Health/Fitness Review: Gold's Gym

My review of Gold's Gym (Village at Sandhill in Columbia, SC)

The facility is a good size, with 3 main workout areas. The largest one has around 15 treadmills, 15 elliptical machines, 8 stationary bikes, 3 stair climbers, 1 upper body bike and a lot of machine weights. 

The second area has around 8 treadmills, 8 elliptical machines, machine weights, small dumbbells (2-15 lbs), exercise balls, medicine balls and mats.

The third area has all the free weights plus some machine weights. Very few women exercise in that area of the gym. Next to the free weights area is a basketball court.

There is a 3-lane pool, which is a comfortable temperature for swimming laps or doing water aerobics. When the water classes are in session, there is only 1 lane for lap swimming.

There is 1 large room for classes, including Zumba, body pump, aerobics, yoga, etc. The Zumba class (at least in the evenings) is always jam-packed! Classes are offered various times of the day and appear to be sufficient for the demand.

Another workout space is the cinema room, which plays movies and stays very dark. So bring your flashlight so you can see the buttons to start the treadmills. This room includes around 5 treadmills, 5 ellipticals and 5 recumbent bikes.

There is a small spinning room, which I have not yet used. It does not appear to get over-filled though.

For the more athletic type, there are 2 raquetball courts, which stay booked every evening and frequently at lunchtimes also. They can be booked ahead, if you call first! Good luck beating the veterans to the calendar!

The non-exercise areas include tanning, water massage table, whirlpool, steam room, sauna room, locker rooms, and the huge Kids Care room. I have been 100% pleased with the childcare providers there! The childcare hours are reasonable.

The staff are friendly and helpful. And there is a large staff of personal trainers available for an added cost.

The location of the gym is good, with easy access from Two Notch Rd, Clemson Rd or North Springs Rd. It is located in the Village at Sandhill mall, which makes it close to shopping and eating venues.

So...do I recommend Gold's Gym? Yes! The membership price is comparable to the other gyms and if you pay up-front for 1-2 year memberships you get quite a good rate. The price may even be lower than other gyms, depending on which specials you catch.

Is there a down side? Yes. The gym is very full in the early evening hours, making it difficult to find your cardio machine of choice. But that is expected, and you can always vary your workout by using a different machine until a treadmill opens up.

10 most convenient ways to exercise

1. Go for a walk in your neighborhood. Take your dogs. Take your kids. Walk to the park instead of driving. Walk 10 blocks instead of taking the subway or taxi. Look for an excuse to get out of the house!

2. Walk around the block on your lunch break. If you have an hour for lunch, use 30 minutes for exercise! If you have a desk job, be intentional about moving around during lunchtime and other breaks.

3. Ride a stationary bike while watching TV. If you have little time or ability to exercise outside of the home, consider buying a stationary bike, which is cheaper than a 6-month gym membership.

4. Take the stairs (every time)! Make it your routine, whether 1 flight or 5.


5. Go window shopping. Walk around town or the mall. And next time you are tempted to shop online, spend the time actually going to the store.

6. Go to the gym on your way to or from work. Be sure to choose one that is on your route. Or take advantage of the gym at work. If you are on a time budget, just work out for 30 minutes.

7. Play chase with your children or pets. This is an easy way to get your heart rate up quickly. And your babies will love you for it.

8. Do housework or yardwork. Try to work for 30-60 straight minutes. And use good body mechanics by squatting frequently.


9. Do jumping jacks, push-ups and crunches at home. Or use an exercise DVD. This is an ideal option for young moms during naptime!

10. Stand up while using your laptop or phone. Standing burns more calories than sitting. And it is a better position for your back!

Why you haven't lost weight at the gym

I went to the gym today and as I was exercising, I noticed some things that could be problematic for gym-goers.

First, a lot of people were doing cardio exercise at a slow or moderate pace. They did not appear to be working very hard. The point of cardio is to strengthen your heart, so it needs to be done at a moderate-fast pace. If you are not breaking a sweat or breathing hard, then you may not be working out fast/hard enough.   To find out, take 220 minus your age. That is your maximum heart rate. Try to get your heart rate (heartbeats per minute) to 60-80% of your max heart rate during cardio workouts. If you are new to exercise, start at 60%. But as you continue exercising over the next weeks-months, increase to 70-80%. Please consult your physician before starting an exercise program to find out if you should have different parameters.

Second, I was watching Ellen on one of the channels, and she had Mrs. Obama as a guest today. They were talking about the importance of exercise, so they both got down on the floor and started doing push-ups. They made it to around 20. However, one of them did her push-ups only going halfway down. To get the most benefit out of push-ups, do them in a full range of motion. This is true of most strengthening exercises (machine/free weights especially).

Similarly, I saw a man in the gym doing push-ups, but his back was not straight. It was arching up and down. This could cause back pain/injury, so be sure to check your techniques and postures throughout each exercise.

Third, let's talk variety! Do you go to the gym and do the same workout every day? Treadmill at 4.0 miles per hour for 35 minutes? To get the most out of your gym workouts, add various forms of cardio and/or various speeds.

Fourth, how long should you exercise? The minimum recommended amount is 30 minutes/day, most days per week (at least 4-5x/week). However, if you really want to lose weight, you need to work up to more than that. If you have the time, one hour or more would be ideal. The more you exercise, the more you will lose weight!