One Place That Runs Quite a Racquet
Beware. The Gym Rat is snooping around Southern California, looking at the best and worst in health clubs. And he isn’t just any rat. He’s been teaching for four years at various clubs in the area. He is a member of the International Dance Exercise Assn. and is certified by the Aerobics and Fitness Assn. of America.
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You know, you don’t have to go to the big fancy health clubs with all their neon and glistening weights and designer foods and slick advertising to get what you are really looking for--a good workout. There are still small independent clubs out there ready to help out. You just have to look a little harder.
I mean, when was the last time you went to a big health club, forgot your lock, and the person at the front desk lent you a lock and key for free--and all he asked was that you remember to return them after your workout?
That happened to me at Canyon Terrace Raquetball & Fitness in Anaheim.
This place is a real family operation. George Case opened this facility in January 1977 and--except for a two-year period when he sold it, then bought it back--he and son Scott have kept it in tiptop shape. And the person who lent me the lock? It was George’s grandson, Randy.
“It’s unusual to have an independent club,” Case said. “The big clubs don’t hurt me much. We just try to do our end of the business. We have a lot of people who don’t want to join a club.”
Canyon Terrace has 200 members, he said. If you’re expecting fancy, forget it. The facility is 10,000 square feet and has six racquetball courts. There are no aerobics classes. When I went upstairs into the cardiovascular area the other night at 7:30, it was empty. I was kept company by two StarTrac treadmills, two StarTrac recumbent bicycles, two StarTrac stationary bicycles and two StairMasters. Two more treadmills are on the way.
Along with the racquetball courts downstairs, there is a room filled with free weights and Standard weight plates and another packed with equipment by USA Maximus and Universal. The Universal equipment is on the way out, to be replaced with newer equipment.
Case said he’s constantly trying to improve the place.
“And we just try to keep it clean and small,” he said. “It’s just my son and I running the place.”
If you are a racquetball player, you should know that Canyon Terrace is one of the few facilities left that allow walk-ins--you don’t have to be a member to play here. Prime time on the courts is between 4 and 9 p.m. Rates are $6 a person per hour during the day and on weekends, and $7 a person per hour during prime time.
The only problem, if you can call it a problem, is the location.
“People don’t find us in the hills,” Case said. “When we describe how to get here, people just get lost. But on the other hand, there’s some guy here who calls us ‘the little health club in the hills,’ and he doesn’t like it that other people keep finding us.”
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If you have a gym or health club you think the Gym Rat should scope out, fax to (213) 237-4712 or e-mail health@latimes.com.
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The Rat Trap
On a rating of one to four rats (*), four being best, here is how the Gym Rat rates Canyon Terrace Raquetball & Fitness in Anaheim:
* Parking: Lot is lighted, but you’ll do battle with people going to the Thai restaurant and the convenience store in the same strip mall. **
* Locker rooms: Small but very clean. Towels are available for 50 cents. There are two showers and a dry sauna. ***
* Juice bar: Your choices are bottled water, Gatorade, Coca-Cola, Sprite, apple juice or sports drinks like Carbo Force, Blue Thunder and Critical Mass. **
Canyon Terrace Raquetball & Fitness, 100 N. Tustin, Anaheim; (714) 974-0280. A single-day pass is $4. There are three membership packages, depending on whether you just want to use the weights and cardiovascular equipment or whether you want to play racquetball in non-prime time or play racquetball at any time. Prices range from $99 for six months to $360 a year. Club hours are 6 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays; and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.