OMG!!! I just finished a 15 min HIIT cardio workout on the treadmill and I'm dead. I found out today that this YMCA is just 1 minute walk away from my work! Now I have no excuses to fit in a workout everyday! Not only is the location super convenient but the staff was super friendly and showed me where everything was. The workout rooms are located in different parts of the building which a bit different than most gyms but I can't complain because I'm just so excited at the convenience of this location. I look forward to taking more classes and fitting more workouts in throughout my week! read more

Buchanan YMCA - Group Exercise Schedule for September - Gyms Near Me - San Francisco, California

I just renewed my membership here after a year long hiatus; not much has changed. What I like most about the Buchanan Y, other than its proximity to home, is that it is small, but never gets crowded. I've been here at various times of the day, and though there's obviously more people during the early morning and evening hours with the before and after-work crowd, respectively, there's never been a problem with wait times. The other nice thing about the Y is its clientele. The facilities are family-oriented; it's the furthest thing from a meat market, at least at this Y. Front desk staff have always been friendly. The cardio room and weight room are on the first floor, with Nautilus machines located on the second floor; also in the Nautilus room are a couple treadmills, exercise bikes, and an elliptical. (I like to exercise up here because, once in awhile, I do get tired of staring at myself in the mirror and having people stare at my ass while I'm running.) A good amount of classes are available to enroll in, from Yoga and Pilates, to Aikido, and even Flamenco Dancing--free with membership. Membership cost differs for each facility. I'm assuming Buchanan's is the lowest due to its size. It's $41/mo for Adults, with the Young Adult membership (18-25 yrs.) at $32/mo. (Edit: Rates increase July '06.) There are a number of other memberships, including one for access to all Bay Area YMCAs. The real downside to this place is the hours. They're only open till 9 p.m. on weeknights, and close during the early evening hours over the weekend. And watch out for holidays: They either close early or are closed entirely for the day. There wasn't an option, so for clarification, the facility opens at 5:45 a.m. M-F, not 6:00 a.m. as listed above. There's free parking across the street @ Japantown. read more

Buchanan YMCA - Gyms Near Me - San Francisco, California

Ever dream of having your own personal gym all to yourself? This particular YMCA comes pretty close to that! The Buchanan YMCA is tucked away literally invisible to the normal driver and pedestrian on Geary Blvd as it's in a little alley. And that's the beauty and downfall of this particular YMCA as well. I've been a member of the "Y" since the early 90s when I first started participating in and now help teach part of a Chinese Martial Arts class. So my love for various sports and working out practically started here at this location. The YMCA is a great gym to work-out at, without having all of the "overly-full of themselves" folks who seek to boost their egos while intimidating others working out at the gym. Here, I can work-out and not have to worry about who's checking me out, or anyone one else hoping and wishing to be checked out--as no one will be around. So while I do enjoy the occasional eye candy at my other gym (24 Hour Fitness), it's great to work-out and not have to worry about any one else around. You have the freedom to use any of the machines without any time limit as there won't be anyone waiting to use your machine. All of the free-weights and machines are new and extremely smooth to use. The cardio room is well air conditioned with ceiling fans and windows rather than larger gyms where the circulation is just awful and stuffy...thus causing the gym to stink really bad. There's no dirty gym smell at all. As I mentioned, the lack of patrons to this gym because of location, can be its downfall as well. This YMCA has been hurting for quite a few years for lack of new membership enrollments. But they have a great variety of group exercise classes, with less with 20 people. So you get great personal attention. Classes vary from martial arts classes, yoga, pilates, spinning, etc. 1 Star deducted for lack of parking spots, and location which happens to be borderline of Western Addition and Japantown. So there have been numerous car thefts and break-in's. Just a word of caution. But for those folks who seek a low-key, unpretentious gym with a quiet friendly atmosphere, this particular location is definitely THE spot! read more

