LifeTime Fitness
Claim this Profile
BestCompany.com is trying to work directly with this company to verify the accuracy of the information on this page. Thank you for your patience as we make sure we’re getting it right.
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 can gain access to personal training programs with a personal trainer, health club benefits, and various other workout programs. 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.
Top Ranked Companies
#1 Planet Fitness chevron_right
#3 Gold's Gym chevron_right
The Good
- Upfront fees
- 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 can range from $39 to $79, depending on what your needs are. Average enrollment fees for other gyms we reviewed are $100 or more.
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, 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. Most of these 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 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. Lifetime also hosts several different types of competitive athletic events throughout the course of a year. These events have earned Lifetime Fitness a reputation as a business that practices what it preaches about fitness and health.
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.
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 $150 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.
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.
Disclaimer
As part of our service, we attempt to partner with all the companies that we review, and may get compensated when you click or call them from our site; however, regardless of any current, past, or future financial arrangements, companies listed on Best Company cannot buy their position, nor do we manipulate or inflate a company's ranking for financial gain. A company’s ranking is based on and calculated by an objective set of ranking criteria, as well as user reviews. See our How We Rank page for more information regarding our ranking algorithm.
All user reviews posted on Best Company are subject to screening and approval. We reserve the right to approve or deny any review posted to this site in accordance with our Review Guidelines. Best Company never suppresses user reviews—unless they are being investigated for authenticity, or if they violate our review guidelines. We encourage anyone who suspects a user review to be fraudulent or intentionally inaccurate to please notify our review moderation team.
User Reviews
Star Rating
70 Reviews
Review Breakdown
Sentiment Criteria
I love that it is exceptionally clean and well organized. It is a one stop destination! The pools are clean and the lifeguards seem well trained. The fitness floor is amazing. No waiting for equipment! They have an abundance of clean towels available on the fitness floor, the pools and the locker rooms. Speaking of the locker rooms, they are amazing! The women's has vanities with hairdryers and other amenities. The showers are clean and roomy. There is a wet a and dry sauna in the locker rooms as well as on the pool deck. I could go on and on! It is amazing! Last, but not least the people who work there are knowledgable and friendly! I couldn't recommend LifeTime more highly!
I love this fitness center because their facilities are always clean and well kept. I feel comfortable working out there, but the price is expensive to keep up.
Lifetime Fitness is an incredible fitness center because everything is well kept, clean, and nice and the staff is very helpful.
I really love LifeTime Fitness. They have amazing machines and equipment and staff that are more than willing to help. It is the perfect place to work out and get in shape.
Absolutely love LifeTime Fitness! It has everything I want: fun fitness classes, A LOT of different weight machines, rock wall, steam room and sauna, and very clean amenities.
I love lifetime fitness. The facility is beautiful the amenities are great and the customer service is awesome. It is a bit pricey but you definitely get what you pay for.
I went to lifetime fitness for a time, but it got too expensive so I switched gyms. I loved how clean the facilities were and the amenities. I would love to go back but it’s just too pricey.
Great people and a nice setup of equipment.the staff are always friendly. They are willing to help with any equipment that you need help with.
Great for basic training and people who need help with working out. I believe it needed more diverse equipment. Customer service was always amazing with a very friendly helpful staff. Very over priced
Exceptional place with very friendly people, The place is very clean and the equipment are update with up to date machines
I have been a member of LifeTime Fitness in the past, and I wish there was one closer right now, but it is about 45 minutes away. They have the top of the top facilities and I loved being able to have the use of the weights without a wait almost always. Loved the locker rooms, the pool and the amenities. Great for the whole family and I also loved the rock wall.
Excellent Facility with state of the art equipment. The lifetime spa is a full service total body spa. The lifetime cafe make excellent & healthy food choice for breakfast, lunch, & dinner. And best of all this is a 24 hour facility.
Like LifeTime, because the gym open 24 hours. And also my teenage kids can hang out at the gym playing basketball and also sit in the hot tub.
