This place makes me happy. I don't really have much of a family, and mostly all friends have left Chicago.... When I come here, the staff and EVERYONE I meet along the way have become my friends and family. I understand there is so much else that the facility has to offer other than conversation and such, but when you're so comfy at a place like this you don't want to leave, and all of it is done right, and done well. My advice to ALL staff is... don't change a thing! You're all great! read more

FREE and easy parking for members (badge in at the gate). Super friendly front desk staff. Large cardio room and several different weight areas with machines/free weights. The best part about this YMCA is the large sauna and it gets HOT. I love coming here every week to get my sweat on. read more

I cannot recommend bringing children here. The website presents this as a safe, family-friendly environment, but that was not our experience. My children and I were appalled by how staff treated an elderly resident with an obvious physical disability affecting his arm and mobility. He was denied permission for a non-resident to help carry his belongings upstairs, which raised serious concerns about both safety and basic compassion. The non resident man informed the ill mannered woman that the man he was assisting had cancer. Who denies a cancer patient assistance ? It was upsetting for my children to witness this lack of empathy, and they immediately asked not to be left there. Situations like this are not only unsafe for vulnerable residents but also send the wrong message to families. The YMCA should take responsibility and ensure its housing management demonstrates greater care and respect for individuals with severe disabilities--denying reasonable assistance could lead to preventable harm. If elderly disabled residents are not safe who is? Not our impressionable young children, and we certainly do not wish to leave our children in places to learn such behaviors. read more

They used to offer ballet lessons for kids here. I guess they still do. The only way you can tell how dilapidated this place used to be is from the boxing rooms. Even the outside has been redone / renovated. When my parents used to bring me here, I figured it was to put me up for adoption. In my family, the alternatives to that aren't as pleasant. This facility should offer more kickboxing (gender-free) and less ballet. I know this is Chicago and some stuff is difficult to let go of. But really, there are muggers of all genders now and very few spots in the ballet. Welcome to the 2020's, kids. read more

This place is a great place to workout! The staff is super friendly & the facility is very conducive to staying in shape.

Clean and functional equipment (sanitized every hour). An activity for the whole family to participate in. There is a swimming pool available for lap swim and family swim on Sunday. The gym is available for family gym, adult gym, and there is also basketball lessons starting at age 5. The dance studio is where most classes are located - like yoga cycling body pump and step. The cardio room, strength room, and bears den has very good equipment. Schedule a tour by calling! read more

See all

clean, friendly, equipm well maintained. Staff is friendly, courteous and knowledgeable.

The place is very clean, the front desk staff are friendly. Check-in is easy cause you just scan your card. I signed up for Zumba and the instructor is good. No complicated dance moves, just a good simple workout. read more

Fun and friendly. Have made life long friends here. There are many classes and activities from which to choose.

A review of the staff. These people are polite and helpful - no matter the circumstances, it is very much appreciated.

very clean and very polite staff, parking lot is a plus and paid parking in front is good too read more

I've been going to the Y every day for about the past year during the pandemic. Not only was the staff responsive during the crisis, but they proactively had safety measures to make sure members were safe. The machines were clean, locker rooms well serviced, and the pool cleaned regularly. Honestly can't thank the staff enough for being such a great touchpoint through all my visits. read more

The Irving Park Y is a total throwback to the Y's roots when it's main purpose was to house single, young men of faith for a reasonable price. It still has these efficiency apartments to rent at reasonable (not just Chicago reasonable) prices. Although from what I've seen you could delete the "Y" part because most of the gents I've seen there look to be old enough to be the original denizens of the rooms when this Y opened in 1925! ;0) My only experience with this place is the weight room and exercise room so I'll stick to those....The Bear's Den downstairs is the free weight area. It got its name from when The Chicago Bears of the late 60's through '71 used it for their physical training. It's awesomely retro in feel! In the basement, honey colored, slotted pine walls and Bears memorabilia all over. There's even a heavy bag and speed bag as you enter with reproduced posters of major boxing matches like Ali vs. Frazier. And it's always hot. Ha. But that's where retro ends. All the equipment is new or like new and besides a dedicated Decline Bench it is missing nothing. It even has a heavy lifting platform with the rubber weights. That's rare. And although this may sound like a meatheads dream, I've yet to run into one at this gym so I'm sure my wife would feel comfortable working out there. Mostly its just older men working their jaws more than their muscles. I enjoy listening to them bust each other's chops in an authentic Chicago accent. Did I mention XRT is always on the radio? Nice! The men's locker room needs a serious facelift and the plumbing needs some help but there is a wet and dry sauna if that's your thing. All in all a good place to workout and as an "away" Y member I get 12 free visits per year. Enjoy! read more

Irving Park YMCA - "You're MY Ditka!" - Gyms Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great gym/classes, especially compared to cheaper gyms that have trash everywhere, dirty lockers and constantly broken equipment.