$10 for a day pass. (That's half the prices of all the other gyms in the gyms in the area!) It's perfect for someone like me who would only go to a gym every other month or so. To all the people that have complained on Yelp about how "old" and "grungy" this place is..... get over it! It's a nonprofit community center. It's like complaining about Goodwill having things that are too old inside. I actually really liked this place. It's not crowded. It's actually a bit of a ghost town. You really feel like you have your own personal space, AND it has the basics of everything that I need: FIRST FLOOR: # Room with aerobics equipment ---- 5 treadmills ---- 7 elliptical ---- 5 stationary bikes ---- 2 stairmaster ---- 1 rowing # Room with free weights # Room with resistance machines # Indoor basketball court SECOND FLOOR: ---- Multiple classrooms for fitness classes (schedule on their website) read more

I took a tour of this Y and was super impressed with the immaculate facilities and sparkling equipment. Sarah behind the desk was friendly and helpful. Two members -- Katie and Max -- introduced themselves and were excellent Ambassadors for this YMCA branch. Saw a Tai Chi class in progress and could see this Y really lives up to the "Body, Mind & Spirit" motto. I'll be back to try a Day Pass! read more

Although not up to the standards of the other San Francisco YMCAs I've visited, the Buchanan Y would be a perfectly fine facility for a rural/suburban community. The folk here sure are friendly, don't get me wrong (and I'm sure the community as a whole is doing good work), but as a gym, the Buchanan Y is lacking. Partially, this is because of the limited size of their facility: there is no room for a squat rack, and while they have a full outfit of circuit training machines, much of the cardio room has seen better days. There is a flat bench (and an incline), but dumbbells only go up to 35 lbs. This is problematic. The locker rooms are perfectly adequate, and although the column shower gave me unpleasant flashbacks to my high school locker room experience, it performed its function, namely, making me not disgusting. Just a warning, unlike other YMCA's in the area, there is no towel service, leaving the unprepared to dry off with paper towels or vigorously shake themselves dry like a dog after a bath. Three stars: better than some YMCA's I've worked out in (I'm looking at you, every single YMCA in the LA Valley), but not up to the quality of other facilities in the area. Extras: Accessible by 38, 38R and 31. Large gym for basketball. Good community programming. read more

So I just moved into this neighborhood and have been a member for a month or so. Pros: -Price: at $35 a month this is the best deal out there. -Never crowded. I mean this place is deserted. Usually I'm the only -person working out. The busiest I've seen it is around 5:30 PM, and maybe 4 people are lifting weights. - Decent amount of equipment, especially for it's use. Enough free weights to do about anything I need. -Upstairs. It is more open and has free weights up to 30 lbs, so if anything I do uses low weight I go upstairs. Cons: - The atmosphere/environment. For me the feel of a place is important. I want to WANT to come here to work out. At Buchanan it feels stuffy and cramped, even with no one there! I am thinking about joining the Jewish Community Center gym even at twice the price or more because it's a place I would actually want to go to. For the price, the Y at Buchanan is fine, but you get what you pay for! read more

c'mon open up already. where's my karate and wushu instructor. you didn't update members on info during covid. we gotta keep in contact with our instructors or we may lose our rankings and certifications that we've spent years earning. not to meantion our dues. are our instructors teaching elsewhere, another y? we need to know. how do we contact them? how do we let them contact us. if the ymca has decided to manage these programs they need to be responsible. you just don't cut everyone loose and keep us all uninformed for twelve months. i called buchanan several times over the first ten months of covid and it still had the same message as before covid. they didn't even update their message service. you can't just decide as an administrator that buchanan isn't going to be a functioning ymca anymore. people have too much invested in hard work and dues, and extra fees and expenses (you know how much a heavy duty karate gi costs?). they've earned a certain level in training and they need to continue, or at least know when and where in the future they can; or else they lose all that investment, and these become undue damages. it's like the ymca administrators - not just at buchanan - have no sense of responsibility to the paying members. they are too busy virtue signaling to one another with their social projects to even be aware of the paying gym member. they sent me a letter during covid lockdown - the only time the y informed me of anything - telling me my electronically deducted membership dues (they no longer allow you to pay in cash or check by the month. this takes away from their time networking with one another) are now considered charitable donations to the y. they didn't ask my permission whether or not i wanted to "donate" my money to their good works. they decided for me and informed me after the fact. of course this is not only professionally unethical; it's illegall. but ymca burocrats have no awareness beyond their immediate network of other y burocrats. why should they be concerned about the paying gym member. they have no power to promote or penalize them. only their fellow administrators represent an advantage or a threat to their livelyhood, so naturally they are concerned with pleasing, forming alliiances, within their peer group. members need more power within ymca administration, and not members hand picked by administrators. we need our interests advanced, and they need to get our permission before they go off on anymore of their do-gooder social projects paid with our money. i'm sick of paying for the ymca administrator advancing his personal interests. we need stakeholder representation; and ymca administrators are not stakeholders. they work for the stakeholders, the rest of us. read more