Amazing!! I love the flexibility of my trainer and anytime I go to the gym it's never overcrowded
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.
Lifetime fitness is my all time favorite Fitness Center ever. The gym in Summerlin which is located in North Las Vegas is the best. There is a full soccer court, swimming year round, a rock climbing wall for the family, and my favorite part is a jetted tub in the women's locker room. You will find it is like visiting a spa! Seriously the best.
I was a member for 5 years and experienced bullying by a team instructor and could not cancel my membership without excessive fees, this is a dishonest company
Do not sign a membership agreement with these scumbags. They make it impossible to cancel and then aggressively attempt to collect their frivolous debts.
My experience with Lifetime started out very positive and ended badly. The money seems worth it in the beginning but once you start adding on a trainer and classes the price goes up. Most but not all the trainers are good . People are mostly friendly and you never have to wait for a machine. My reason for wanting to leave was I had purchased the machines I liked and no longer needed lifetime fitness . This is where my dissatisfaction comes from , I’m still 9 months later dealing with the problems of canceling but them telling me my account was on hold and trying to charge a credit card that is no longer in use . So now they want me to update them with a new card , I called and went in to talk to somebody more then once finally talked to a girl who said she was sorry about the confusion and she would take care of it .. Now I’m getting phone calls about a bill that was from the times they tried charging a card that was out of date and after I canceled . It’s now March and they insist I will be charged for April too . Wtf I would like to add that this is lifetime old Orchard that I was dealing with . Maybe others are better...
By far the nicest and cleanest gym out there. The equipment is very well taken care of and really clean. The kid's area is awesome and I feel that my kids are safe and well watched over while I'm working out. Would definitely recommend Lifetime to anyone!
Love Lifetime Fitness. I have always had a great experience there. Very clean. I also really liked the cafe/protein shop. My favorite was the child care. Their day care was very clean and organized. I felt like it was ran very well.
Super nice facility with great teachers and class options. Day care for small kids make it super easy to go anytime. Nice employees.
Lifetime is my favorite gym ever! It’s expensive because it has features that are luxurious and spa-like. The childcare center is amazing and my kids love going there. Which means I actually get to use my membership. I love the leather couches placed all over the center. The classes are fun and energetic. I’ve never taken a class or had an instructer I didn’t enjoy. I love everything about Lifetime!
Best gym in Utah. It is the cleanest and most elite gym that I have been a part of. I would frequently get my hair done there and enjoy some great food in their cafe. They need one in Utah county!
I cancelled my gym membership with lifetime because it was too expensive but i miss the perks. It was more of a club than a gym because it offered so many things. The workers were very professional and helpful and the facility was clean! The pool was amazing and there were so many machines that even if it was busy, there were still machines that you could do!
Lifetime fitness is such a great gym! Especially for families. They have the cleanest facilities and the nicest staff!
The equipment is nice and clean at lifetime fitness. There is a lot of variety as far as machines go as well. Classes are fun and the gym is well kept.
This gym has such a good vibe and is so welcoming! I don't feel intimidated because the employees are so welcoming and willing to help you. Definitely good value for the prices.
The gym here is clean and have lots of options. The pool is clean and my kids love to swim and relax in it after we workout. Walking into the gym I am always welcomed.
We have been members in Arizona over 11 years and have been subject to price increases and membership status increases. Recently we tried to utilize a club in N J that was closer to my wife's tempoary home, but it is a "Diamond" status, where in Arizona all we were offered was Platinum at the time and now are Onyx. To use a Diamond Status club we now have to pay additional membership fees. This was not disclosed to us at the time of our membership. I contacted the company's main office and the young lady was RUDE and when I asked why we had to pay the additional member ship fee she indicated because it was a Diamond club. When I asked what was the difference, she said it could be because of services, cost to maintain the club, higher real estate fees, salaries, and other non club services. She had no real answer. Then she rushed me off the line. Look for other options in your health club search!
Lifetime fitness has literally everything you’d want - but it’s on the expensive side. However if you enjoy taking classes, they offer many free classes which is a plus.
