Category: Best Finds

Getting Started

Pros Gym was initially a church that was later remodeled and turned into a Gym. It is nowhere near the biggest or best gyms on this list but it is still very unique. Pros has two floors that is separated by a set of thin stairs. The basement can be seen from the image above. It begins where the black paint starts on the building. The bottom floor is where a majority of the free weights are located and above is where they have all of their cable weights an machines.

Honor System

Pros often does not have anyone working at the front desk. This is because those who workout her have been present for years and they do not typically have people who come by for day passes. This being said, when people do stop by for a one day visit, they are expected to pay for their day pass by putting money in an envelope and leaving it in a dropbox next to the counter. Nobody checks you in, nor does anyone check if you paid.

My Experience

I went to Pros Gym with my older brother Marcus, his girlfriend Ianna, and my girlfriend Annalise. We went their in July before my family reunion that is out past Jackson. We got there at 9am after being up and driving for roughly an hour. I decided I was going to workout shoulders that day and I remember one exercise specifically, the overhead press. The reason why this memory sticks with me so well is I was too tall to overhead press in the basement. I was standing inside the square rack and went to warmup with the bar and noticed that I would hit the ceiling if I had plates on the bar. I had to improvise a little and ended up pressing from my knees so I could complete the whole movement.

Even with the odd gym and clutter spaces I still enjoyed this gym a lot. The people were great and very kind. In the basement with us was only two other people, a father and son. They looked like they had a routine of working out together because not much talking was done but they powered through their workout like they had done it many times before. After we were done we stopped outside in front of their sign to grab some pictures to capture this memory.

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Prison City

Prison City Physique got its name from Michigans State prison, Jackson Prison. The owner also has multiple family members who work nearby at Jackson Prison. The gym has not been around for much time opening recently in 2015 and has just over 500 members to this day. They are located in a repurposed warehouse in a small city with only 30,000 people.

Competitors

Prison City Physique has just a mere five trainers but they have some credentials already. The trainers are versatile and are able to work with the typical trainee, or members who are training to compete. They have trained 4 competitors who recently went to Kalamazoo Body Building Championships and brought back 3 second place finishes and 1 fourth place finish.

Memberships

Being a member at Prison City Physique does have its perks. They have 24 hour access to they gym 7 days a week. This is followed up by sales on workout supplements such as pre-workouts, proteins, BCAA’s , creatine and more. They also offer training packages to members who have been apart of the community for a over a year, so they like to reward loyalty.

My Experience

When arriving at Prison City Physique I was surprised to see that it used to be a old warehouse. Windows and doors were propped open to allow a draft throughout the gym that was extremely humid and hot. The equipment and machines was great and I remember they had MAG grips which are very specific cable attachments that give the best back workouts. This was almost two years ago when I visited, so they were ahead of the game because now many gyms have been buying this equipment.

I had a great time here but I do remember near the end of my workout my glasses slipped off of my face and hit the ground. While this does happen often when I workout and get sweaty, this time they broke. Although this unfortunate occurrence did happen I did not let it ruin my time there.

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The Origin

Victory was founded by Mike Emory who had served in the United States Army as a long range sniper for 18 years. He was Medically retired after he was diagnosed with PTSD. Mike realized that he had to have a new purpose and way to overcome the effects of PTSD such as depression and isolation so he opened Victory Gym and Veterans Health Club. Not only did Mike open this gym for himself but he also did it for others who were in a similar position as him.

Their Purpose

Victory was meant to be a sanctuary where people could go to forget their past and focus on the present. Mike now has Wednesdays designated for first respondents and military veterans who want to find a place to talk and open up to about their past experiences. They have a separate room where everyone can meet for hours to talk about the past, present, or future to help them overcome their traumatic experiences and PTSD.

Volunteers

The entire gym is ran from volunteers and has been assembled from donations. Many organizations have donated thousands of dollars and equipment to the gym so they have capable of staying open. Individual people have also made monetary and equipment donations as well.

Their entire staff is ran by volunteers, even their management. This is done so all of their profits can be set aside to donate to charities that align with their purpose. The volunteers also make the gym feel more like a home. Many of them bring their service dogs to the gym with then as well and let them roam free. While being there I have came across three different dogs from as small as a Corgi to as big as a German Shepherd.

My Experience

Victory is a gym I wish I could go to more often. It is close to home and a place to workout at. They offer cheap student memberships for only $10 a month and I would love to get my membership here in the summer. This is actually my girlfriends current home gym and she will occasionally bring me in for a day pass. While I have been here a few times I plan on going many more in the future.

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How it Began

Quads Gym is now one of the most well known gyms around the world, but it did not start that way. It began 45 years ago when Dave De Young and Tom Milanovich wanted to have their own gym where they could hangout and lift with friends. It began in their basement until they moved to a small storefront. After they moved to a 46,000 square foot location in Chicago, which is now known as the “Land of the Giants”. This is due to the massive bodybuilders who train here. Now it is one of the most well known gyms in the world due to its diverse range of equipment, impressive bodybuilders, and top tier trainers.

Notable Visitors

Quads is the home gym for many mass monsters such as Pete Miller, Jeff King, The Late Chuck Durr (Mr. America), Anthony Watkins (Teenage Mr. America), and Chris Cormier (Mr. Olympia). Aside from male competitors they have also had Cynthia Barker (Ms. America) and Laura Creavalle (Ms. Olympia).

They have also had a number of pro athletes who have trained here regularly such as Michael Finley of the Dallas Mavericks, Jason Mckie of the Chicago Bears, Rodney Harrison of the New England Patriots, and Simeon Rice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Other athletes and celebrities have made appearances to check it out including Michael Jordan, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, John Meadows, Sean Hayes, Chris O’Donnell, and Henry Rollins.

Range of Equipment

Quads has every option of equipment you could desire and more. They have over 15 different brands of equipment, but they are known for their Hammer Strength room. This room is on the second level and has every free weight Hammer Strength machine ever made. This is complimented by 4 other rooms that have free weights, pin loaded machines, cable towers, racks, platforms, and every bar a lifter could ever desire.

My Experience

My girlfriend Annalise and I recently went to Chicago for our two year anniversary. She knew I had been wanting to go to Quads for some time now so we set aside a good three hours of our morning to go their enjoy a workout, and come get back to our Airbnb. When we arrived it was everything I expected, multiple floors packed with everything I could imagine. There was equipment I had never seen or used before. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to workout with so many option so I ended up doing a little bit of everything.

On my way out I kept on setting my bag down to stop at another machine to try it out. I couldn’t help it, I knew I would never step foot in a gym with this many options of interesting and different equipment. Near the end I turning a corner to walk down the stairs were I found a forearm machine in a corner I had not seem. I sat all my tuff down to give it a try and forgot my water bottle right next to it. I am sure its still in that gym today, hopefully I will be able to get back and collect some time in the future.

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