Christie's yoga classes (Tuesday at 6pm and Saturday at 10am) are the best. thing. ever.I can even touch my toes now! Always leave her classes feeling really revived, renewed, stretchy and energetic. I'm much more toned, flexible and my body just feels better. The staff are all super; they remember you, say hi, discuss metal music, whatevs. But Christie is seriously the best!! read more

This is BY FAR one of the greatest things in my neighborhood. Its cheap . . . Its close (less than 2 blocks for me) . . . . The staff is friendly. They cater to me (they now offer free meetings/fitness planning with a personal trainer). And best of all . . . the facility is underutilized. That means I go there and half the time, I'm the only one in the facility. I don't have to wait for the weights or the elliptical machine. This place is really a hidden gem for those in my hood. read more

This YMCA is kinda disappointing. The carpets are old and smelly. They never refill the sanitizers. Yoga pads are super dirty. For their monthly adult membership price, I honestly don't think it's worth it. There are so many budget gyms out there, there is no point to come to this one. However, staffs are friendly, you don't need to wait to use the equitments. read more

I LOVE THE Y!!!!!!!!!!!! After having been a member of practically every gym in the Bay Area, I finally found my home at the YMCA. Their relatively affordable all-bay-area gym membership ($73/mo) gives me access to all the city's YMCAs, of which there are quite a few. Buchanan is my favorite, mostly because its walking distance from home but also because its always nearly EMPTY and the staff is super-friendly. I am usually the only woman using the locker room at any given time, and I tend to hit the gym during peak gym hours (6AM or 6PM). Buchanan is small, but has nearly everything one needs to get a solid workout via cardio and weights. And as an added bonus, I never get leered at or hit on by creepy guys (an experience any girl hitting 24 or Crunch is all too familiar with). Also, its totally down to earth, which is a refreshing change from some of the "scenier" SF facilities. The drawbacks, and the reasons I visit other SF YMCAs at least once a week: Buchanan YMCA has no pool, no sauna or steam room, and worst of all, no seated leg press. But Central YMCA has one, so problem easily solved! As an aside, if you are one who joins gyms but rarely finds time to use your membership, you can feel really good about supporting your local community with your Y membership - whether or not you're getting shredded! :) read more

Don't waste your money here! don't sign up! This ymca location is old, the gym equipment is also very old and is often broken. There is no proper air ventilation, so you are forced to breath in the humid sweaty air, that is constantly stuck in the room. The gym is stale and old. If I had to pick from eating off of a muni bus seat or a YMCA Buchanan equipment seat, I would chose the muni bus seat! All their equipment is dirty as well as the bathrooms and the floors. This place needs to be renovated! For just $10 more a month you can go to the 24 hours fitness 2 blocks away on van ness st! However the employees are nice and friendly, and the gym is never too crowded. The place is quiet but very tiny working space. I hated my time and experience here so much that I found my self skipping the gym every now and then, something I never do! Canada has better gyms than this! Walking in here I felt like I was in a communist country! $40 a month plus $50 enrollment fee is not worth it for this gym, you will never get you monies worth here! read more

I love this little gym. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. It's very clean and well maintained. They just got all new weight equipment, and redid the locker rooms. Love shooting baskets on their very fine basketball court. It's low key, which I love. read more

