Where to Go to Sweat Out Shaping Up : County Has a Wide Range of Gyms and Health Clubs

Ralph: Norton, when you see me walking down the street, you move to the other side.

Norton: Ralph, when you walk down the street, there ain’t no other side.

So another round of holidays have ended and besides being broke, you now have the waistline of the Goodyear blimp, the muscle tone of the Pillsbury Dough Boy, the appetite of the Tasmanian devil and guilt enough to start your own religion. If you’re fat, you can do something about it; if you just hate your looks, well, there’s always therapy or strong drink.

This is a boom month for gyms, cashing in on old bad habits and New Year’s resolutions. Gyms and health clubs are all over Ventura County, many offering a variety of enticing specials, designed to get you off that couch and into beach shape by summer.

To lose weight: Eat less. We all know that. But according to experts, it isn’t enough. Along with eating less and eating right, comes tiresome exercise, often accompanied by unpleasant bending. According to Dr. Irv Loh, medical director of the Ventura Heart Institute at Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, the most important kind of exercise is what gets your heart pumping.

“Cardiovascular exercise will increase stamina, improve blood circulation, improve heart rate and also reduces the risk of certain types of cancer,” Loh said. “Lifting weights will do nothing to help your cardiovascular system. You may look good, but your cardiovascular system may be no better than a guy who sits at a desk all day.”

Cardiovascular exercise includes aerobics, Lifecycles, Stairmasters, treadmills and rowing machines. Aerobics, is like going to a nightclub except you get to dance every dance without being hit on. Loh recommends a minimum of 20 minutes of aerobic activity three times a week. Local fitness expert Scott Meyer, manager of Harold and Jean’s Gym in Oxnard has a more rigorous program. “You can do cardio every day,” he said. But, he added, unless you work on a different muscle group each day, the free weights should be done every other day or three days a week.

Free weights include the old-fashioned dumbbells, with bouncer-sized guys (and some women, too) flexing in front of the inevitable mirror. Then there are the specialized fitness machines with Nautilus, perhaps, the most recognizable brand name. Some of these machines are positively ingenious and stretch muscles you didn’t know you had. These exercises, according to fitness types, are intended to build muscle, and not necessarily to burn fat.

County gyms, like their clients, come in all shapes and sizes. There are monster gyms as large as a K mart and small, one-room neighborhood gyms.

Generally, the smaller gyms claim better one-on-one service and the larger ones stress space and variety of equipment. All gyms have, in varying quantities, Nautilus-type machines, free weights and cardiovascular equipment.

Prices vary, but around $30 per month is average. Business hours are usually from around 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. with the hours of 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. being the busiest block of time.

All the gyms have showers and locker rooms, and some have saunas. Only a couple have pools. Most gyms offer an endless schedule of aerobics classes and most offer child care.

The most important thing in choosing a gym is to know what you expect to get out of it. No gym can make Tom Cruise out of Don Knotts or Sharon Stone out of Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

There are pickup gyms, workout gyms, far-out gyms. Location seems to be an important consideration; people tend to end up at the gym that is closest to home or office.

Signing up and showing up, however, are two different things. Some gyms such as Family Fitness in Oxnard have about a 10% regular-attendance rate for members while the Gym in Ventura claims around 80%.

What follows are thumbnail sketches of most of the gyms in the county. There are a few women’s only facilities, but for obvious reasons they wouldn’t let me in.

Bally’s Aerobics Plus

1313 E. Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley, 520-2380

The county’s newest facility--a mall monster with a monstrous exterior color scheme that includes tan, purple, turquoise and pink--has a problem with a portion of its ceiling as a result of the earthquake. So aerobics classes are temporarily on hold.

Other than that, the place has a nice new car smell, and all the equipment is shiny bright and operational. Everything is high tech like the Stairmaster Gravitron, which is like a video game that fights back. The Life Circuit Seated Row could be a steady job for Ben Hur--it hurts as much as his galley job but provides fewer whips and sea battles.

There are about all the treadmills, Stairmasters and stationary bicycles anyone could want, and nearly as many TVs.