The Ymca is a good and fun place and help my family learn help with homework and play sports

Could be cleaner. Could use more working machines. They should also have a no solicitation policy, the last thing I want to do is workout and get solicited herbal supplements and bogus personal trainer sessions from random people. They also stopped offering reservations for the swimming pool so it's a toss up on when you can use it, and to be honest that's the only reason I first signed up here. The best thing I can say about this Y is the Saturday morning Yoga classes. read more

There's no better value out there. The staff is polite, and informative. No high pressure addon sales tactics. Work out, swim, sauna, steam room. Who else does that? read more

I joined a few months ago. Overall I like this place. Some of the equipment could be updated. However, they have everything I need. The staff is very nice and helpful. The fitness instructors are well versed and push you in their classes. Overall I am happy with this place. Rob's bootcamp kicked my butt! read more

Although I like the space, good weight machines and cardio, I have one complaint, their tv signal on cardio. Some of the macines have no tv at all. Others get some channels one day but not the next. Yesterday one channels programming was all several other stations. People have complained but nothing is done. There are days when I have to move from machine to machine to watch tv and only have a choice of 5 channels out of 19. Very ftustrating. John Fitzgerald read more

The staff here are pretty useless. Miss appointments they make. Never call to reschedule as promised. Completely ignore you as you stand and wait for service. read more

This YMCA has been here since 1925 according to the cornerstone on the sizeable brick building. Besides offering budget accommodations, they have fitness facilities and a parking lot for those who want to use them. I guess it's cheaper here than signing up for Bally's not far away. There is also a kid's area for play. read more

Irving Park YMCA - Irving Park YMCA - Gyms Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Clean, excellent teacher for Silver Sneakers, and fun place to meet seniors. I've been a member probably since 2015 when I moved to Portage Park. read more

I love ymca and the staff! My son goes to the summer camp and he totally loves it. The gym is very clean. The staff is super friendly, very knowledgeable about all the events taking place and they can help with any questions. I would recommend ymca to anyone new in the neighborhood! read more

Irving Park YMCA - Riding my bike on a rainy day! Nothing is better than that! - Gyms Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

5 stars for Manny for private swim lessons! My son advanced his skills super fast and had so much fun too! It's a little more money but totally worth it. We had him in group lessons at another facility and felt he only for about 10 min or actual lessons as he was always waiting for his turn. Also very flexible for make ups and changing lesson times, which was something important for our busy lifestyle. The facilities are starting to be too run down to ignore anymore. Today upon arrival there was flooding in hallways due to showers running. There was also dripping water in the girls locker room. It's an old facility, I get it, but for the membership I can go to another gym with better upkeep. All of that said the exercise room, equipment, kids club and staff make it a great place. Just fix the plumbing! read more

The reviews on Yelp can be terribly subjective. I almost didn't join this Y after reading them. However, I needed to take swimmming lessons and this was the closest pool and cheapest lessons. You get what you pay for. Is it swanky and shiny? No. Does it get the job done? Yes. At first the weight room freaked me out, knotty pine paneling and older machinery. However, it gets the jobs done. I figured out that old weights weigh the same as new weights. By the way, this may seem inconsequential but the water pressure in the showers is awesome. Bottom line, give it a try. read more