I have been a member for 12 months with my wife and 2 year old son. I came in to cancel my wife's account in October. I was told that it would be removed and pro rated for November. Ok fine Well December comes and I'm still being charged the same rate. I called to ask why my December is still being charged the same amount. Lifetime says they have no record of me canceling. So basically I had to pay again the full amount for December and pro-rated charge for January. You would think you pay this much a gym that the customer service would be better and the people working there know how to do their job. The funny thing is when I signed up initially I had a referral and had to call and email for 2 weeks for my referral to get her lifetime points. They love to bill he hell out of you and offer you zero customer service. Make sure you get everything in writing and follow up. Terrible customer service. The worst part is reading other yelp reviews the same thing has happened to so many other customers trying to cancel their membership. Lifetime just keeps charging and has no record of them canceling. You pay $150 a month and the customer service is absolutely horrible. Don't believe me read the other reviews. The worst part is about reading other reviews online about life time and the same stuff has happened to many other who tried to cancel. Each time paper work is lost or it was never “cancelled “ shady business practices.
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
Redeemed a 7 day pass for the Lifetime gym at the worldgate location. Was briefed by one of the managers who tried to talk me into a membership. When I told him I would think about it but at the time not looking to commit for a membership he was still courteous and gave a tour of the gym. LifeTime is one of the nicer gyms I’ve been too but after my 7day pass I stuck with my decision due to the high cost of membership.
beautiful gym and very nice customer service. More on the expensive side of a gym membership but worth it if you can afford it
By far the best gym I have ever been too. The equipment is always clean and in the best condition, and the staff is always super nice when you walk in the doors.
This has been my gym for a few years. they are best Ive experience when it comes to environment.
They had a variety of equipment to use which all worked and were clean. The people that worked there were nice and friendly.
Really nice gym! The equipment is very new and easy to use by everybody!! The service is great too!
I have been a member of Life Time Fitness in Vernon Hills, IL since 2009. We spent many good years there , but the indoor lap pool had a major issue. There a dry sauna located right next to this pool. However, there is no shower near the sauna. Consequently, when people go to use this sauna, they tend to immediately jump into this pool without even washing themselves first . It is disgusting and completely unsanitary. It makes the pool very dirty at times. I complained to the staff about this, but they don't seem to care. It seems to me that they don't even clean the pool area itself that well, either.
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.
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.
Lifetime is AMAZING! This place is huge! The thing I like most is that they have lots for kids to do. You definitely get what you pay for but keep in mind that you will be paying quite a bit more than just your basic gym.
Lifetime fitness in Summerlin NV is a great facility because of the rock wall and the indoor soccer facility. It is a fun place for the entire family!!
LifeTime Fitness provides everything you could need from a gym but it make you pay for it. If you are somebody who will only use this gym for a fraction of the features you will be paying a lot more than you need.
Gyms are very nice and clean. Pools are fun to swim in and relaxing after a workout.
Lifetime fitness was my go to gym for me and my family. It was great because while I would workout my family would go swim in the pool and have a blast. It’s great.
LifeTime Fitness is the best gym I have ever been to. They have wonderful modern facilities, with great customer service and all the extras to make your experience spectacular.
Please review your contract, the hidden fees will upset you. The personnel will not tell you all the truth and make you sign a contract. I was misled into a fraudulent membership month-to-month which became a contract with hidden fees. REVIEW YOUR CONTRACT. THEY HAVE HIDDEN FEES THAT THEY WILL NOT TELL YOU. DO NOT TRUST THEM. E.C.
The club itself has been good, it's when you try to cancel your membership they fail. Both my son and my sister have cancelled their membership at the club and their cancellation was never processed and the paperwork was lost. The corporation continued to take money out of their accounts for several months until it was noticed. Then they required them both to go into the club again for a signature. They were extremely pushy and tried to get them both to put the membership on hold. It took a number of times to get someone to process the paperwork. Very unprofessional!