Balance Gym

I belonged to Balance for a little over three and half years before moving from DC to Silver Spring. Of all the gyms I’ve had to leave behind due to moves, this is the only one that really hurts to move away from. The staff is friendly, the place is clean and well-​maintained, and it is simply a GREAT workout facility.

I went here for Follow the Lita workout and I must say this gym is really nice it may appear small but they had 4 levels of different intensity as I will call it and a rooftop. The only thing this place is missing is a pool. If I lived closer will definately consider joining but in the meantime I will just look forward to more special events here.

The music is abhorrent. Then again, if you like lifting to t-​pain, akon, nicki minaj, and OT genasis «I’m in love with the coco» this may be the place for you.
Weekday nights there are lines for squat racks and oly platforms reminiscent of the DMV.
Not the worst gym in DC, but far from the best. If you’re serious about fitness and want an environment that reflects that I recommend you keep searching because this isn’t it.

I’ve been going to Balance Gym at Thomas Circle now for almost three years and I can’t imagine living in DC without it. The community feel cannot be beat, from the excellent instructors to the friendly members. I’ve even met a few of my close friends in DC from Boot Camp classes at this gym!
The boot camp classes are by far my favorite, where the instructors fit in a high intensity work out in 45 minutes. When it’s nice out we also get to work out across the street on the church steps or on the roof. All the instructors are great but Ben and Devin’s classes are excellent. For spin, Stacy’s class is a must, and for yoga, Whitney.

We dropped into Balance Crossfit for a week while visiting friends in DC and were incredibly impressed with the facility and coaching. Between the decked-​out locker rooms (sauna?!), knowledgeable/​friendly staff, and challenging classes we left wishing Balance gym had branches in Seattle. Thanks so much for having us!

I’m extremely surprised that this gym has 4 stars on here. I’m not new to members’ gyms; I used to be a member of New York Sports Club and I’ve also used Equinox on occasion. Even though there’s a small gym in our building, my fiancé and I got memberships at this Balance Gym location when my job offered a discount as a part of the benefits package.
I let a few months pass before I wrote my review. I was really hoping to like this gym; I looked forward to trying out the fitness classes and using the sauna. Here are all the reasons why I’m giving a bad review, plus all the things that have gone wrong (so far):
1) The fitness classes options and times are VERY limited.
2) Some of the class instructors are very young and inexperienced which can be dangerous during classes such as barre and yoga.
3) Even though we’re already paying a membership, there are some classes that require additional payment.
4) The spin studio is TINY.
5) Most of the audio devices for the TVs do not work.
6) The sauna in the women’s locker room doesn’t have a light.
7) The employees’ room and janitor’s closet is right outside the women’s locker room which has caused some uncomfortable moments for me.
8) The gym closes early on the weekends.
9) If you use the women’s locker room, expect the ceiling to shake. The weight room is directly above the women’s locker room and the cross fit room is next door to the locker room, so there are a lot of weights being dropped all around. It’s unnerving.
10) Someone broke into the men’s locker room recently and at least 3 lockers were broken into, including my fiancé’s. His wallet, keys, and phone were stolen. Even though the security cameras showed the perpetrator snuck in while the front desk was unmanned, the only thing the gym offered as compensation for the neglect was 3 personal training sessions. (Fortunately, our insurance covered a third of the loss.)
I am planning on canceling my membership as soon as the contracted period is over.

I tried this gym out with a free trial pass. First, I never realized you had to walk in the alley to access the entrance – I was always under the impression the entrance was on the street but apparently that is their personal training studio – the actual gym is in the alley. The gym itself was ok. They have 4 different levels and a lot of equipment for those that like to lift heavy weights. I thought the number of treadmills they had was a bit low but I liked their bootcamp space and the classrooms were a decent size. They have barre class here which is a huge plus since barre classes alone are so expensive but I didn’t have a chance to try it out on my free pass. That may have been the kicker for me… in the end I decided not to leave my current gym because my membership, while only $ 10 cheaper, allows me to go to multiple locations which is useful for class variety. I liked this gym and I think if I was constantly in the area (I work in VA and DC on different days) I might join. It didn’t seem crazy busy when I went on a Sunday and I did like it. The only thing was the locker room had so many mirrors everywhere it made me feel a little dizzy! Not a bad gym but the price is a little high I think – they could use a fresh coat of paint around there (the walls look like they have tons of coats that weren’t dried properly). I also thought it smelled a little… smelly…haha…but I guess most gyms do. Didn’t seem like there was good ventilation though. Overall, not bad and maybe if I didn’t have a better option I would have joined.