The IP YMCA is really a great example of getting what you pay for. In this case, that can be taken as a compliment. Look, it's not Bally's, or Cheetah, or the LPAC...if you go there in the mornings thinking you might find some hottie to "inspire" you to work out harder, you'll be disappointed (unless you're into Polish octogenarians, then knock yourself out.) So it doesn't have hotties, and it doesn't have much in the way of yoga classes so that bums me out. I loves me the stretching and the asanas and the glaven... What it does have are clean rooms and machines and a friendly staff. I love the fact that they have an entire room dedicated for stretching with mats, workout balls, etc...so I can do my own yoga sequences. Yeah, I'm that guy standing on my head in the corner. If you have kids, the "Maze" is staffed by attentive child care workers. I've been taking my daughter there since she was 6 months old and never had an issue. They also have a great summer camp for kids. Another great thing about the YMCA's in Chicago: your membership is good for any of the Y's in the city. I live closer to Irving Park but I work in Lakeview so it's nice to be able to choose between either facility to get my exercise. Finally, I feel better knowing that my money is going, in part, to help people who have it kind of rough. Yeah, the occasional waft of cigarette smoke can be a drag when you've just finished on the elliptical but I take some inspiration from the residents there too. It makes me appreciate how good my life is and that I have my health and a roof over my own head. read more

I cannot say enough about the Youth Swim Programs at IPY. My son has Autism and has flourished under private lessons with Gwen. She is always patient with his sometimes challenging behavior and heaps praise on his successes. The confidence my daughter has gained from the Swim Team in less than a year is not even close to what she received in 3 years on gymnastics. The coaches go above and beyond and keep the parents informed. The cost of all of this is beyond reasonable. ($25 for a private swim lesson is the cheapest therapy my son gets and may be the most beneficial.) We are overjoyed to be a part of the Y family! read more

In a boneheaded attempt to "buy local" or support my bummer neighborhood, I got myself a membership at this YMCA a few years ago. Dumb move. Sometimes corporations do it better. You know - the whole emphasis on quality and customer-retention, little things like that. Brief rundown of this Y: Chronically distracted adolescent staff; a handful of 1990s cardio machines lorded over by a gang of interchangeable MILFs; a free weight room last updated in 1945; and an indoor running track that surrounded a grimy, country jail-type basketball court (ex-cons included). Someone may or may not have told me they had a pool; I didn't bother to investigate, because I ditched my membership within days, right after a jaundiced man casually walked through the locker room wearing nothing more than his chest hair. Strangest part - when the wheezy old alcoholics who live in the Y's monthly rental rooms would hobble into the gym, leering at the young people with a mixture of derision and blood lust. Jail analogies suffice again. Perhaps even worse, most of those old bastards never wiped down the machines, leaving trails of hobo sweat in their wake. This place made me briefly consider the horror show that is the Six Corners Bally's. Skip it. Buy a bike and do calisthenics in your bedroom. read more

I recently switched gyms after Cheetah closed (shadiness abound), and was delighted when I found out there is a Y off of the O'Hare Blue Line branch. It is about a block and a half from the Irving Park stop, and the expressway. The upstairs workout areas as clean and have plenty of new machines. I have worked out there on Mondays after work, usually the busiest time, and there were still machines open. Everything is clean and comfortable, and there are all kinds of people using the facilities. It does smell vaguely of smoke, but that's not a big deal to me. The downstairs has wood paneled walls with sports memorabilia and a whole room of free weights. My favorite part since I switched is the locker rooms. The adult women's is big and spacious and usually empty. The showers are old school and have water pressure like I've never seen. There's a pool, there's lots of classes -- even going later into the evening hours, which is good for me because I work late a lot. The staff are nice, and it's a whole lot cheaper than gyms I looked at. Overall I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. read more

I've spent quite a lot of time here, and what you get out of the IPY is going to depend a lot on your individual goals. I've been into barbell strength training for quite some time now, and for the price, I am very pleased with what I get in the Bear's Den weight room. They have a deadlift platform with bumper plates, heavy bag, squat rack, power cage and assortment of cable machines and benches, meaning most strength or hypertrophy programs won't include exercises you can't do here. The rest of the facility has the requisite weight machines, rows of elliptical trainers and treadmills, a very nice stretching cage I've never seen the like of anywhere else, and a pool and two gymnasiums. For someone who wants to get started in a fitness program or take a class, they have what you'll need. I especially recommend this location to anyone who is training for strength or powerlifting, as any places you can find better equipment for that goal will be quite a bit more expensive, and I wouldn't be willing to pay the difference unless I felt I was REALLY ready to take advantage of the more experienced coaching at a dedicated powerlifting gym. Hope to see you there... just don't do curls in the squat rack. ;-D read more

