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LifeTime Fitness

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4.9

Overall Score

Author: Kalicia Bateman

LAST UPDATED: April 6th, 2022

Lifetime Fitness is a privately held chain of fitness centers headquartered in Chanhassen, Minnesota (right outside of Minneapolis). The company was founded by Bahram Akradi in 1992. Lifetime brands itself as a comprehensive health and lifestyle company, offering a personalized and scientific approach to long-term health and wellness. Members of all fitness levels can gain access to personal training programs with a personal trainer, health club benefits, and various other workout programs to help them meet their fitness goals. The first club opened in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota and expanded throughout the region and later throughout the United States and Canada. Most LifeTime Fitness centers are located in fringe suburban areas in medium to large-sized metropolitan areas, with a handful of locations in central city or inner suburban locations. Today, Lifetime Fitness currently has a combined total of 121 centers in 27 states across the United States and Canada.

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The Good

  • Upfront fees
  • Lifetime membership fees and options
  • Gym equipment
  • Classes
  • Other available amenities

Upfront Fees

In comparison to other local gyms, Lifetime Fitness' upfront fees are less expensive. Its one-time initiation fee (also known as an enrollment fee) can range from $29 to $79, depending on what your needs are. Average enrollment fees for other gyms we reviewed are $100 or more.

Lifetime Membership Fees and Options

A number of Lifetime membership options are available to those seeking to improve their physical fitness and health and well-being at a variety of fitness locations. Membership dues and fees vary depending on the plan that you select and the fitness club location. The following are the membership options that are currently available to those with the desire to start a new and improved health and fitness journey:

  • Single Adult — This is a regular monthly membership for individuals 18 and up. The monthly fee for this plan is anywhere from $75 – $199 depending on location and the enrollment fee is $29. This pack comes with an equipment introduction with a personal trainer and free swimming lessons for kids for the first month.
  • 26 and Under — This is a discounted monthly membership for young adults under the age of 26. The monthly fee is anywhere from $69 – $139 per month depending on location with a $29 initiation fee. This also comes with the equipment introduction and free swimming lessons for kids for a month.
  • Day Pass — If you are wanting to check out Lifetime Fitness in your area before signing any paperwork, you can purchase a day pass for $40 and waive the initiation fee for the day. This deal is not available at every location.

Gym Equipment

Lifetime Fitness' facilities are absolutely stunning and spotless and provide state-of-the-art fitness equipment. The gym floor at the fitness clubs has plenty of cardio equipment and weight equipment and is well designed. There are no spin or exercise bikes in this area, so you have to take a spin class to gain access. Whatever form of exercise you enjoy (weight training, strength training, cardio, classes, etc.), Lifetime has it all: Pilates reformers, smith machine for your squats, cable crossovers, squat racks, ellipticals, treadmill machines, stairmasters, etc. The machines are very clean and towels are always around for members to grab. The equipment is all new and top notch, including the cardio machines with built-in touch screen monitors. The main workout area is cavernous, with tons of space for the cardio machines, a huge area for free weights and machines, and some open area to work with personal trainers. Many facilities may also include a lap pool, a separate indoor or outdoor pool, hot tubs, and basketball courts.

Classes

Lifetime's facilities are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and offer a wide variety of fitness classes for people of every fitness level: yoga, kickboxing, cycling, meditation, and many more. Group fitness provides members the chance not only to be social, but also to be pushed by their classmates to best meet their fitness goals. Most of these fitness classes are included with the membership fee (with the exception of the yoga classes). Where pools are available for those with a gym membership, swim lessons may be offered for kids. The majority of the gyms we reviewed do not have 24/7 hours, which gives Lifetime Fitness an advantage in this area for people with busy schedules and limited time in the day. Also, it is favorable that most of Lifetime's group fitness classes are included with the membership fee. The fitness center has a very goal-driven culture and encourages all of their new members to meet with Lifetime trainers before beginning any workout routine to set realistic, yet challenging goals.