New member of this gym, joined in November 2014 and go at least 4 times a week.
Pros: location and times that it is open. Staff is nice. Classes included in membership are awesome!
Cons: not that many machines, especially during rush hours. Due to the layout of the gym there is no indoor track or pool (at this location). The women’s locker room is a nightmare in layout and locker availability. Taking up valuable space are full sized vanities which I haven’t seen anyone using even during crazy lunch rush, an awkward front/​side room with not that many lockers but tons of open space. Also, classes tend to mush at 3 specific times– 7am, 12:15pm, and 6:00pm. Ironically, these also match up with the busiest times at the gym.
More indepth: If you are a Crossfit fan, this gym, and particularly this location is prefect for you. That doesn’t mean someone like myself, who doesn’t do crossfit is wasting money. I’m really enjoying my experience at the gym and gives me a convenient place to work out, with classes and equipment I enjoy.
Now about those classes: The classes I’ve taken have been great. Difficult, lots of modifications, and great energy from the participants and competent, energetic teachers. My favorites are Barrefit with Bonnie and Zumba on Tuesday. From what I’ve seen BodyPump, Yoga, Pilates, Spin and Pole classes are very popular as well.
Buyer beware: you’ll pay a hefty price in addition to your monthly membership for premium classes such as Dance Trance ($ 50 unlimited monthly).

Love the spinning classes! Audrey and Stacy will make you sweat! They also play the best music. STACY IS A BEAST AND IM OBSESSED WITH HER CLASSES!!! Reggie was great in signing me up and hooking my friends up with free– one week passes! They would get 5 stars if it wasn’t so expensive. $ 65/​month is not a competitive rate. But– I am still here! :)

I’ve been a Balance member for a few months now and I am liking my experience so far. It’s a little pricey, but in terms of gym memberships, I have found that you get what you pay for.
I first checked out Balance because I had just moved to the area from New York and was looking for a new personal trainer. I am also recovering from ACL reconstruction surgery and was dying to get back to the gym. The head trainer paired me with Lars, who is also a member of the ACL club (though he’s a little further along in recovery than I am). He’s been putting together some great workouts to complement my physical therapy exercises and help me get back to my sport (roller derby).
I signed up for a gym membership at Balance because the personal training packages are cheaper if you are a gym member. Then I was a bad girl and didn’t really go to the gym the first month of my membership. So I decided to do something about that and I’ve started attending some of their classes. I’ve only checked out spin so far (Stacy’s classes are GREAT) but I do intend to try yoga and the pole dance for athletes classes.
I am very impressed with the women’s locker room. It’s seriously the least dank locker room I have ever encountered. The shower area seems nice — I wouldn’t feel gross showering there if I ever needed to. There’s always plenty of available lockers when I’m there.
I wish they would open a location closer to my apartment!

Great options in terms of group fitness — several options, several different instructors, great space for each type of workout. I particularly enjoy body pump with Meg. Love seeing new folks join the class, too! It’s fun to watch someone new get hooked.
The cardio and weight areas are on par with other gyms. I like that they have a lot of equipment set up in a lot of different areas. Goes with the unique 4 floor set up they have.
Always had great experience with the staff — especially Stacey. Really appreciate both her customer service and her spinning classes!

Fantastic gym, solid equipment, incredibly helpful and knowledgeable staff – Balance makes getting to the gym something to look forward to, day in and day out.
I’ve been hitting the Thomas Circle location regularly for three years now, with the exception of a three-​month stint where I hurt my shoulder (worth noting that with a single email, I was able to put my membership on hold while I recuperated. Thanks Devin!). I’ve tried the CrossFit, Spin, GoRuck, Body, and Boot Camp classes, and every single one of them left me completely exhausted and grinning like a madman. Boot Camp’s my go-​to favorite; I love the fact that no matter what your level of fitness is, the workouts are scaled to push you to your limit (weights are adjusted for fixed workouts, while repetitions differ for timed workouts).
On the subject of weights, Thomas Circle offers four floors of gear to aid you on your quest for fitness:
— The ground floor is designed for CrossFit use (think ropes, pull-​up bars, rings, boxes, and free-​standing squat bars), with a separate room dedicated to personal trainer sessions (haven’t tested these waters myself, though my co-​worker swears by Daniel’s mentorship).
— Second floor is free-​weights and machines, and lots of them – I go evenings between 6 and 9pm, and I’ve never had to wait.
— Third floor is cardio and strength-​training (Spin and Balance Body classes meet here, so expect to utilize bikes and free-​weights)
— Fourth floor offers treadmills, step machines, and bike machines galore. Winter-​time boot camp classes meet here, so plenty of medicine balls, mobility equipment, sand bags, and jump ropes are also on hand.
Obviously I’m a fan, but the trainers, coaches, and staff leave me no other option. It’s not very often I thank someone for bringing me to my knees, but Balance has my respect. See y’all tomorrow!

