Top Gym in San Diego
Grinder Gym San Diego
1013 Morena Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110, United States
Beware… This place is the worst. I now have to purchase 4 bars for my home gym.In all seriousness, I was 4 weeks in to a new program and was looking for something in San Diego that would allow me not to miss a beat while on vacation. Grinder gym was 6 min away from where we were staying, opened at 6am (I am an early workout guy) and looked like everything I wanted - including some bars I’ve yet to get my hands on but wanted to. They had a week pass (very fair pricing) which was a bonus since I was staying a week.The owner was extremely kind upon signing up. Other members I spoke to had nothing but great things to say about the gym. Dont expect the glitzy of a typical commercial gym, but I consider that as a huge positive for Grinder. The well loved plates, bare steel bars, indoor/outdoor workout area, just everything about it was excellent.I moved from la fitness to a garage gym about 7 months ago. I’ve slowly been figuring out what I want to add (specialty bars are next on the list) and I got to try almost every bar I’ve been looking at. I was hoping to like just 1, but I ended up liking all 3 and one more I didn’t even consider but got to play with it at grinder. Thanks to grinder gym, it’s not going to be a gamble when I end up making the purchase.10/10 would recommend grinder. 10/10 will return every time we are in san diego.
THE ARENA The Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, MMA & Muay Tha...
3350 Sports Arena Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110, United States
I’ve been training BJJ here for 6 months, and I’ve been in San Diego for 12 months. Great value between the weights, amount of classes, and great community overall. I dropped into 12 different bjj gyms in San Diego for the first couple months of 2023, had great experiences at most of them (the one exception was a nearby, celebrity-owned gym where I caught an infection and had to take 3 months off bjj). The thing that makes The Arena different is ample space (both for classes/lifting and parking), clean facilities (!!), and great culture. The head coach for BJJ Adam Bradley actively competes and runs a really great program where drilling replaces warm-ups, and there’s really no ego on the mats. 4p fundamentals class has a good mix of situational and regular rolling/sparring. The Arena is my everything-gym, and it is by far the best value in San Diego if you do BJJ (and even better if you also lift or want other martial arts… the weightlifting facility is insane).
The Gym
2949 Garnet Ave, San Diego, CA 92109, United States
The Gym San Diego is the best gym in America. Rick and his staff are complete professionals. They greet everyone daily with a smile.The Gym has all of the best equipment and they’re always adding more. It’s a mixture of the newest equipment available on the market and the tried and true old school stuff.Although the parking lot is large especially for San Diego, the only downside that I can think of is that parking is treacherous at times.There is no better gym in the land and San Diego is the best place to live on earth.
Fit Athletic Club & Gym
350 Tenth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101, United States
... and a miss. I was visiting San Diego for a few weeks and I purchased the 10 day pass. I had the opportunity to visit a number of the Fit Athletic clubs and below is a description of my experiencesFit Little Italy 5/5 - large gym space, appropriately arranged with a large range of equipment, stretching areas and outdoor space. The staff at this club are friendly and approachable and happy to help with any questions you may have. The members here are also very friendly and polite and there were no ego-lifting here, just great people doing a great job of looking after themselves in a great environment. - My favourite out of the three clubs I visited. Members were clean and conscientious of wiping down equipment after use and there are wipe dispensers distributed around the gym floor at various places.Fit Mission Beach 5/5 - the smallest of the three clubs I visited but the best location with lane swimming, still a great selection of equipment and being able to go to the rooftop to warmup/cooldown while overlooking the Ocean was awesome. The staff and members here were also really friendly and approachable and there were towels and wipes to clean equipment distributed around the gym floor which I saw were used consistently by the members which shows great gym etiquette.Fit East Village 2/5 - If you dont care about, or are unbothered by rudeness OR you dont really care about cleanliness or positive gym etiquette then this is the Fit club for you. Fit East Village is by far the largest of the three clubs I attended and I have to admit that it has the best rooftop area out of all three clubs. The staff are rude, dismissive, unhelpful and generally arrogant. This poor attitude seems to have rubbed of on the members who didnt wipe down equipment after use and were generally (but not entirely) unaware of themselves or others who were also using the space. Now I see past the rude staff and the non-cholent members but what stopped me using this gym was a matter of hygiene. One ...
Fit Athletic Club & Gym
3115, Ocean Front Walk, San Diego, CA 92109, United States
Pricey but well worth it.As a member for 6 months now, I can confidently say that this is by far the best gym in San Diego. Incredible views and a positive atmosphere, Fit is a gym fans heaven. Their service is fantastic and the members have great etiquette. Everyone is very friendly and you wont see an annoying influencer with a tripod.If you are a gym fiend. SIGN UP
Ocean Pacific Gym and Wellness
4150 Mission Blvd suite 242, San Diego, CA 92109, United States
Ive been attending this gym for the last 6 months, and I am glad I switched and I will tell you why;First, the bread butter: The equipment options are great. There is plenty of space, and while some of the equipment is older, it gets the job done. Theyve purchased a lot of newer machines and due to the space they made outside, theres always room to get something done.The amenities: One of the best gyms for full amenities at their price range. Sauna, Steam room, FOOD!?!? good food too. Ice baths, massage guys, cupping guys, and complimentary classes. They have tanning and theyre putting in a salt room. Who knows whats next.and last, The Vibes: Truly a welcoming place for all skill levels and waypoints in a fitness journey. Dont let the big muscles and toned abs intimidate you, everyone there is super nice, and truly enjoys the fitness process. A great place to learn. The times I go, I am usually greeted by Dawson, Connor and Roxie, and they make it a point to say hello and its got a family feel to it. The owner is super cool and you can tell hes invested a lot of money to make his gym premier. Immaculate Vibes, 10/10 would lift again.
