Certainly do not recommend joining their personal training program. The PT costs just as much as other places but the quality is disappointing and disastrous. You will not get your money's worth. The trainers do your sessions like running a factory line. My trainer (young male Indian) just repeats "perfect" to whatever you did and does not have a set routine or program that you can take away. Communication with him was also impossible. I was really sick the day before the session and when I requested a rescheduling he said no as it would mess up his already aligned schedule. He also offered no availability in time as he did not want to make more than one trip to the centre. Also because my request wasn't made within 24 hours, he said I would have to either come in sick or miss the session that'll be charged. It was absurd how a PT trainer and an institution like YMCA will not accommodate and say you will lose a session for being sick cuz it wasn't notified in time. I only remember being frustrated and stressed throughout the experience. read more

If this was a food review, I'd award a '4', but it's not so I'll go ahead with a '5'. Let me explain... The facility was probably built in the late 70's or early 80's. There's a few aspects which give it an older 'worn' feeling as a result. The architecture is a little dated, though still not bad and allows for lots of natural light in many places. But seeing as visuals are not nearly as important with gyms as they are with food, it doesn't really have a bearing on the experience. In terms of a mid-range gym, this is right up there. They seemed to have quite a number of rooms, which were there for multi-purpose, ping-pong, cycle-fit, studios, full-sized basketball court, etc.... They even had a separate cardio station apart from what is also available in the main workout area - allowing more room for weights. The running track was in a slightly odd location as you almost go up stairs near the back entrance and you're effectively running on the roof - though it is covered. The pool is quite large with several 25m lanes and is separated from the other multipurpose pool area. It might sound a bit gross to say this, but it probably helps in the event there's 'foulings' by kids in the other pool which wouldn't affect the lane swim. They advertised that the place was recently renovated, it was was apparent in the main weight room area - as well as the plus change room. It's a dream if you're into free weights as they have 6 racks with proper stands. Those racks use bumper plates too so there's far less worry if you drop the bar - especially if you're into Olympic lifting.The area where the plates land is slightly padded too which prevents them from bouncing around. There were loads of free weights and other machines available. There was also a corner that had kettle bells, punching bag, and monkey bars. The plus change room was massive. Huge steam room which got super HOT, which is to my liking. They also a dry sauna and a large whirlpool. Everything looked quite clean and new, so I'm assuming it was part of the recent renovations. Certainly check this place out if you're in the area. Don't expect to be wowed upon first entry, but if you're looking for a great weight room and large change room with amenities with your gym experience, you'd do well to check it out. read more

North York YMCA - Check out those racks! - Gyms Near Me - North York, Ontario

This is my review about a personal trainer ( female) with whom I took a number of trainning session at YMCA near Bayview and Sheppard ( opposite Bayview Village mall). She was good as a trainer but her psychie was horrible, I hate to say. She was bossy and ego-driven and made me wipe off the mat each time I finished a session. My understanding is its the trainer's responsiility to clean up and throughout the session. She was obsessed about the timing of the session, it seemed to me our interection was merely transactional, and she made me feel more often. I hope the management will seriously consider my feedback. Thanks. read more

"A Fitness Community Like Other!" I recently joined North York Gym, and I can confidently say it's been one of the best decisions I've made for my health and wellness. From day one, I felt welcomed into a vibrant community that encourages growth and support. The gym is spacious and well-equipped, featuring a wide range of cardio machines, free weights, and resistance training equipment. The layout is intuitive, making it easy to navigate even during peak hours. Plus, the cleanliness is ****not the best ***--there are always staff members on hand ensuring everything is spotless. North York YMCA offers a ***FEW variety of classes****, from high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to yoga and spinning. I've tried the Friday morning yoga session, and the instructor was fantastic--encouraging, attentive, and incredibly knowledgeable. It's a great way to start the week! What truly sets North York apart is its community vibe. The members are friendly, and the ***staff is genuinely invested in helping you reach your fitness goals the WELCOME SPECIALLY THE GIRL AT THE MAIN DESK AT FRONT ON THE BULDING SHE ALWAYS SMILE AND GIVE THE BEST SERVICE TO STARTED MY DAY*** Her name begins with Y. I've made friends during group classes and have even found a workout buddy for my morning sessions. However, I do feel that the management could enhance a few areas: During peak hours, it can be difficult to find staff members for assistance or questions. Having more staff available during busy times would improve the member experience. Some popular classes fill up quickly, and it can be frustrating not to secure a spot. Important updates and changes are sometimes communicated last minute via social media, which can be inconvenient. A more consistent and centralized communication method, like an email newsletter or app notifications, would keep members informed. Final Thoughts: North York Gym has the potential to be outstanding with just a few management tweaks. I love the community and the facilities, and I hope to see these improvements implemented to enhance the overall experience for all members. I'll continue my membership and look forward to seeing how things evolve! read more