Cost: Bally’s has various membership plans, as well as earthquake specials and grand-opening specials. Right now, there is no initiation fee and monthly dues run between $19-$37.

Body Focus

77 Rolling Hills Drive 103, Thousand Oaks, 496-1834

There are 620 muscles in your body, and you can use a bunch of them just walking around this place--it’s huge. Recent remodeling has increased the size of this two-story site to 14,000 square feet. Everything’s clean, everything works and there’s plenty of machinery to choose from.

There are several free weight areas, all the usual Nautilus equipment, and enough cardiovascular equipment to save every fatso in the Conejo Valley. The aerobics schedule is nonstop, plus there’s saunas and Jacuzzi, tanning booths, free child care, and nutritional counseling available.

In addition to the usual house of mirrors scenario, there are even windows so you can check on that BMW in the parking lot. There are actually living plants all over the place. Sally Jesse Raphael was on every tube in the cardiovascular area where several women were pedaling like there was no Oprah.

Cost: If you can get off your fat rear before the end of this month, Body Focus is offering a serious deal--one cent to join, then $28.95 per month thereafter.

Don’s Gym

520 W. El Roblar Drive, Meiners Oaks, 646-1146

The first thing you notice about this place is all the trophies by the door won by Don Williams himself. Autographed photos of famous body builders line the wall--Don has friends.

He also has the only gym in beautiful downtown Meiners Oaks. It’s basically one big room featuring Nautilus, Polaris and Icarian equipment. In a separate room next door, Don offers approximately 10 aerobics classes and karate training twice a week.

Cost: Don offers three-month, six-month and yearly memberships at $125, $185 and $275.

Family Fitness Center

300 W. Esplanade Drive, Oxnard, 988-6000

This is one of the neon rock ‘n’ roll gyms where you can meet your dream date even as you tone. About half the people here don’t even look as though they need to be here--they’re already perfect and just showing off. This is a commuter gym (no bike racks) and you have to be in fairly good shape to make it across the ever busy Esplanade Drive.

Founded by Ray Wilson, who used to jog with Jack LaLanne, there are catchy little sayings all over the wall. The Four Basics According to Ray include: 1. Moderate consistent exercise. 2. Proper nutrition. 3. Proper rest. 4. Proper mental attitude; be positive, not negative. Avoid association with negative people; they drain your energy.

There are enough machines for a remake of “Metropolis,” but no exotic varieties, such as pneumatic air pressure machines. There are over 25 Lifecycles.

This gym is jamming. There are instructors on the floor and people at the front desk. No TVs, but all the while, the disco/dance/funk/hip hop music is pumping like all the bouncers-to-be in the free weight area.

There are over 60 aerobics classes per week, a senior fitness program, an aerobic program for kids, and child care is available. If Mariah Carey or Madonna were looking for a gym in the county, this would probably be it.

“If you have more toys in your playroom, more kids come to play with your toys,” said assistant manager Patrick Nebeker. “We have most stuff for most people and we get 200 to 500 people here every day.”

Cost: Initiation fees at publication were $94, with $4 weekly dues.

Fastrac

147 Brent St., Ventura, 652-5064

This gym, owned by Blake Winger--is located on the third floor of the building across the street from Community Memorial Hospital. Open to the public, Fastrac gets a lot of seniors, as well as referrals from the hospital.

There’s no aerobics, but the usual machines, lots of free weights, and a less than hectic atmosphere. Once the optimum number of clients is reached, there’s a waiting list, but this only happens on occasion. Parking is available in the building because street parking in this area is a nightmare.

Cost: Membership is $240 per year or $100 for three months. For patients referred from the hospital, yearly membership cost $215, or $85 per quarter.

Gold’s Gym

5120 Ralston Ave., Ventura, 644-4653

Founded by Joe Gold in Venice in 1970, Gold’s is a large corporation of over 400 independently owned gyms that are located the world over. Some of the more famous Gold’s clients include Jane Fonda, Isaac Hayes, Morgan Fairchild, Lou Ferrigno and Bo Svenson.