Other Available Amenities

Other high-end amenities Lifetime offers at their fitness centers is a sauna, Jacuzzi, steam room in the locker room, indoor and outdoor pool, full-length basketball courts, a spa/hair salon, food courts, child center with up to three hours of child care per day, free one-day guest passes, and an indoor/outdoor café. Facilities do not have racquetball or tennis courts. Lifetime Fitness requires its trainers and nutrition coaches to be board-certified and collegiately trained. The company offers a program called CORE 3 that provides integrated health assessments, nutrition plans, and workouts that lead to long-term health and wellness success. Nutritional coaching starts at $99 per session.

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The Bad

  • Price and contracts
  • Hidden fees
  • Cleanliness
  • Trainers and nutrition

Price and Contracts

Lifetime's monthly membership dues for a single person can range from $60 up to $199 per month. This fee falls in the average-to-high range in terms of affordability. There are several national gyms who charge similar fees per month as well as several national gyms who charge less per month. According to some Lifetime Fitness reviews from customers, the fitness centers' facilities and amenities are not of a high enough quality to sustain rates this high when there are other gym's also offering month-to-month contracts for $20 or less per month.

Hidden Fees

Customers should be aware that they will be charged an admin fee upon signing up. If you're planning on taking advantage of the company's two-week free trial, Lifetime needs two forms of identification, your license, and a major credit card. If you decide not to join, the company charges you anyway-not only for one month, but also for the second month because but you need to give Lifetime one month's notice before you cancel.

Cleanliness

Cleanliness of Lifetime's machinery, lavatories, and other equipment varies depending on location according to customer reviews. While one Lifetime Fitness Center is noted as dirty, not being well-maintained and having a large amount of broken equipment, another Lifetime location's locker rooms, saunas, steam rooms, showers, pools are always clean and maintained and fully stocked with large and small towels, toiletries (Q-tips, disposable razors, mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc.). Many customers agree that each locker room is huge and spacious and easy to lock using your own membership card. (Many gyms require you to carry around a combo lock to their gym.) Lifetime's lockers are finished with stone and marble in the showers, which also provide a good amount of pressure in their water.

Trainers and Nutrition

There is a general consensus among Lifetime customers that their Fitness Trainers are pushy when it comes to upsells and do not provide the best customer service. Customers who partake of the free personal training session find it to be set up as an opportunity to sell Lifetime's personal workout programs (group or individual), their nutritional supplement products or their nutritional coaching. In some cases, it comes across as if Lifetime's personal trainers are working on commission because if you decline, they sometimes treat you unfavorably.

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The Bottom Line

LifeTime Fitness offers members a wide array of group fitness classes included in the membership fee (except yoga). Many of its large high-end facilities operate 24/7 and feature personal fitness instruction, salons, food courts, large child centers, and indoor/outdoor pools. You can expect industry standard equipment, well-maintained facilities, and board certified trainers. You can also expect high monthly premiums with less expensive initiation fees than other gyms. Memberships are also single-club access only, meaning you cannot use your membership for other Lifetime locations. Lifetime customers have conflicting experiences as members. Some customers feel the facilities aren't worth the high fees while others feel you get what you pay for. All agree the facility itself is unmatched and high-end. Lifetime offers personal and small group training as well as nutritional coaching for an additional high fee per session. Some customers feel that the trainers are "pushy" when it comes to upselling members on paying for additional services and/or products. There aren't many hidden fees, but with a luxury gym with luxury pricing, there don't have to be. Overall, Lifetime Fitness is a good facility with a dedication to fitness; however, you can get equal amounts of bang for your buck at other facilities, and save yourself the costly monthly dues.

