I would hate to train somewhere without an olympic lifting platform. I don’t like doing the eccentric on deadlifts or clean and presses, and I can just imagine how dropping the weight would go with a normal weight set on normal floor.
My gym:
*costs 28 EUR a year (yes you read that correctly)
*24/7 access
*3 squat racks, 2 benches, enough free space for olympic lifts and deadlifts, the most basic machines (leg press, lat pulldown, cable row, back extension, pulleys etc.
I love it. Also, since it’s just for the students of our university there are no old people, fat women or other idiots. Not many chicks either, though. 
I don’t like mine that much, only cause it gets crowded at most hours.
- 6 power racks
- 2 squat racks
- 2 platforms (homemade I think) + bumper plates (although the coach there seems to be against dropping weight…not sure why)
- dumbells up to 120 lbs
- 5+ pullups bars
- 3 dip bars
- bands, medballs, foam rollers, etc
- 6 flat benches, a few incline and decline, lots of benches for the dumbells
- There were some farmers handles last year haven’t seen them yet
- 3 back extension benches (one of them I’m able to transform into a GHR when I add extra padding)
- lots of hallways for warmups and sprints
university gym
Over the past few days, I’ve thought more about how good the gym I’ve just joined is more than i think about breasts
no joke
really
like actually
Community Center
Some random Machines
A bunch of benches
Wall of dumbells and EZ bars
Kids who only use the above
1 Squat Rack
1 Platform + bumper plates
…which almost no one uses! YAY
$3 drop in/ $30 for 3 months/ $100 year… /win
[quote]Otep wrote:
Mines a university gym. It’s got three power racks, two deadlifting platforms, six bench stations, and dumbbells that go up to 110.
The power rack is used for squatting, mostly. I even see people going to parallel sometimes.
I like the spacious layout and the extra bars I can use to snatch and C&J.
[/quote]
And Gregory has DB’s up to 150! Niiiiice. I miss the Rec.
I go to the good ol’ 24 hour. There are 3 in my area, each with their own perks. One has db’s up to 150lbs, still has metal plates, 2 squat racks, one cage. The other has more space. Pay 120 bucks a year.
2 power racks
2 squat racks
3 dip/chin stations
Dumbbells up to 150
a “hardcore” room where chalk is allowed
3-4 leg presses
2 hack squats
variety of calf machines
full line of HS machines
Nautilus Pullover(newer version)
Strive machines(really like these)
treadills with TVs
hot women
and more importantly a group of 5-7 advanced bodybuilders to look up to and get motivation from.
I like it
I love my gym (the heavy weights room at the Australian National University) Basically because it’s the only place in the ACT (outside of the Institute of Sport)that has an olympic lifting platform and bumper plates. But there’s also 2 power cages and DB’s up to 55kg. And it’s cheap! -AU$300 per year for ex-students, less if you’re a current student.
Not too much idiocy goes on, most people are pretty good about moving off the platform when I need to train. For some reason they put up a bunch of mirrors in the weights room, including one behind the o-lifting platform so we get a lot more people deadlifting (good!) while ‘checking their form’ in the mirror (sigh).
[quote]litlghost wrote:
I love my gym (the heavy weights room at the Australian National University) Basically because it’s the only place in the ACT (outside of the Institute of Sport)that has an olympic lifting platform and bumper plates. But there’s also 2 power cages and DB’s up to 55kg. And it’s cheap! -AU$300 per year for ex-students, less if you’re a current student.
Not too much idiocy goes on, most people are pretty good about moving off the platform when I need to train. For some reason they put up a bunch of mirrors in the weights room, including one behind the o-lifting platform so we get a lot more people deadlifting (good!) while ‘checking their form’ in the mirror (sigh). [/quote]
Yeah, I was a big fan of the ANU gym while I was at uni.
Unfortunately, then I moved across the river and now go to a Fitness First in Deakin. Luckily it has one powerlifting platform for deadlifts (although it could use better padding). However, the side rails on the two squat racks are too high for me to do proper squats (A2G) without hitting the rails when I get to the bottom.
As I was reading these responses, I realized that my gym sounds kinda sad when I start listing the things it doesn’t have.
We don’t have…
massage therapist
basketball courts
pool
sauna
locker rooms
bumper plates
air conditioning
cardio equipment
shiny new machines
the hours are weird
and its never clean
But it does have bands, chains, boards, an abundance of chalk, a variety of bars and some of the strongest people in the world.
[quote]buckeye girl wrote:
As I was reading these responses, I realized that my gym sounds kinda sad when I start listing the things it doesn’t have.
We don’t have…
massage therapist
basketball courts
pool
sauna
locker rooms
bumper plates
air conditioning
cardio equipment
shiny new machines
the hours are weird
and its never clean
But it does have bands, chains, boards, an abundance of chalk, a variety of bars and some of the strongest people in the world.[/quote]
Sounds like a dream come true
Just as I was thinking how great my gym was as I walked in I noticed the olympic lifting platforms were being used…
By two guys curling 40kg
and one guy shoulder pressing 40kg (not even cleaning the weight, had it on stands)
What the hell…
We have fixed weight barbells that go up to 50kg and room to use them. I changed round my routine by doing some front squats, and luckily when I had finished them, both platforms were free. Saved me having to explain to the idiots that you don’t need to curl on an olympic lifting platform. That’s what a squat rack is for 
I have two gyms. Both have their own charms.
One is a chain gym. The equipment kinda sucks (what I would give for a Forza bench, a good squat bar, and good DL bar there!). The music they play over the intercom really sucks.
But it’s close by, there’s lots of eye-candy, and nobody minds say shit if I drop weights or use a little chalk. If anything, the folks that work there seem pretty interested in how I train.
The other gym is little hole in the wall with monolifts, competiton bars and benches, busted ammonia caps everywhere, and most importantly a kick-ass group of strong training partners. I love that place.
The only downside to it is that, when you are injured, you can’t go light there. Something about the atmosphere and the culture there makes you go heavy- even when you really shouldn’t.