I really feel cheated with the price paid for the membership and the service received, starting with the cleanliness of the facilities and the machines in poor condition, dirty bathrooms, showers with a bad smell, even with solid waste; Let's not talk about the wet area because I don't know what is worse, a sauna full of people, there is no control of how many people can enter at the same time, the pool has no control either because they mix children with adults at the same time, professional swimmers with people who at the same time Little can they put their feet on the bottom. Last time I counted up to 9 people in the same line? Is that correct and safe for users? It's really not worth paying for such poor service. read more

Staff are rude, yes, I called before 10:00, but the lady can just let me know that she has to close, instead she put me over the phone his boss. The boss with a rude tone of voice told me the phone number, (I call them, right?) to call them another time and literally hang me out in a middle of a conversation that I am having with the lady, and I planned to register mi child. read more

I want to like this place but they don't make it easy. Perhaps it's because they actually charge MORE for membership fees than GoodLife Fitness. And there's something to be said for clean facilities and equipment that works. This is in short supply at the Sheppard Ave Y. I don't know my way around here - I was never offered a tour and the staff seem too busy chatting with each other to provide help. One of the stands used to hold cleaning spray and towels is covered in old wads of chewing gum...kinda gross. They could use another squat rack and a new assisted pull-up machine. I don't recommend the stretching "quiet area" room, which could use better ventilation. The change rooms are humid and offer few clean surfaces to set down belongings. I don't get how this place is so crowded - maybe the free child care and family activities are the big draw?! read more

Visited Sat March 11 Went to the spin class. Pros Great people, music and instructor! Large and clean facility, open 4:30am to 1am! Day lockers available. Friendly front counter staff that provided a tour of the sprawling facility. No contracts, just month-to-month billing. Cons Membership initiation fee of $85 or $120 depending which membership level you want. This is a huge disadvantage of YMCA and should be eliminated. Surface parking lot usually full and underground is cramped. It's tough to make left turns from Sheppard Ave. Protip - Get a 5 day pass before joining. Damage - Monthly fee is General $58/month, Plus $99/month. read more

I love this place. It's clean and the staff are very friendly and informative too. Once you come into the YMCA you don't want to leave. Nice pool and work gym too. read more

I'm a plus member at YMCA. The plus has steam room, sauna and jacuzzi, which the regular member doesn't have. There's full court basketball here but the basketball has no grip, they should get new ones. Pool is long and wide, fantastic place to swim of your a swimmer. Lots of activities that you can sign up to train with the trainers. This gym closes at 1 am. It used to be 24 hrs. That's too bad. They should switch it back to 24 hrs. There's plenty of parking space and very close to the Sheppard/Bayview station. This is a great gym to bring your friends, family, kids - if you have any, wife/husband - if you have any, and girlfriend(s)/boyfriend(s) - if you have any. read more

When I was growimg up THIS was the place to be. I rejoined back in August of this year for my kids. You see, in my day the schedule was child/youth centric... GYMNASTICS, SOCCER, BADMINTON, SWIMMING, JUDO KARATE... You name it! Now... I'm kinda dissapointed. It is utterly limited yo group mixed sports for kids and a WAITLISTED KARATE & SWIMMING Program. Nothing More. Not to mention wrong hours for what IS OFFERED!!!! The new side entry system SCREAMS "stupid"...,expecting each individual person. To scan their cards.... NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY AT ALL. read more