Quick update– I have really come to love Whitney Paterson’s yoga classes. She is an extraordinary yoga instructor and an all-​around bright person to be around. I frequently have «a-​ha!» breakthroughs in her classes and have progressed more than with other instructors. And she makes it such an enjoyable hour!

In my opinion, this place is overrated on Unilocal.It’s not a bad gym, but you have to consider the membership price as that usually dictates what you’re going to get and the membership price is not cheap here considering there are a lot of other gyms that get you more for less.
For one, the equipment isn’t any different than what you would find in any other gym. In fact, I would say as far as weight lifting goes, you probably get less than big chain gyms. They do have some unique things like slam bags (not sure if that’s what you call it), battle ropes, and a heavy bag (which you can’t use when there’s a class, so expect to only use it during off-​peak hours), but you don’t really need these items to have a good workout and you can substitute other exercises to get similar results.
Also, in my opinion, the staff aren’t any friendlier than any other gym. In fact, I’m currently at LA Fitness (formerly Results) and I have to say that overall the staff there is much friendlier. They always say hello and goodbye when you come and go.
Finally, if you’re looking for classes, there are a lot of other smaller gyms that will give you really good classes. Either bootcamp type classes, cross fit, mma, etc., so if I were interested in classes, I would think taking classes at a more specialized gym is a better deal. Overall, it’s not a bad gym, but I know there’s better gyms out there so you should look around.

I joined this gym a few weeks ago and I love it!!! I decided to sign up for the Right Start program which gives you three personal training sessions for $ 50 (if you’re a member). I was paired with Janine and she has COMPLETELY changed my outlook on exercise. After my Right Start sessions ended I signed a contract to have her train me for the next four months and have recommended her to friends who are also training with her now.
Because of Janine, I feel much more comfortable working out and using machines than I ever have before and I actually look forward to working out now. (I was not the high school athlete turned exercise enthusiast so this is a pretty big deal, y’all!) While I enjoy having all of the class options, this gym is actually great because of Janine. She knows I’ve been apprehensive about exercise so she challenges me each week with different circuits, teaches me how to use the equipment on each floor so that I don’t feel crazy doing it on my own, and helps me think through what I do the days we’re not meeting so that I can meet my weight loss goals.
If you’re a member of Balance I highly recommend you sign up for training sessions with Janine… just don’t take my evening time slot! :)

Recently moved to the DC area so I’m trying out new gyms and pole fitness studios. Love that this place is a short walk from the metro. & everyone here was nice. Balance gym has an interesting set-​up and its quite easy to get lost. But no worries, its quick to get the hang of and both instructors and gym folks are really nice. Place looked pretty clean and organized from my quick walk through.
They offer great free 1-​day pass that is applicable to pole dance classes ~ I’ve already recommended it to my friend!
SO, FOR THE POLE DANCE CLASS REVIEW:
I was wonderfully surprised and pleased with the pole class!
Balance Gym offers 3 pole classes a week on Tue/​Thursdays.
The class i took was Tuesdays, 6:30 — 7:30pm Pole Dance with Areana Quinones.
INSTRUCTOR & CLASS:
Areana was great! She knows her stuff, gives each student individual attention, and provides variations of moves based upon the students level. Plus, she’s incredibly approachable and I instantly felt comfortable asking questions in her class. There were a mix of beginners and intermediate students. One thing that makes me partial to a pole studio is their students. I think its important for students to get along, and feel comfortable talking or asking each other questions; it simply makes for a better learning environment and fun atmosphere! That said, awesome students at balance gym!
The class was more spins, and lots of stretching (prolly 15+ mins in the beginning). I’d recommend intermediate pole folks to maybe try out pole dance for athletes on thursdays — personally, I’m dying to try it out. No inverts in this class, although Areana was awesome and allowed us to stay after the class had concluded for us to work on whatever we wanted. (Note: my background for pole is that I’ve been doing it on and off since January, but haven’t been able to do much pole fitness since moving to DC in September).
STUDIO:
One con is that they had a cycling/​spin class going on next door so it was difficult to hear our music. Poles were set on static mode. Mirrors on one wall. Windex used for cleaning the pole. No gripping solution provided. Two types of mats students can use. The yoga mats are kinda worn out, but that’s not uncommon. Lighting is adjustable.