Sartorially speaking, Gold’s Gyms rival the Grateful Dead in sheer variety and volume of logo laden clothing and accessories. At this location, there were 15 different Gold’s shirts for sale and even Gold’s license plate frames.

Gold’s is a medium-size gym that attracts your hard-core work-out dude. Though some women go to Gold’s, and they do have their share of Nautilus machines, Stairmasters, stationary bikes and other machines, this is the sort of place where you’ll mostly see a lot of very big guys making faces in the mirror with their pals, the free weights. Child care is available.

Cost: $25 per month.

There’s another Gold’s location in Simi Valley at 2975 Cochran Ave. 522-9100.

Great American Nautilus Gym

122 S. Mill St., Santa Paula, 525-7609

You know that Sam-the-owner Salas is a local. His neighborhood gym, which has been around for 11 years, features Raiders, Dodgers and Kings logos. He also has friends. Around the front desk are autographed posters of, among others, Crystal Gayle and the one-name Kiana. She is, in fact, Kiana Tom, who joins Rick Valente on ESPN’s “Bodyshaping.” She’s just torturing everyone because she’s already perfect. She also sells posters of herself from a Sunset Beach P.O. Box.

According to Sam, his one-room gym offers free weights, Nautilus, a sauna, showers, “in a hometown atmosphere.” There are no aerobics classes but plenty of classic rock on the stereo.

Cost: $125 for six months.

The Gym

2498 E. Main St., Ventura, 653-9151

Across from Carpeteria and next to one of those 6 a.m. bars, The Gym has been in operation for 23 years. It has around 600 members, most of whom actually show up to sweat.

“You don’t have to fight with a bunch of kids for the equipment,” according to trainer Richard Horne. “We don’t have a huge overhead here, so we can spend more time with our clients. There’s no aerobics--this is just a basic gym. There’s not a lot of chrome, not a lot of neon and not a lot of flash and trash. Half the people here are word-of-mouth referrals after they’ve tried other gyms.”

The Gym has four Lifecycles, a couple of Stairmasters, and enough free weights to tire a Terminator.

“We haven’t raised our prices in the last seven or eight years,” said certified personal trainer Shawn Mackey Freeman. “January is a good month, but things really pick up around here once the bikinis hit the rack.”

Cost: $295 per year.

Harold & Jean’s Health Club

1930 Saviers Road, Oxnard, 486-2898

“This is the best club there is,” said Harold’s kid, Scott Meyer. “Harold still comes around everyday--I can’t get rid of him.”

Harold & Jean’s is the oldest health club in the county. It’s been around for 33 years and is the second oldest, same-owner gym in the state. The membership is about 50/50 between men and women. Every other day it’s male only or female only. This place has an indoor pool and Meyer to hassle you if start goofing off.

“I’ll get you in such good shape, you won’t need to go to those meat markets anymore,” he said. “Everyone has their own personal program. I find out why you’re here, then design a program for you. Oh, and I’ll call you if you don’t show up. Over 70% of our members actually show up because we service our members. We haven’t raised our prices in eight or nine years. Once we reach 500 to 600 members, that’s it. We start a waiting list.”

Cost: $265 per year.

L.A. Fitness Center

4542 Las Posas Road, Camarillo, 482-2582

So, I wonder if there’s a Camarillo Fitness Center in L.A.? It’s best not to time your workouts here by the clock tower above the building. One side says it’s 8:30, another 3:15, another 5:10 and one side has no hands at all. So show up whenever you want and stay as long as you want, as long as it’s between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekdays and between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekends.

Inside, the Lifecycles line one glass wall, offering a swell view of the parking lot and some farmland. There’s a large free-weight area, all the usual Nautilus machines, plus a large aerobics room where up to seven classes are offered a day. The club offers men and women-only Jacuzzis and saunas and child care is available, as are professional massages at $40 an hour.

Cost: The club offers individual, couple, family, senior citizen and corporate rates. Enrollment fees and monthly dues vary widely, with single memberships ranging between $15-$49 per month. The club also offers one-week free trial memberships.