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Star Rating

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3.6

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122 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

42%

4 grade

25%

3 grade

7%

2 grade

3%

1 grade

22%

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Anonymous Raleigh, NC

Life Time is too expensive for what you get and you have to be careful not to involve their crappy trainers. But, if you know what you're getting into and your company pays for half, it's not bad. I belong to a Platinum level Life Time gym. Upon joining, the trainer attempted to get me to spend over $700 a month on things I didn't need; I'd also signed up for the challenge where he was supposed to hard sell their services, so this happened like 4 times- I didn't get a workout any of those times, and the most I got was a "free" kale smoothie out of it, though I'd paid for the challenge. The trainer was also pretty out of shape, which was a bad sign. You have to pay for many of the classes, you have to pay for activities such as the indoor Triathlon, which is not a real triathlon ("just run, swim, bike as much as you want and we'll cheer you on and give you a shirt"). The smoothies are $10 in an city where a smoothie is usually $4-5, and the stuff they put in them isn't good for you. Tips: upon joining, when you sit down with the 2-3 people at the end that are trying to sign you up and sell you things, don't buy training; tell them you're going to hold onto your Life Time bucks and buy a heart rate monitor during the Black Friday sale. Arrive early to the classes included in your membership, and tell them you're new, if you are, so they can tell you what to do; they assume everyone is not new, and you can waste time if you're not setup. If doing a stationary bike class, ask them for non-clip pedals, padded seat, and to help you adjust your bike. Their water bottle holders look bigger, but they only hold the ~30oz bottles. Bring your music and your earbuds to workout in case you don't like the pumped in music or want to listen to TV. Don't assume their internet enable bike machines can login or connect to the internet. Use the machine that measures BMI if they have one; you might have to find it. There are usually wipes in each room and near machines and devices; use them. No one cares if you use the LifeSpa lockers, the reserved treadmills, etc. because no one knows who anyone is; ignore the stares. You can hang a waterproof bag on the corner of the shower door; there's little room in the shower to put or hang anything else. The floor next to the showers can be nasty, so you should probably buy sandals. If you want, you can use the swimsuit centrifuge and/or plastic bags for wet swimsuits next to it. If they have pools, don't assume any lanes will be open; they might be 95% of the times you go, but they can take over the majority of both pools for swim team, etc. and some people don't like swimming two to a lane. The main good thing about the Platinum level facility is that it's expensive enough where I didn't feel unsafe or that there was as much risk for catching a toe fungus in the locker room, but I'm not sure if that's worth the 2x cost of the Y. In the end, you might be better off doing a web search for Bigger, Leaner, Stronger workout, which is free and Mike Matthew claims you spend less time working out and don't need anything other than free weights, eating right, and proper clothing- no supplements or gym.

8 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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ALF El Dorado Hills, CA

Facility in Folsom is nice, always clean and employees are friendly. I think the team classes could be located better. So much room but all crammed in a small space. When you cancel anything (paid classes, memberships), they seem to miss all steps to stop tapping your account. Continuous calls and emails are unanswered. Completely frustrating.

8 years ago

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Chelsea Minneapolis, MN

I had 4 interviews with them and then never even got an email or phone call saying I didn't get the job, like promised. This seemed very tacky and disrespectful for spending so much of my time interviewing with them.

8 years ago

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Mo

You pay for the Membership NOT for the fitness. It is a great facility with everything you want if you know how to use them.

7 years ago

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Justin McMurtrey South Jordan, UT

We were members at Lifetime for couple of years. While it’s a great gym, it is super expensive. It is not worth the price in what services you receive.

6 years ago

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Shanna South Jordan, UT

I've never been a member of Lifetime but have gone with a friend. They have beautiful facilities but I felt like the price tag was a little too much for a gym membership.

8 years ago

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Jami Schmieding Mesa, AZ

lifetime fitness is very nice dont get me wrong but it is extremely overpriced. i do like how they have a kitchen where you can buy food

7 years ago

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Karina Aguilar Managua, MN

lifetime fitness is not as friendly as the other gyms and their membership fees are atrocious

6 years ago

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Tony Riverton, UT

Used to be a member. Very nice facility, but overpriced and only one location that's not exactly convenient for me.

6 years ago