I want to establish my credentials before proceeding, because I think they are relevant…read more I am not a gym person. I want to be precise about this. I am not a lapsed gym person, or a former gym person who fell off the wagon, or a gym-curious person who simply never committed. I am a person for whom the gym existed entirely outside the boundaries of my daily life for the entirety of my adult existence. I work in information technology. I sit. I have sat with great consistency and no complaints for approximately three decades. My body and I had an understanding, and that understanding did not involve barbells...until now. I walked into Proximal 50 with the energy of a man who has made a decision and is now in the parking lot reconsidering it. I had no vocabulary. I had no frame of reference. I had a vague awareness that gyms contained equipment and that equipment had purposes, but the specifics were genuinely unavailable to me. And then I met Lexi Bata. I had expectations about what a personal trainer would be. Those expectations were formed entirely by cultural osmosis and were wrong in nearly every particular. I was expecting someone loud. I was expecting someone who would regard my current physical condition the way a contractor regards a badly neglected house. I was expecting to be pushed in ways that suggested the pusher had forgotten I was a person and not a goal. Lexi is soft-spoken. I want you to sit with that for a moment. Soft-spoken. Calm. Genuinely happy to be there, which I found disorienting at first because I was not sure I happy to be there and assumed that sentiment was shared by all parties. It was not. She was delighted. She remains delighted. Forty-five minutes twice a week with a person who is visibly pleased to be doing what they do is a remarkably pleasant way to spend time. I did not dread it coming in. I do not dread it now. Several people told me I would dread it. Those people were wrong and I intend to tell them so (I'm looking at you, Carl). She explained things. She explained why we were doing things, not just what, which matters to a person who works in IT because we are suspicious of processes we do not understand. When she demonstrated an exercise she made it look easy. It was not easy. This is not a criticism. This is an observation about the gap between watching a thing and doing a thing, which turned out to be considerable. I have been introduced to the Elevated Heel Goblet Squat and the Russian Twist. I want to address these directly. When Lexi first mentioned them I assumed they were beverages. They are not beverages. They are exercises with names chosen, I believe, to keep non-gym people slightly off-balance. I do them now. Without falling over, mostly. This is progress. The warehouse training space deserves mention. Being in a dedicated area separate from the main gym floor made the experience of being a complete beginner significantly less fraught. I was not performing my ignorance in front of an audience. I was simply learning, in a space designed for learning, with an instructor who treated every question as entirely reasonable. I also need to address the music. I do not know who controls the playlist at Proximal 50 but I would like to ask them several questions. In a single session I have heard Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun, a techno arrangement of a Metallica composition I did not know could exist in that form, and Fishin' in the Dark by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Back to back. Without explanation. I find this tremendously amusing and ask that no one change it. Lexi knows when to push. She pushes in the way a person pushes when they know what you have in reserve and want you to find it, not in the way a person pushes when they have forgotten your name. There is a difference. I notice it every session. I came in knowing nothing. Fifteen sessions later I am writing this in genuine surprise at how much I enjoy something I was prepared to merely endure. Go to Proximal 50. Ask for Lexi Bata. Bring your ignorance. Bring your skepticism about the playlist. Be prepared to hear Black Sabbath done by a marching band. She will know what to do with all of it.

This is a really nice hybrid gym concept in downtown Bismarck. They have "crossfit" style classes…read moreas well as a normal gym setup, split into two rooms. One room (the one that usually has the classes) has full squat racks, lifting platforms, and barbells with bumper plates, which is awesome. The other room has more machines and some free weights like dumbells. There is also a squat rack in that room, but I was perplexed as to why the rubber mat that's under it ends so close to it; it makes it hard to squat if you don't like squatting on bare concrete (which has less traction). I got a free day pass from the Radisson, and the checkin process was easy and painless. Bathrooms are large and clean, and there's showers too. One sort of weird thing about this gym were all the signs they had posted around with rules...I'm not sure how strict they are about enforcing them, but I feel like all the rules posted everywhere was maybe a bit much. All in all, a nice option for dropping in if you are in Bismarck and want to get a workout in.

Another day…read more. Another Planet Fitness location.. Another great workout! We've visited over two dozen locations in seven states on our road trip the last few months. We love our black card membership. We were greeted upon arrival and acknowledged when we left. The girl at the counter was nice and friendly. We didn't have to wait for equipment and the facility was clean. Many more locations to visit!

say they open at 7 am, but we waited a full hour until 8 am before anyone showed up to open. I…read morewant that hour of my life back. we were in Bismarck for a few weeks a year ago as well, and I recall they were a good 40 minutes late opening that Sunday as well. trending in the wrong direction

I just started working out here, and I LOVE it. I will give you a list of pros and cons that I've…read morecame up with during my 2 months of working out here. PROS: -Extremely Large Cardio area. -Pools are incredibly warm. -Private Locker room. (Extra $) -Child Care while you workout. (Extra $) -Friendly Staff. -Affordable membership, on the family level. -Lots of activities. CONS: -Even though I have a family membership, I still have to pay an extra $18/month for Child care. My 18M old wont work out with us, so why should I pay for the family plan if I have to pay an extra $18 a month for child care? -Parking could be better. -If you come at the peak hours, good luck finding a parking spot & a treadmill. -They could use another YMCA to lower the flooding of people. This does provide a center for all of Bismarck/Mandan. Overall, I enjoy my experience at the facility. I would recommend you to get a membership, but take my advice into consideration. Thanks--

ymca and wellness center are failing members - rules are for all not a few - issues with towels,…read moreissue with cleaning, issues with staff, use to be well taken care but now equipment is breaking and not being repaired, but yet they want to raise memberships, old staff need to go

Gym is nice, weight loss program is lacking, to say the least…read more I had signed up for their special 1 month beach body program. After meeting with the Verge team initially, they never once reached out in any capacity since that first day. There was supposed to be group messages for coaching and motivation, but that never happened. I went to a handful of their classes, which were great and the instructors are very good. There was no post-program completion reach out, there was never any communication at all. They clearly didn't care about my outcome, and had no desire to obtain program feedback in the weeks or months since.

In order to cancel your subscription here, you need to pay an extra month. They keep saying they…read moreusing a third party bs service which they intend to make it complicated so they can use it as an excuse to scam people money

First off this isn't for the faint of heart. It is an intense workout, but it makes you stronger…read morenot only physically but mentally as well. Don't be intimidated if the first few classes you feel lost, I've done 150 classes and still haven't mastered all the moves. This class allows you to amplify and modify moves for every fitness level and ability, it also focuses on doing the moves safely to get the best results. Lastly, with two locations, various times, and different coaches there are many opportunities to try it out.

Best workout studio in Bismarck!!! Friendly staff, awesome workout! Loving the effects of 3D…read moretraining! Stop by today and try for free!

From the owner: HOTWORX is a 24-hour infrared fitness studio that provides members with access to a variety of…read morevirtually instructed infrared sauna workouts. Experience the benefits of infrared energy and heat through a 15-minute High-Intensity Interval Training session or any of our 30-minute isometric workouts, including Hot Pilates, Hot Yoga, Hot Barre, Hot Core, Hot Cycle, Hot Blast, and many more. HOTWORX studios are also equipped with a Functional Exercise Area with free weights, bands, ropes, and more! Start achieving your fitness goals and experience massive calorie burn, detoxification, pain relief, and stress reduction at HOTWORX!