Mapes Gym

4301 Valley Fair Drive, Simi Valley, 581-1205

Located in a little strip mall off Tapo Street, this is a meat and potatoes, no frills sort of gym. There’s a locker room and a shower--that’s it for amenities.

There are free weights, a couple of stationary bikes and some Stairmasters--one of them a top-of-the-line model. Mostly, this place is Gruntsville.

“We do actual weight training here,” said manager Dale Adrian. “It’s not a social club for people who want to hang out and get picked up or be seen. People who come here want results and actually work out.”

Cost: At present, Mapes is having a deal with a six-month membership for $89. Sweat all you want; and chances are good no one will ask your sign.

Oakridge Athletic Club

2655 Erringer Road, Simi Valley, 522-5454

The accent here is on “club” at this high-tech, young professional sweat-ar-ia. There are a number of tennis courts, a pool, and a parking lot larger than those at most gyms.

Oakridge is also the best landscaped gym with calendula, periwinkles, impatiens, agapanthus and cape honeysuckle in bloom everywhere.

Inside, it’s like a hotel lobby dominated by a huge TV screen larger than my Chrysler. Big couches and comfy chairs are everywhere. Through glass walls, you can watch racket ball players sweat.

Upstairs, it’s the gym. There’s charts all over the wall depicting aerobic target heart rates, the muscular and skeletal systems of both sexes. There are two rooms of gym equipment in two different color schemes: green and white and tan and blue, depending on one’s preference.

There’s another large room where aerobics, which are going on virtually nonstop--becomes “body sculpting.” Weight training instruction is provided. Nursery care is available daily at 8 am. This place is huge, and it’s cleaner than Felix Unger’s kitchen.

“We serve, serve, serve,” said manager Gay Bosch. “This is non-contract club, so it’s month-to-month and we have to earn the repeat business of our customers.”

Cost: Prices vary, depending on the type of membership and the number of people in your family. Initiation fees run from $150 to $275. Monthly fees run from $35 to $75. There are also full facility and health club only memberships.

Oceanside Fitness Center

420 W. Pleasant Valley Road, Oxnard, 488-2664

Located in a strip mall, this one has been in operation for nearly 3 1/2 years. The Hueneme High School Vikings basketball schedule is in the window. Q-105 is on the stereo.

“It’s a gym, not a meat market,” said Patty Kelleher, the woman at the desk. “It’s like one big family here. A lot of people are joining now because they want a fresh start. After you’ve spent half an hour on the Stairmaster, you’ll think twice about stopping for a burger on the way home.”

This one has child care, nearly 40 aerobics classes per week and all the usual machines that hurt so good.

One thing they have that no one else has is free karate classes for women.

The Oceanside also has workout clothes on sale.

Cost: $249 per year.

Ojai Fitness

309 E. Aliso St., Ojai, 646-5076

This is your basic neighborhood gym with a free weight room, plus another room full of Polaris equipment.

The ceiling fans are necessary for those Ojai summers, and this year, winter. There’s a fenced-in yard for child care.

But the single most interesting feature here is the aerobics room--it’s actually an old Church of Nazarene, complete with stained glass windows--so you can pray to be thin and get thin all at once. They offer 27 classes per week, none on Sunday. A massage therapist and a chiropractor are available.

Cost: $325 per year.

Pitbull Gym

1950 N. “C” St., Oxnard, 981-4630

This one is located in the Carriage Square shopping center around the corner from Vons, across from the post office.

There’s a large room full of the usual equipment and a good size aerobics room upstairs, where around 17 classes per week are held. There’s a couple of saunas plus the pictures of some L.A. sports heroes. The best one is a signed poster of Ah-nold in full-study pose with the following promise: “To Pitbull Gym--Train here or I’ll be back.”

Cost: The Pitbull Gym is offering a special right now--$99 for six months or $149 for a year, no initiation fee.

Powerhouse Gym

880 Hampshire Road, Westlake Village, 371-5850

This one is located in a maze of office buildings that all look alike. The rock ‘n’ roll is pretty hip--KLOS, KLSX or KROQ. Only problem is, last week they rocked and rolled a little more than was comfortable, thanks to the earthquake, and they will have to close for a week of repairs commencing on the 27th.