Performance360 Strength & Conditioning Gym
4515 Gresham St, San Diego, CA 92109, United States
I've been a member of P360 for a few years now. This was the first gym I've been to where everything really clicked. Not only did I get good coaching to help me achieve my fitness goals, but the coaches taught me why I was doing the different exercises, how each exercise was helping me and gave me options to adjust the programming to hit my specific goals.And it works. I could see the tangible results in the way I looked, the way I felt and differences in my body in doing everyday tasks. Just to make sure you are progressing, the coaches provide numerous testing opportunities – to track and monitor your improvement. So I could see my actual gains in various lifts, I could see my speed increase or the increases in my vertical jump. On top of that, the coaches make it really easy to succeed. Don't get me wrong – the workouts are hard and exhausting. But if you follow the programming, you will see results. As somebody a few months away from turning 40, I really believe this gym has allowed me to continue to be really active – whether it's hiking, mountain biking or playing competitive soccer with people half my age.Needles to say, when everything closed down due to COVID, I was really wondering where I'd be able to get my exercise. We all know there are a ton of benefits to exercise. For me, I wanted to continue to push myself physically. Plus, exercise has always been a major outlet for stress for me too. I immediately looked for replacements to my trips to the gym. Thankfully, the coaches at P360 really stepped up with their grassroots program. With their grassroots program, I get a new workout every day. I get the same benefits from the great coaching, programming, interaction with coaches but I get to do it all from home.Every workout is accompanied by an actual coach explaining the workout and giving pointers on how to make it most effective. There are videos showing every exercise so I can make sure I am doing everything correctly to maximize the results. If I still have questions, the coaches are always available to answer questions. The grassroots program takes everything that makes this gym and these coaches so great and puts it in an App. Unlike a lot of other online platforms, the coaches are active on the platform and interacting with us – answering questions, providing encouragement and keeping us moving forward.The workouts are flexible based on what you have (weights, bands or nothing) and provide progression options to make sure you're not over or underwhelmed. I've been doing this program for many months now and am still pleasantly surprised how hard the workouts can be. More importantly, I feel like I'm still progressing in terms of strength and my fitness - and there's enough variety to keep it interesting and keep me looking forward to the next workout.Due to my job, I'm being a lot more cautious in my daily activity and will probably be one of the last ones back in the gym. With Grassroots, I'm able to keep improving myself on a daily basis. The best part is this workout follows me wherever I go. I started doing this in our condo in PB (with my neighbors watching me do burpees). Late last year, my wife and I – since we're both working from home at the moment - decided to spend a few months in Colorado. Thanks to grassroots, I've been able to keep up with the gym and the program from here. When the world is back to normal again (as much as that's possible) and I can go to the gym again, I feel like I'll be able to pick up where I left off.
Sterns Gym Inc
3831 Granada Ave, San Diego, CA 92104, United States
Stern’s gym is a Mecca for any gym enthusiast to visit. Legends from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Chris Bumstead have trained here. This place had an amazing atmosphere, kind staff, and quality equipment that you won’t find elsewhere.The management was nice enough to give me and my cousins a day pass since we were visiting from out of town. Even as an out-of-state visitor, I’m definitely going to get my workouts here every time I visit my family in San Diego.I definitely recommend grabbing a hat or shirt since this place has cool gym merch. Pictured below is me (with my new Stern’s shirt) and Mr. Loynie Brown!
Fit Athletic Club & Gym
405 W Ash St, San Diego, CA 92101, United States
Regular gym member here for roughly 2.5 years who just cancelled my membership and went to a competitor location.BLUF: Standard globo/commercial gym that makes sense if you are a resident within walking distance.However, gym management regularly ignored requests to address deficiencies in the gym while incrementally raising prices every year.$75 a year improvement fee during my time was only seen manifesting in a third power rack being installed downstairs, and a bunch of vendors and additional fee for service addons (massages, chiro services, etc) being made avail.Outdoor pool area is now completely encapsulated by a new building on the perimeter of the gyms building.Peak hours people are working out in the lanes between equipment, causing safety hazards. Also during peak hours you have to regularly search for plates around the gym to complete your lift.Sauna consistently below temps that make a biological impact, causing people to stay in the sauna longer and sometimes creating a waiting line and/or standing room only.Steam room sporadically if not intermittently always having issues.Lockers are small, space to sit down and change a struggle in peak hours.Staff is nice and will greet you by name once you come in enough.The gym has not been invaded with cameras and tripods, yet, which is/was a bonus.In short, its the basic gym charging advanced gym rates with no sustained, incremental improvements, just incremental degradation over my years going.
Fit Athletic Club & Gym
12171 World Trade Dr, San Diego, CA 92128, United States
If youre looking for a clean gym with respectful members and an incredibly personable staff - look no further. I have had long-term memberships at 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, and Sweathaus, and nothing comes close to the experience Ive had at Fit. My experience was awesome thanks to membership representative Josh. Josh was amazing in accommodating to help me find a membership that worked perfectly to meet all my needs. With my unique work schedule, I travel quite often. Gyms like 24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness were unable to accommodate me the way Josh was able to. In my 10-years of experience as an avid gym goer, Fit is by far the best gym + experience (thanks to Josh) I have had with any fitness organization in San Diego.