During the government shut down this gym offered government employees to use the facility between the hours of 1 – 4. It was great because I have always wanted to check this place out. It was easy to find and located inside the Fairmont hotel. You enter the hotel and turn right and head down the stairs.
The equipment was newer with TVs on each unit. There are towels offered for use if you forget one. The towels were actually on the softer side which was a surprised for gym towels.
Overall the gym seems nice but I do not know the membership cost so not sure if worth the price.

I went to this Balance Gym at Thomas Circle when I was living in DC because it was super close to where I worked and prices were reasonable. I love how the gym members are there to strictly work out; no one is going judge you for how you look/​what you wear/​your workout routine, etc. It’s not a huge gym but they seem to offer a little bit of everything (but no pool). Machines are pretty standard but I think they could use an update; at least you can plug your earphones into most of the machines and tune in to the TV.
I usually worked out between 4pm-​5pm so I never had to wait for a machine but the gym tends to get crowded after 5pm. I did a few of the workout classes including Zumba (super fun but gets crowded) and the abs/​strength class. As a member, you need to register for the classes to guarantee a spot which works out great so the class can never be over-​full. The 3^rd floor is where they do a lot of their group classes and assuming there were no classes taking place, I usually went there to do free weights/​ab work since it’s much quieter and I had plenty of space to workout and there are tons of mirrors. There’s also a rooftop area where some of the classes take place.
Womens locker room almost has a home-​y feel to it with the couch and chandelier. Showers are clean, bathroom/​sink area was small but clean, and there’s a sauna but that usually was always out-​of-​service.
BG isn’t the fanciest gym in DC but the prices are good, you have your basic amenities, there’s a CrossFit studio, and the staff is friendly. I’d recommend this gym to anyone working/​living in downtown DC.

A great gym for the following people (but no one else):
(1) Crossfit Nerd.
You have WOTD tattooed on your boobs (chick) or ass (man), you often discuss perfect squat position, and no one at the office understands why you have tire marks on your forearms ¾ of the week. You love Balance because they have lots of rope, medicine balls, and are giving you the whole first floor to work out in. You also pay like $ 300 a month or something crazy.
(2) Spin Class Extrovert.
You never workout alone. Hell, you never go to the bathroom alone, and why should you? You get all your workouts Richard Simmons’ style, love sweating it out to Techno Remixes of Lady Ga-Ga’s newest, and are developing a pretty damn good pole dancing routine. You love Balance since you can pretty much get a class in anything just about anytime you want. Boot Camp? No problem. Spin? You betcha. Ab blast? Been there. Done that.
(3) Personal Trainer Procrastinator
Wait, I thought I was paying this person to work out FOR me. Shit. Ten years after college you can’t even get up off the couch without motivation (or you have another legit reason for a trainer). You love Balance because they know and love you for the sucker you are. Balance has more trainers than you can shake a dumbell at. Seriously, you can’t swing a kettleball without hitting 2 – 3 trainers at Balance– either working out with a customer, chatting and strutting around the gym, or just shooting the shit in the downstairs area. You are also very happy to kick out the Crossfit people from their roost and take it over for yourself so you’ll be able to use the fancy showers… oooo…
If you aren’t in the above categories, you’re gonna be crammed into an increasingly small space increasingly filled with more and more people (as they closed their Kalorama location in 2012). The «renovations» of the men’s locker room put new tile, but did little else to ease the crowded nature of this locker facility during peak hours. With an increase in price — from $ 63 to $ 69 a month, this *single location gym* just doesn’t hold the value anymore.

This is a pretty crappy gym. Old, dirty, and poor service. I got screwed by the gym charging me a fee to cancel my membership, and later finding out that I was being over charged and was never suppose to receive a fee. I became even more furious when they knew they were not suppose to charge me these fees, but did anyway. Just letting Unilocal know about my experience there.
Time for a renovation or close for a day to clean the place up.