Hello everyone, and welcome back to my reviews on Irecommend.
I've finally got around to writing a review about Russia's sports infrastructure network, 'FitnesSSSR'. My friend told me to sign up for their classes, as they're always sending me promotional messages with deals like 24-hour access for 9,900 rubles or a year-long subscription for 10,900 rubles.
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And then, somehow, I started getting these enticing messages every week, offering me a year-long subscription.
Recipe
Sauna
But since they were being really pushy, I decided to check out this sports club and see if it's worth investing in a year-long subscription or not.
Fitness Club CardI called the phones listed in the messages I received from FitnessCSC, promising discounts on 24-hour stays, plus fitness and pool, and got a super-friendly and helpful manager on the line. She explained everything to me, including that for 9,900 rubles, I'd get just 50 visits over 9 calendar months, 24/7, so I could hit the gym and pool anytime I wanted.
I was stoked, and decided to go ahead and buy their club card, but I wanted to try it out first, just in case I didn't take to fitness as easily as I'd hoped!
I asked the sales manager if I could come in for a guest visit to check out their sports club: what the facilities were like, how many pool lanes, how far the changing rooms were from the pool, and where the sauna, salt chamber, and hammam were.
So I headed over with my passport, hit the pool, hammam, salt chamber, gym, and even tried out the Finnish sauna.
Sports Complex Pool Sports ComplexMy first impression was amazing – I loved everything about it. I was so impressed that I went back to the managers and arranged a 9-month contract for 24 hours a week at 9,900 rubles.
Club CardI didn't want to commit to a year because I needed time to rest and recover from feeling unwell.
SMS notifications from Fitness USSR on my phoneMy last visit was supposed to be on August 28, so I had a full summer of fitness and pool time – either way, I was sorted!
Changing Rooms in the Sports Center Gym But after my visits, I realized that Fitness USSR has a lot of downsides – way more than its positives.
The pros are:
+ The steam room, Finnish sauna, and salt room are right next to the pool area.
Sauna bench Sauna bench Pool Pool Sauna
The best part is, you don’t have to leave the pool area to head to the sauna or steam room. It’s literally just a short walk – or a quick dive into one of these hotspots. Sauna Plus, when you arrive, they give you a fresh towel right at the entrance – just one, though, so if you need another, you’re out of luck unless you’re willing to pay extra.
And in the winter, they do a great job of heating the pool water to a comfortable 29 or 30 degrees Celsius. It’s almost as warm as the air.
I was also impressed to find that the club membership includes water aerobics and therapeutic exercises. You can grab the schedule at the front desk if you want to take part.
I noticed they had an ad about a complimentary neck massage for the first month after signing up.
But of course, there are downsides.
- The pool has only 4 lanes: one for kids with a shallow depth, one for sprinting, and the other two for regular swimming. But usually after lunch, and sometimes even in the mornings, they’re occupied by group classes or reserved for private rentals.
Pool lane signSo, it’s up to you to decide how much space is left for us to relax and enjoy our free time in the pool. Plus, trainers often give you a hard time if you’re doing a private session with someone else. It’s impossible to unwind in the pool! Gym lockers- Another downside is that the pool water is only heated in winter, and usually they turn off the heating in summer. I’ve had it freeze a few times, and I complained to the duty trainers, but they couldn’t do anything about it.
Sauna- The pool changing room is tiny, and sometimes they run out of lockers, so they send you to the gym changing room, which is huge.
Gym
GymMore often than not, you’d have to wait for a locker to become available.
Pool entrance
Pool
Pool
Pool changing room lockers- I often found issues with the machines, or maybe it was something else, but they’d always be short on towels and have a sign up.
Advertisements Advertisements Advertisements- But the sauna was often out of order too. And the two-week summer period when the hot water was cut off was postponed twice, with a note saying the aquazone wouldn’t be working, and the gym shower wouldn’t be available either.
- There aren’t many shower stalls, and it’s a real pain to get the water temperature right - sometimes it’s scalding hot, and other times it’s freezing cold.
- And if you need to take some time off for personal reasons, they won’t renew your contract, period. They refused to renew mine.
- On top of that, when it’s pouring rain outside, the roof in the locker room leaks, and I ended up ruining two new jackets of mine. I went up to the reception desk and told the girls about it, but they just shrugged it off and said they’d tell the engineer.
Leaking Ceiling Leaking CeilingSo, if you’re thinking of getting a year-long club membership with FitnessСССР, like I did, think twice or just show up to a guest session. They’ve got a clause in their contract that lets clients bring one guest for the entire period. Then decide if you want to work with them.
AdvertisementsOne more thing: they don’t offer a 50% discount on memberships for people with disabilities like some other gyms, like ‘Oriene’, and they only sell year-long memberships, which isn’t super convenient.
Sports HallSo, I’d give FitnessСССР a solid three out of ten, since I’ve listed all their downsides and there are quite a few. This year, I decided not to work with them and I’m looking for a more comfortable gym instead.