Healthworks gym
women’s only gym around the Boston area with group classes, personal training and group training.
As we’re coming out of the pandemic, I wanted to focus more on my physical health and decided to join a neighborhood gym - Healthworks. This is a women’s only gym with dry and wet saunas in every location and whirlpool in select locations. I joined during a summer intro offer and purchased a 4-pack personal training package to level-up my exercise routine. Below is my experience with Healthworks since August 2022.
Facility
The gym is nicely equipped with large rooms for group fitness, rows of treadmills and ellipticals, multiple strength training areas with machines and weights, spin studio, pilates studio (extra charge) and small group training areas. The space is clean and well lit with sanitary wipes and water stations sprinkled around. The locker room has adequate amount of lockers and shower stalls. There’s also the necessary toiletries and hair styling tools. I really enjoy the dry sauna after a hard workout! They also have massage services available at reasonable rates.
Personal Training
Healthworks offers a complimentary assessment and one personal training sessions per membership. I like that they have an Inbody machine to record and track body measurements. You can also select the trainer to have the complimentary assessment with and can find their profiles online. The cost for trainers range from Tier 1 to 4 with Tier 1 being the less expensive.
I enjoyed my assessment with one of the Tier 1 trainers and decided to try the complimentary training session with her. The training was good and focused on my main concerns regarding form and building strength without bulk. I reached some personal bests while working out at home with Youtube fitness videos but wanted to ensure my form was correct to avoid injuries. I also wanted to do a legit pull-up without bands. After this complimentary session, I purchased a 4-pack with the trainer and asked for 1x/week sessions while I tried out the complimentary 1-month teamTraining.
After the 4 sessions, I realized I need a more aggressive trainer. My trainer was very nice, soft spoken and encouraging but that doesn’t really work with my personality. I’m pretty self-driven and need someone to push me out of my comfort zone. I also enjoyed the teamTraining more than personal training given my preference for intense workouts.
If I do decide to continue with personal training in the future, I would reduce the sessions to 2x/month and chose a different trainer.
teamTrain
teamTrain is small group training sessions with maximum of 8 participants (live and virtually) and based on the different workouts. There’s cycling, treadmill, strength, cardio, TRX, etc. The sessions are usually 50 minutes and the sessions I tried all feature a circuit training session. The trainers are there to direct the exercises and offer modifications if needed. They also didn’t comment on form unless you specifically ask them for feedback or have concerns. I really enjoyed these sessions and liked the small group environment. It’s nice to see the same members each week. I will most likely continue with teamTrain on a 2x/week basis.
Costs
The biweekly cost for all-access membership (access to all Healthworks gyms in Greater Boston and no minimum commitment) is $54.99 (increased to $59.99 in November 2022). There’s a lower membership fee for one-gym access and 12-month commitment. There’s also $100 annual facility fee that’s applicable to all membership levels and the one-time enrollment fee of $49 (discounted or waived based on current promotions).
Personal training pricing varies by tier of trainer and frequency of sessions. Tier 1 trainer at 1x/week with auto-renewal is $424/month. There’s also single or non-renewal packages available.
Overall Review
I really enjoy the women’s only concept and women-focused amenities. The gym is well equipped with a nice locker room. My only suggestions are to add whirlpools in all locations, add a smoothie bar and waive the biweekly membership fee if members enroll in auto-renewed teamTraining and/or personal training. To enroll in both teamTrain and weekly personal training sessions would cost north of $700/month. Even with a decent salary, it’s difficult to justify $8400/year on the local gym…