At the North York location: The elevator is broken most of the time. Staff have made a makeshift laundry chute out of fabric in the women's change room to save them from back-breaking labour...I don't blame them. When the last and ongoing elevator break-down occurred the Y posted paper notices. On the notice at the entry from the garage someone hand-wrote on the paper notice "Replace the elevator", likely because it is broken more often than working. Since then the Y has posted laminated broke-down notices, presumably to discourage such feedback and because the broke down-notice is becoming a permanent fixture. I understand we go to the gym to exercise, but for some with multiple joint injuries, using an elevator to go to aqua classes minimizes further joint injury while maximizing fitness. The change rooms are overcrowded; sometimes it is difficult to get a locker. Sometimes the change rooms smell of urine...likely from urine-soaked water sitting in pipes with the smell circulating to all of the rooms where the connected pipe system flows. Some club members act with a sense of entitlement. They leave towels, debris, spilled make-up and their own fallen hair in publicly shared spaces assuming it is the job of cleaning staff to pick up after them...or other members who don't want to use a dirty space / don't want staff to be insulted by entitled members' assumptions. Some of the club members boss other members around (ie. "you are standing too close to me [in aqua class]" thereby assuming that they should have more space than others, or "back up your car [in a dark one-way lane with a great deal of pedestrian and incoming vehicle traffic] because I just realized I missed a parking spot and I got here first...you need to back up so I can claim the spot"). The aqua instructors are frequently late for class and end class early, thereby shortening classes that are only scheduled for 40-45 minutes. Because it happens on a regular basis, it is prudent to add an extra class to a work-out week in order to make up for the shortened classes...or attend classes at other Y locations if you can. Some of the aqua instructors play an overabundance of songs from the 1950s, rarely change their sound tracks / routines and seem disinterested in their work. Sometimes they leave the pool deck un-staffed / under-staffed. The Y asks members to sign up for aqua classes so they don't go over their maximum participant number. Sometimes the instructor takes away the sign up sheet earlier than they need to and before it is full. People then show up to the pool in hopes that there is still a spot for them. Recently the sign up sheet was removed from the sign up desk long before the class started. When the instructor arrived late I could have asked her to add my name to the sign up sheet but who wants to hold up the start of class when the instructor is late and we are still 3 persons under capacity? Unfortunately three more people arrived after the class started thereby putting us over capacity. The last one showed up 15 minutes into the class (20 minutes if you count the fact that the instructor was late). The instructor announced that we would have to stop to do "attendance". This practice entails the instructor reading the names of those who signed up with people responding "here" when their name is called. This procedure only confirms who is present amongst those who signed up; it does not reveal who is present who did not sign up and unfortunately, people don't own up. Because I didn't want the others to miss exercise time, I owned up to not being able to sign up and left. As I was leaving the instructor stated that if my name was not on the list I could have checked with her before class started to see if there were spots left. Did she forget that she arrived late? Later when I looked at the sign up sheet I discovered that there were at least three other people who had not signed up and had not owned up. Who knows which one of the 4 of us was the last to arrive? The bad behaviour of members results from a number of factors such as overcrowding, decrepit facilities, a sense of entitlement on behalf of some members and the lackadaisical commitment on the part of some aqua instructors. Unfortunately, there aren't many other gyms with a great number of aqua classes and for some of us, this is the only location that works. Other YMCA locations operate with a vibe characterized by a greater sense of community, respect demonstrated by members and staff for members and staff, better functioning facilities, more effective organization around signing up for classes / monitoring the number of participants in the pool and instruction that is both more fun and impactful. I attend other locations when I can, but I still hope that this Y will follow suit to at least meet the standard of service offered by the other YMCAs and which is in line with the YMCA mission statement. read more

This YMCA needs renovation. I used to use the women member plus and I have to say it's a lot cleaner than the regular working out area. The reason why I discontinue my membership is because of the lack of parking space. The underground parking lot has really narrow and limited parking space. It is challenging to park your car.There will usually be car traffic getting into the underground parking lot since cars are coming in and going out. Cars can't move if someone is backing up or parking. It's frustrating! If you can't find a parking space the first round, then you have to drive another circle. read more

It's a good facility with multiple staff on board, a pool, and a fitness centre in the basement. The staff were surprisingly friendly where multiple times my membership did not work, but they kindly helped me and even let me through. The change rooms are a little bit dirty, but they have a nice shower facility and multiple lockers which I expected. There are a lot of people sometimes, but definitely better staffed and there is a sufficient amount of machines for everyone to use. read more

Right in the heart of Bayview Village is a gym/community/daycare. The gym is open 24/7 which is great for those who like to work out late nights or early mornings. There are fun classes like tai chi, yoga and BootCamp for adults and children alike. There is also daycare services for parents to bring their kids. read more

Just cancelled my membership at Sheppard YMCA. Was a member for years. They relied on volunteers as instructors for most classes. Volunteers are nice to deal with, unlike the actual staff at the desk. Have been to gyms for years, never been talked to so rudely... read more

Poor Customer Service Staff and Volunteers are unrpofessional Parking is terrible here Dirty Changerooms Too much catering to Plus Members Dated Equipment Broken Equipment Studios need repair (Cycle Studio 5 year old leak) I was never given a Tour was just told "to have a look around myself" read more

Best Lifesaving Society courses in the city. The Toronto-Sheppard YMCA offers a wide variety of courses including CPRC, Standard First Aid, Bronze Medallion and Bronze Cross, and National Lifeguard. I highly recommend their instructors and examiners. Amanda and Brittany are fantastic! A tip to easy registration, call their contact center and you can register/pay by phone. All the courses are listed on the www.lifesavingsociety.com website under "find a course" tab. read more