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.

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

I was shopping for a gym. I want to be transparent about what that process looked like for a person…read morein my situation, which is a person who has never belonged to a gym, has no framework for evaluating gyms, and was operating on the assumption that gyms were broadly similar to each other in the way that parking lots are broadly similar to each other. I was wrong about this. I am getting ahead of myself. I stopped in unannounced. No appointment. No warning. I simply appeared, in the way that people appear when they have made a decision in a parking lot and are acting on it before the decision changes its mind. I was prepared to look at a brochure, take a pamphlet and leave with the information I needed to continue not joining a gym for several more weeks. Christina was at the front. I want to be specific about what happened next because I think it matters and because I have been to places where walking in unannounced produces an expression on the face of the staff that communicates, with considerable efficiency, that your timing is inconvenient. That expression did not appear. Christina was genuinely pleased to see me, or performed genuine pleasure with such commitment that I cannot tell the difference. She offered a full tour. Not a partial tour. Not a gesture toward the general area of the equipment. A full tour, conducted with the calm enthusiasm of a person who likes where they work and wants you to understand why. She showed me everything. The gym itself, which is well-equipped and does not feel like a place that has been arranged to photograph well and experienced differently. The class spaces, which are large enough to suggest that the classes are a genuine offering and not an afterthought. The women-only gym, which is a separate dedicated space and not simply a corner with a curtain. I mention this because the distinction matters and because I was not expecting it and because the thoughtfulness of that decision tells you something about how this particular gym thinks about the people who use it. She explained the programs. She explained the membership options. She explained what each thing included, what it cost and what it did not include, in language I could follow without needing to ask her to repeat herself. There were no contracts. I want to note that I asked about this directly because I am a person who has read enough about gym memberships to know that the contract conversation is where things sometimes become uncomfortable. It did not become uncomfortable. There were no contracts. She said it plainly. I believed her. That was the whole conversation. I did not feel at any point that I was bothering her. This sounds like a low bar. It is not a low bar. It is, in my experience of showing up to places unannounced with questions, a bar that is cleared less often than you would hope. I asked about personal trainers. I was expecting to be handed a list of names and left to make a decision I had no qualifications to make. What actually happened was that she explained a process. Someone would call me. They would talk with me about what I was looking for. They would match me with a trainer who was a good fit for my specific situation. I want to be clear that I received this information with polite skepticism because it sounded like the kind of thing people say when they want you to feel good about a decision you have not yet made. They called. They asked the right questions. They matched me with Lexi Bata. I have now had fifteen sessions with Lexi Bata and I am filling every available review slot on every platform that will accept text, which should tell you something about how the matching process went. Christina told me they would find me a great fit. I did not fully believe her. She was right. I am documenting this publicly because she deserves the credit and because I think it is important to tell people when something worked exactly the way someone said it would. Proximal 50 North is a good gym. Christina is a reason to walk in. The matching process is a reason to stay. Stop in unannounced if you want. I did. It worked out.

Nice, clean, spacious workout studio. The layout is a little weird. I took a spin class and there…read morewas only a speaker in the front and it was hard to hear the teacher. Good workout however. Also The workout room up stairs is very narrow and mirrors are poorly placed. The view is awesome when the sun isn't blinding your eyes. They need to pay attention to a few more details before I think about joining.

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!

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

Stopped by for the Saturday morning barbell class. It was great. We got a nice 10 min self warmup…read moreand stretched. They have foam rollers, bands, dowels and lighter weights. We worked on snatches and cleans. I'm not good at either lifts so it was great to work on these two specifically. Katie was a great coach!

Amazing community! If you're looking to improve your life and enjoy awesome people, come visit Big…read moreMuddy!!

child watch in the Bismarck area is horrible. they left kids with dirty diaper and fussing. i…read moreliterally have tk tell them maybe put him in the jumperoo after they called me that my 10month old does not want to calm down. they do not try at all. And I kept on talking on air a stuff just ignored me for the whole 15 minutes she is lretending to be working kn a computer so I decided to move on and go home.

Excellent fitness facility. Lots of classes to choose from, wide variety of equipment, 2 large…read morepools, locker room hot tubs & saunas. Clean. I've traveled the country & have not found another YMCA that even comes close to this one. My sons says, "...I could live here..." lol.

Bismarck Anytime Fitness Review…read more I was traveling through Bismarck and stopped in to use the Anytime Fitness here--wow, I was not disappointed! This is hands down the biggest and best Anytime Fitness I've ever seen. The facility is spacious, clean, and packed with top-notch equipment for every type of workout. The 24/7 access made it super convenient, and the atmosphere was welcoming and motivating. Whether you're lifting, doing cardio, or just looking for a great place to stay active while on the road, this gym has it all. Highly recommend this location to anyone in the area or just passing through like I was. A truly impressive gym!

Beautiful gym! Love the natural light. Great hammer strength and Precor equipment. Large selection…read moreof machines, free weight, functional equipment, and cardio. Very welcoming environment.

AWESOME place! Thea offers personal one on one training and…read moregroup classes.

From the owner: Private personal training studio. Fun, knowledgeable, and effective training. I have rowers, TRX…read moreSuspension Trainers and RipTrainers, Lebert Fitness Equalizers, Bosu, Ultimate Sandbags, Slam Balls, and a number of pieces for boxing. Trained in all of the equipment I use and used for their effectiveness in full body, functional training.