Took me a while to write this review, I forgot about this. SF people WOULD rate this almost a perfect score, because most people in SF have no clue about what a gym really should be like, where certain machines and free weights should be .. how if you are training one part of the body one day, the equipment for that shouldn't be scattered in 3 different rooms on at least 2 different floors. How if you want to lose weight you don't want to take a spinning class from an obese "trainer". But I'm sure they could really figure out how to make YOU fit, they are just staying obese to make sure you're not intimidated by the class. Yeah it's clean and it's inexpensive. And kind of empty. That's all I can really say that is positive about it. 3 of my friends went here, and I visited a few times. One friend told me of a creepy trainer who hit on her and offered unwelcome help all the time, while eating with his mouth open, talking, and food falling out. Another friend later confirmed this trainer's MO on girls there, even though he was married. Nice touch. read more

Come here for the Mon/Weds 6:30 PM yoga classes with Melissa, she's such a fantastic, positive teacher! The big aerobics room here is also great for yoga practice, with mirrors and big windows for venilation. If you're here to work out, the facility is cozy but never too crowded... very friendly staff who are fans of great baseball teams too ;) Parking in the neighborhood can be a little sketchy, so try to park in the lot if possible -- parking's also available across the street in the J-town garage, and the Y validates. (And yes, I've taken unfair advantage of this parking privilege on one occasion, getting validated after a quick workout and then going to a show at the Fillmore...) read more

Update! A few things have changed since I wrote my initial review: - They did a locker update and now there is a whole section dedicated just for day use. Thank you! - More room is available for stretching - and there are some great new resistance training machines upstairs. - I had a baby. So, now I'm looking forward to sending her to Y camp when she's old enough. ALSO - Clay, one of the trainers, was seriously helpful in getting my rear in gear post-baby. Definitely take advantage of the PT services they offer! read more

This is a truly wonderful and engaging place to workout! I am a longtime member and have seen many changes come to this facility, all of them good; If you are a person that likes to workout without being judged? This is the place for you. Although it is small in stature, It is enormous in character relayed by it's Member's and Staff. So get yourself moving, and head to this unique facility and be surprised at how welcomed you will feel. read more

Ever since the new manager Dustin here, it become less and less people. The fact that the old place need a new makeup without any ventilation. This new manager without knowing what Randy or Jeff did to give back the community by offering a one and only one ballroom dance for seniors on Sunday. He harshly tell us all the seniors on mother's day not we cannot come anymore unless we sign up for membership. Just for one class and not so good one and we are just there to kill our time within this community. This new manager or the YMCA management is clearly in trouble and picking on seniors is not going to solve the problem. read more

This is my favorite facility in the area. Really friendly and helpful staff, a tidy and well-laid out facility, good light, great upkeep, and a low price make this a good enough gym that I was tempted not to write a review for fear that the word would get out and the relative privacy to which I've become accustomed would go away. read more

Terrible gym and objectively so... 1) Their facilities schedule is not on their website, yet... 2) Nobody answers their phone (nor calls back after multiple attempts during biz hours). You're screwed if you're a busy person and have to call another Y to get Buchanan's schedule... only to find out it was wrong. What's more... 3) They do not have hot water in their - prison style - showers (nor do they have towels), and... 4) Their lockers are way too narrow to fit an average sized shoulder bag (like half the width of most gym lockers - about 6" wide). I was so looking forward to working out more, because this gym is close to me, but now I realize my membership fees are a complete waste to me. read more

This place is never too crowded. Even at peak times I can always get on the machine I want. The machines are decent and the environment is very non-intimidating. The staff is friendly, especially Clay. He always checks in and is always willing to give work out advice. read more

The staff are very friendly and helpful. The classes they offer are amazing. If anyone needs a trainer. I highly recommend Jeff Briz. His a great trainer. He put my butt back into shape. read more

It's worth joining the Buchanan Y just to attend Dan's Pilates class (MWF 11:30-1:00). He's the best Pilates teacher around: very knowledgeable, committed, & quite entertaining. The first hour is on the mat; the last thirty minutes is on the reformer. read more

Hi Buchanan Y - more specificially good ol Dusty since you seem to reply these posts: I found it hard to believe the negative reviews were in fact true. Then I saw this sack of shit gym with my own eyes. It is by far the worst gym facility this side of the grand Mississippi. Cold water only on a very uncomfortable shower set-up. Lockers that are useless since they cannot hold anything except perhaps a very narrow umbrella. Whoever is in charge of this shitter of a "y" is in desperate need of a lobotomy and a harsh firing. I will never return and I hope it is closed down immediately. An absolute disgrace to businesses all across the globe. read more

