriving in Alabama, I put by dad on a mission to find me a gym near his house. NRF was the first gym I encountered in Tuscaloosa. At first I was a little hesitant to go in because they were undergoing construction and I wondered how much inside would be available to use. I entered from a side door that was unmonitored and if I were «THAT GIRL», I would have nonchalantly just started working out for free. Lucky for society, I am not, and found the front desk. When I got to the front desk the employee already knew who I was. She told me my dad came in and told her about me. LOL… The front desk was also a juice bar and a place to purchase merchandise. I wanted to take pictures but didn’t. Describing this gym I would say it’s… transitioning. For example, when you look at gyms in bigger cities, their logo is on everything. Every container and object in the gym is strategically placed or designed for that specific thing. NRF was just standard. They had blue towels that you see at car washes, or can purchase at Walmart in the automotive section. Each one was neatly folded throughout the gym with a spray bottle filled with disinfectant. Tiny metal wastebaskets you purchase at Office Max were where you disposed of them. In the locker room was an old school digital scale. Below it was a sign someone had hand written with positive words of encouragement. There are showers in the locker rooms, but no steam or saunas. NRF charges $ 15 a day or $ 25 for a week, and allows you anytime hours, which some gyms do not.
The employee’s were extremely friendly and they didn’t take their jobs too seriously – in a good way. They really just leave you alone. They work, but they aren’t in your face the whole time or monitoring you like gym police. Everyone there seemed so laid back and chill, and the last thing I wanted to do was freak anyone out by taking pictures. I wanted to take pictures but didn’t. No one really knows what Unilocal is down there, and I didn’t want to stand out even more by snapping photos. It was like the gym trusted me, and I didn’t want to break that trust. Haha!
I left for a week, (see my FITNESS ONE review), and returned to end my vacation at NRF. By day 3 everyone was used to my face. Just like the gyms in Las Vegas, I was now getting nods of hello and smiles! Gym-​friends! Some people asked me why I was working out so hard, and they thought I should be a personal trainer. I don’t think anyone would say that to me here in Las Vegas. LOL… (at least not to my face)
It made me realize how other people live. Not that one is better than the other, but just how your world is not someone else’s world, and you may not see what someone else sees.
As I was running on a treadmill I noticed a «Flag Nor Fail» booklet I’d seen on YouTube. A girl named Taylor and I found out we both watched Dana Bailey’s uploaded videos. I noticed a lot of people at the gym write down their workouts, something I barely see. I don’t know if people don’t do it as much in the gyms in LV, or if we just use our cellphones, but a good majority at NRF was carrying some sort of booklet.
My last week at NRF, I was feeling sad. I had come to really enjoy this gym community and felt awkward like I was leaving friends. A few others were sad that I was leaving too, and I wished for another week in Alabama. I definitely recommend this gym to visiting customers, or local residents.

Really clean facilities. Group fitness rooms a little small for the amount of people that come to class. $ 15 for day pass, $ 25 for a week pass, and $ 44 for a month. Friendly knowledgable staff.

Great Facility. My girlfriend and I dropped by here for a day pass because we were in town for an Alabama game. My sister lives fairly close by and her boyfriend is a member here and he recommended it for us because we are very consistent with our workouts (evidenced by finding a place to workout on the morning of gameday). I can’t comment on the monthly prices because I don’t know what they are, but at $ 10 a person for a guest fee, that’s pretty typical of almost every gym I’ve ever been to. Plenty of free weights, cardio equipment, and machines. Although its odd to me that a gym doesn’t have a weight belt to do weighted pull-​ups or dips. All the members here were exceptionally nice and the staff were very friendly. This place is one of the nicest gyms I’ve been to, which is really saying a lot. I compete in physique competitions and I didn’t feel out of place in this gym. It seems like anyone from a beginner, or once a month gym goer, to an obsessed bodybuilder could workout here without feeling uncomfortable or out of place.

LOVE Northridge Fitness. It’s seriously my «happy place» and I’m not a gym rat by ANY means. Still a newbie gym goer, mostly their Crossfit box, but I’m always greeted by the desk people with a smile and genuine hello. Join the Crossfit box and you’ll have access to the gym and classes too… no brainier. Staff, coaches, and members are friendly and helpful too. GO! JOIN! NOW!

You will find everything you need at this gym. Separate Crossfit room, tons of machines, free weight area and a large cardio section. The owner and the staff are the best in Tuscaloosa. No roid heads and unnecessary screaming. A gym for everyone. They have a full basketball court and tanning beds if that’s your thing. Cool place.