Last evening I returned home from work to an early birthday present from my husband – a one-month trial to the new Athletic Apex gym, located in the DestiNY USA complex in Syracuse, New York. I had heard positive things about this gym, which opened in June, and with a Syracuse University discount, I had been wanting to give it a try. I now have the excuse!
I wasted no time and visited last evening for a quick tour. This morning, promptly at 5 a.m. I was in the new gym doing my usual Train With Lyzabeth workout for the day. Now, I should say that I arrived at 4:57 a.m. and the gym was already open and running! This is a far cry from the Northwest YMCA in Baldwinsville, New York, which doesn’t open until 5:30 a.m. and most mornings opens a few minutes late. I was constantly waiting outside the door. What’s more, my fears about safety in that area of DestiNY were unwarranted. There was enough activity and folks going into the gym at that hour, plus I even saw a security vehicle on patrol.
Locker Rooms and Amenities
The locker rooms are spacious and centrally located. There are showers with stall doors on them, which included shampoo, conditioner and soap in a dispenser. There are also plenty of towels for member use. While I didn’t use the showers this morning, I was pleased to see it would be no problem should I decide to in the future.
The water fountain was a bit of a challenge as it was designed for the quick drinks from a paper cup and I was filling my 20-ounce blender bottle but I made it work and made a note to myself to find the water fountain or another source tomorrow! Other amenities I noticed on my tour included a lounge with free Starbucks coffee. They also have a private free Wi-Fi for member use.
The Equipment
The gym is larger than any I have ever belonged to. I started out just outside the locker rooms in an area that had mostly machines, a Smith rack and free weights, along with an area to do warmup or ab work. What was really cool was the fact that at that hour, I was the only one in that area of the gym for about 20 minutes. I could easily set up my super sets and not have to travel far to reach equipment. Plus, no waiting! Heaven on earth for a gym-goer. Most machines exist in duplicate, too, which definitely helps the no waiting issue.
Because I was so efficient, I decided to trek back downstairs to the larger strength and turf area. I jumped on a stairclimber for 10 minutes to survey the room. I noticed lots of equipment that Lyzabeth Lopez includes in her workouts that I had never been able to use before since the Y didn’t have it, such as TRX, sleds, battle ropes and even a Booty Builder hip thruster machine. Who knew that even was a thing? I tried the TRX and the hip thruster just because I could!
Any Cons?
There were a few standard items in my routine that I had trouble locating, including foam rollers, a Bosu ball and kettle bells. A quick message to the gym helped me understand they are in favor of sand bells, which work your grip more. Still waiting for the verdict on the other two pieces of workout gear. Both should be easy additions, if enough people request them.
Overall Rating
So far, so good on this new gym. It was a quicker commute from my house at that hour and even though I was back-tracking to shower before work, it still was an efficient trip. I enjoyed the openness and appreciated the fact that I didn’t have to wait to use equipment and it was more co-located in terms of design so I didn’t waste time running back and forth to do my supersets. The staff is friendly and the place is clean and inviting. I’m looking forward to the remainder of my month trial period and perhaps my eventual permanent move to Athletic Apex!
What kind of wine celebrates a new gym experience? Anything new and slightly uncomfortable, of course! I think I’ll convince my husband to open one of the dessert wines we picked up at Langanore Wine Cellars earlier this month. Port wine is wine but not wine I normally have, which makes it different. Just like a new gym, trying a new wine can feel normal and uncomfortable all at the same time. You just have to get used to the new taste! Cheers!
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