No, I’m not talking about race discrimination, or gender discrimination, or any of the other standards. I’m talking about swimmer discrimination!
Okay, so discrimination may be a little strong for it but hear me out. When would you normally do your swim training? Before you go into work or after you get off, right? Well I was swimming today after work and once again was kicked out of the pool to make way for a water aerobics class, or as I call it F.L.F. (figure it out yourself). They do this class Tues, Wed. Thurs at 6PM, or prime time for us tri folks.
No matter how many people are swimming, at 5:55 they start taking the lane lines down and the instructor kicks you out of the pool, saying it’s company policy. They always give some lame excuse like safety (for who?), or noise. Seriously, one of the desk jockeys at LAF told me we had to vacate the pool because our kicking was too loud…seriously?
Now I’d be fine with them leaving one lane open and the swimmers have to wait their turn for the one lane but even that isn’t an option for LAF.
Compounding the issue is that any of the FLF’s can take up a lane doing their little routines any time they want to. I’m fine with that as at least they’re getting some form of exercise, but to totally exclude us swimmers so they can have the pool all to themselves is totally wrong in my book.
I’m writing a letter to LAF corporate but I don’t expect any accommodation. Do anyone else have this same problem?
Okay, I’ll climb off my soap box now…
Free market economy. They outnumber you and they pay so you lose. Oh well.
Fat ladies flapping?
i remember the day the LA Fitness police came to my door and forced me to join, my life has never been the same again. Poor victim. You obviously had the same, awful experience. I swim at 8:30pm 3-4/ wk and dont like it, but faced with the same obstacles i do what I must and remain grateful to have an adequate laned pool to swim in at all. Build your own pool or GET OVER IT
I can relate but respectfully disagree with your conclusions. I left the local Y for this reason and joined the LAF as they promised to keep 1 lap lane open. After 6 months, they closed the lab lane M-F at 9 am and Tues/Thurs at 7 pm for the hippo class. As they had lots of participants, I guess it is just the democracy of economics. The solution is not that tough–just modify your swim schedule to work around the known & posted classes or go somewhere else. These classes last for 1 hr–just do your core work/stretch & swim afterwards or swim in the morning.
As for them taking over the pool at non-class times, just swim in the same lane. Seriously, you are a triathlete so swimming with someone next to you should not be a big deal (although I still prefer to have a lane to myself or to share with someone doing freestyle only).
With all that said, I have been tempted on many occasions to build a lap pool in my back yard. Stay positive & just work through it.
When I swam at LA Fitness, the managers always told me the water aerobics class was designed to be 50 minutes to give them 5 minutes at the beginning to take the lane lines out and 5 minutes at the end to put them back in. That was rarely enforced, but the manager always said he would talk with the instructor. It never made much of a difference, but I don’t think it’s company policy.
The simplest thing to do is to find a new place to swim–that’s what I did.
I have the same issue at my LA fitness. I typically get in the water at 5:00, so I have about an hour to bust out a quick 2k of drills.
The funny thing is the class is full of retired people and it really doesn’t need to go during those hours. I used to hate them, now I’ve just grown used to it.
The worst part is that there are 3 LA Fitness gyms within a 15-20 min radius of my house and work. And all 3 locations have the same swim schedule!!! It would be nice if they staggered the classes, but that would make too much sense…
The worst part is that there are 3 LA Fitness gyms within a 15-20 min radius of my house and work. And all 3 locations have the same swim schedule!!! It would be nice if they staggered the classes, but that would make too much sense…
Exact same situation near me. I gave up and now just work around their schedule.
At the gym I use most frequently, I was treated rudely by one of members of team WBWA (another love anagram), so now I swim up until the exact minute they are scheduled to start, and I get in at the exact minute they are scheduled to finish. Their instructor is totally sympathetic so that helps.
Get away from LA fitness if you can. I swapped to Lifetime, and though it’s a bit more expensive, you get a LOT more for your money, and the pool complexes are much nicer. Swimmers take priority over the Fat Ladies Floundering.
I feel your pain. I was displaced from the YMCA pool last winter by Aqua Zumba and swim lessons. I sent an e-mail to the aquatics director ( after deleting my angry first draft). I got a meeting with both the aquatics director and the facility director and eventually more pool time. I stressed that adult swimmers don’t need much, just a little bit of a lane to share, are unlikely to require rescue or discipline from the pool staff and of course, pay dues like everyone else.
Find a local masters swim group. You will get 10x more out of it.
When I hear stories like these I feel blessed to live a mile and a half from an olympic pool that happens to also have a gym (rather than the other way around). Eleven 50 meter lanes that they split in two with a bulkhead (thus 22 lanes). In the summer the open up 6 of the lanes and make them 50 meters. It’s almost hard not to get a lane to yourself.
That, and the fact that the pool was always disgusting, and a few other reasons, was why I left LA Fitness and joined the local Y…
Exact same situation near me. I gave up and now just work around their schedule.
Same here. I know the schedule and work around it. I know that I’d better be able to get my swim finished before 6 pm on Tues/Thur or 9 am on M/W/F. I either go in the morning on my way to work, at lunch or duck out of work early at 4:30pm to make sure I get it done.
What annoys me is 6-10 people use the entire pool. They could easily fit into 1 or 2 lanes (insert fat people jokes here).
So, you’re upset that you get kicked out of the pool for a regularly scheduled class that involves the removal of the lane markers? 6pm is prime time for everyone, not just tri peeps. Be like the rest of the world and swim before work. Getting up when it’s dark to swim makes you more hardcore
Around here, it’s swim teams. All the YMCA and Rec center pools within a 25 mile radius are completely booked from 4-6:30 with local school and independent swim teams (because none of the local schools have their own pools). I’m sure it’s a good thing for kids, but I hate that I can’t swim at all during that time…
This is why I love America. Where else can a person find fault with having to follow a set of pre-determined rules, consider themself a victim, and actually gain sympathy from others for their self-imposed plight!?
As always, I refer you to the appropriate thread …
I love internet, where people who have absolutely nothing to add feel compelled to waste their time posting.
The OP pays for a gym membership and the ability to use the pool and finds himself not getting to use said pool. This post could actually be helpful for other people considering this gym.
I also left a local gym because the whales took up too many lanes. They were also bitchy about it and would just start taking down ropes themselves because they didn’t have enough room.
I love internet, where people who have absolutely nothing to add feel compelled to waste their time posting.
The OP pays for a gym membership and the ability to use the pool and finds himself not getting to use said pool. This post could actually be helpful for other people considering this gym.
I also left a local gym because the whales took up too many lanes. They were also bitchy about it and would just start taking down ropes themselves because they didn’t have enough room.
So, it’s helpful to inform people that a business operates according to its posted schedule, and that it doesn’t bend over backwards to accommodate a comparatively small demographic within its net clientele? That changes everything! I would have made the mistake of assuming that I could do what I want, when I want, where I want simply because I pay for the right to do so.