This ymca is the worst by far. They have been at my child's school. I have seen even their own site director and coordinator be rude to the students multiple times, and that is only when parents are present. One time they scolded and insulted my child about her writing assignment. They have said that if they were my child's parents teacher then they would slap her in the face with a big FAT F. They have also been known to be invading personal space of a child, OBVIOUSLY inappropriate. We had a meeting one on one with the site coordinator and director and continually saying and I quote " If you want to keep playing this game please leave the YMCA" they have also been known to act one way in front of parents and one way in front of students. This is almost all of the staff! Even sometimes play inappropriate songs. Texting on the job while clearly kids are rough housing. The director Misa Ngyuen and coordinator Jackson Livingston are by far the worst! They have brought the after school program to be more expensive than ever! 380 dollars per month per kid! read more

dance classes, yoga classes. strange limited hours for classes & well hidden location.

For me it is perfect. Low key. Accessible. Available. Private. This may not be what you are looking for. But if you just want to work out.

This is a great little YMCA. Kinda tucked away off Geary. Never crowded, very friendly staff. A few parking spaces. Lots of racial and age diversity. Congenial patrons. Most classes are pretty good. Excellent gentle yoga class with Kevan on Tues, 10am. Locker rooms are clean and well-maintained. $35/month is a great deal. Minus a star 'cause no pool, but it's got all the equipment you need. read more

If I were rating this gym solely on the facility and programming, it would be more like 4 or 5 stars. This review is more for the customer service (or rather, the lack thereof) First the positive aspects: -Never crowded. Most times I went, I had the place to myself. A crowded day was 6 people in the aerobics room, which has maybe 20 machines. -Decent class schedule: they offer a pretty good variety of classes, although I only went a few times because I seemed to attract the pushy/creepy people in those classes to me like a moth to flame. Not really the facility's fault, though. -Generally clean and well-maintained -Price is about comparable to other gyms in the area However, aside from always greeting me with a "have a good workout," the staff was not very helpful. Two examples: -The credit card I used for automatic payments expired. I gave my new card number to the front desk worker. Two weeks later I got a notice that I was going to be charged a late fee because I hadn't paid my membership. I went in to check what happened. Apparently, they entered my new credit card info, but didn't bill it. Still a bit confused by why they did that... -A couple months later, my doctor put me on a 10 lb lifting restriction. This really limited my usual routine, so I stopped going for a few weeks and started walking more. I decided to save some money and cancel my membership, perhaps to renew when I was better. Apparently, their "30-day cancellation policy" means that if your next payment is due in 29 days, you have to pay for another month. E.g. If you cancel on February 2 and your next payment is due March 1, you have to pay for membership until April 1. In effect, it's an "up to 60-day" cancellation policy. To add insult to injury, when I told the front desk worker that I was cancelling due to a medical condition that kept me from using my membership the last few weeks, he checked "lack of motivation" on the form as my reason for cancelling. Even if I was cancelling purely for "lack of motivation," there are more tactful ways to say it on a form, e.g. "not using membership." Maybe I'm just over-sensitive, but are they trying to shame people into not cancelling their memberships or something? Bottom line: I probably won't renew when I'm better, but if I do, I'll be sure to cancel the day before I make my last payment. read more

i have joined and quit the buchanan YMCA twice, but it's only because i'm a lazy-ass and in the winter i don't feel like walking the 12 blocks to the gym. in the spring i get all motivated and join up again. it's super cheap. the staff is very laid back and half the time don't even check you in, but they mostly know you by sight even if you're a slacker like me and only come in once a week. the place is hardly ever busy except for weekends and right after work, but even then you are always able to get the machines you want. there are many classes which i never ended up taking but they look really fun when i walk quickly past the door. the weight room is kick-ass because there is hardly anybody in it, and the first time i joined they had a free orientation where a great trainer helped me calibrate all the machines to my body, and then write down the numbers, which are still to this day stored in a folder in the cardio room. it's awesome. spring is on its way--i'm sure i'll be back soon. read more