Fortunately, this is a pretty casual place where customers do some serious exercise, so maybe they won’t mind a little mess.

“What you’re doing is more important than what you’re wearing,” said manager Philip Feldson, his muscles bulging under his corporate sweat shirt. “We have a very down-to-earth atmosphere here. We’re sort of off the beaten path, and not on some main boulevard. At this time of year, a lot of people are driven by their conscience to join a gym. About 20% stick with it, and about 80% don’t even show up because working out is a pain in the (butt). It takes a commitment.”

This Powerhouse has the usual ton of Nautilus equipment, free weights and cardiovascular equipment, plus more than 30 aerobics classes per week, and child care.

Also available are swing dancing classes, yoga and martial arts instruction. The usual Powerhouse line of clothing can be purchased, plus everything the well-dressed kick boxer might need.

Cost: The January special is $199 to join, $14 per month.

There’s also a Powerhouse Gym at 411 Central Ave. in Fillmore, 524-1111, and at 1657 Pacific Ave, in Oxnard, 483-2557.

Shape Shop

711 E. Santa Barbara St., Santa Paula, 525-0990

There are a couple of scraggly podocarpus plants languishing on either side of the door to this neighborhood strip-mall gym. There are quite a number of free weights and the inevitable mirrors, plus a few stationary bicycles and Stairmasters.

In the back is an aerobics room, which offers about 30 classes a week. The club also sells some clothes.

This is one club that has somewhat eccentric hours: they are open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Starting in February they will be open on Sundays by appointment only.

Cost: $50 to enroll, $25 per month.

Ventura Athletic Club

5353 Walker St., Ventura, 644-9561

They just moved into the old Pennysaver building a few months ago and the place still smells new. It is huge; the logo on the wall is bigger than some gyms.

On the lower floor, there’s a basketball and volleyball court, plus all sorts of free weights and more dumbbells than a Three Stooges film festival and more mirrors than Zsa Zsa and Prince could possibly need. There is a large aerobics room, plus a women-only workout room. There’s another women-only room upstairs, but segregation of the sexes is optional.

On the second floor, the cardiovascular equipment lines a railing offering a panoramic view of what’s below or also the four TVs with the sound off. Music is usually KTYD, Q-105 or The Bus.

They offer a wide range of nutritional drinks such as Turbo Tea, Carbo Pump and Muscle Mass, which gives you a head rush similar to the one you get from eating too much ice cream too fast.

The Ventura Athletic Club is affiliated with the Camarillo Athletic Club and the Channel Islands Athletic Club in Port Hueneme, the latter two specializing in handball. A membership with one is good at all three locations.

Cost: At the time of publication the enrollment fee was $99 and monthly fess were $35.

YMCA

3760 Telegraph Road, Ventura, 642-2131

Remember all those ‘40s movies when all the guys were being thrown out of their fancy Manhattan apartments and crashing at the Y? You still can, but not in Ventura County--the nearest residential facility is in Hollywood.

This is your basic, wholesome, PG-rated health club. If Ward Clever let the boys work out, you’d probably find Wally and the Beave at the Y.

The main attraction at the YMCA is it’s indoor pool, which is a lot less crowded than the beach, and the parking is cheaper. But you do have to have a shower cap if your hair is shoulder length or longer.

The Y has all the equipment of other gyms, but the place usually isn’t so crowded. And they offer the widest selection of classes of any facility in the county. And more printed material. There’s information on CPR, abdominal fat, target heart rates, general training procedures, parent/child programs, youth karate and tumbling, racqetball, aerobics classes, even country dance lessons. And there’s no obnoxious disco music cranked up to 11, scaring both your remaining brain cells.

The sign on the wall pretty much sums up this scene: You can work out anywhere, but you belong at the YMCA.

There is also a Y in the Conejo Valley, which has a pool, and one in Camarillo, which does not.

Cost: The Y requires a one-time $145 membership fee, which is transferable to other Ys if a member moves to another city. Monthly fees are $38 for individuals and $54 for family membership. There are other fee structures for students, seniors, teens, youth and those needing financial aid.