I have worked out at many gyms but never felt so comfortable. The staff is so nice and helpful, I still get surprise by their polite greetings and good byes. The facility is clean and well kept. There is no loose equipment laying around, no broken machines. I was welcomed by Cathy and she gave me an assessment when I first joined. Every time I see Cathy she follows up with my progress, updates me on new upcoming classes and recommends new things to try. Amazing place! read more

I love the Y! It's a bargain for the price, and you get access to tons of free classes, a weight room, a pool, and more. I just renewed my membership, and the ladies at the front desk were super helpful, in spite of clearly having a lot on their plate. I'm looking forward to more working out!! Yay, Y! read more

I attempted to work out here last night. I failed! It was so crowded that I could barely squoosh into the door, and every cardio machine was taken, and flanked by a line of angry, impatient people waiting. The women's locker room was a curious mixture of '70s pink paint and scary cinder blocks; very junior high, I half expected a cloud of Aussie Sprunch Spray and late bloomers trying to shower with towels on. Being an industrious sort, I was undaunted by the occupied treadmills and instead headed into the weight room. The room, although full, was eerily silent (why don't they have music playing, like every other gym?) and as I crossed the threshold of the door, every single person in the tiny room stopped mid-lift and stared at me. It was a real "needle scratching off the record" moment. I mean, it would have been had there been music playing. I slowly backed away--it was like being eyeballed by a wandering clan of jackals. What were they going to do? Force me to do deadlifts? Mock my unsatisfactory quads? Tear me limb from limb and suck the marrow from my bones? I know not, friends. Three stars though, because the staff was kind and helpful and the Y is a fine organization. Disco lore tells me that one can get oneself clean and have a meal there while hanging out with all of the boys. That sounds nice. read more

I just joined the Irving Park YMCA with my wife. So far, people and staff have been friendly and helpful. I mostly swim at the gym and we are downscaling from our gym in our old neighborhood. Our old gyms (FFC for me and the Galter LifeCenter for her) were a little more upscale and we paid a premium so I'm not griping about the lack of boutique-y amenities (ie. green tea shampoo or q tips) in the locker rooms or anything like that. It would be nice to have hooks for towels near the showers and perhaps a swimsuit extractor -a handy machine that wrings out your suit - awesome when you swim 3-4 times a week. For the price - the gym is fairly clean, the staff is friendly and the pool seems well maintained. I took off the two stars because it's an average gym for a good price. If they upgraded some of locker room facilities (shower hooks, swim suit extractor, weight scales in the locker rooms, etc) I would add back a star. ps. I'm excited about playing some ball there. I'll update after that. read more

This place has bed bugs and they need to get this place cleaned and get it fixed and those who bring their kids in here I hope you wash them afterwards read more

We were members of this YMCA for probably 7 months or so. I liked that they offered morning workout classes and that their cardio equipment was current and always available. However, the locker rooms, weight room and showers were not in the best shape (and sometimes even smelled of pee). There were also often loiterers who were residents of upstairs who would just hang around the entryway and sometimes made it uncomfortable to enter the gym. I think if I had children, this membership would have been a better deal since they offer childcare and family activities. However, without kids we didn't find it worth the money. We have since switched to another gym that is cheaper, newer and has more equipment and are very happy with the switch. read more

I joined this Y thanks to yelp, but I'll review it anyway. It's a no-frills stop to get your workouts done. That's what I look for in my gym memberships. Though some of the facilities like the gym and cardio room feel small (the men's lounge is especially dated), this YMCA is rarely ever crowded like its for-profit counterparts. The staff is very helpful as well. People tend to keep to themselves and your personal space is always respected. The modest price and accessibility to other Y's in the country who participate in the AWAY program make it worth the money. read more

For the price, there is no better facility around. Caveats: more adult-centric martial arts, please. Also, a real heavy bag I'm allowed to kick as well would be nice, especially given that you offer plenty of MA classes. Don't go to the weight room during peak hours. Idiots screaming and hurting their backs with bad form abound! read more

I see some of the classes that's just right for me,I really need this help in exercising for my body desperately!!i need to help myself badly.here at the y.m.c.a on n.Tripp is where I will find my strength in myself!! read more

Irving Park YMCA - Gyms Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It's now April and the two broken 12"x12" floor tiles by the mens locker room are now 4 broken tiles. Still not fixed.