Crunch Takes a Cutting Edge Approach to Group Workouts

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 more than five years at various clubs in the area and is a certified aerobics instructor.

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Crunched between Wolfgang Puck’s Cafe, the Sunset 5 movie theaters and a Virgin Megastore on Sunset Boulevard is Crunch, the gym. It’s not much to look at on the outside, but as the Temptations put it so perfectly, beauty’s only skin deep, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Once you get inside, however, you’ll see why it is the place to work out in Southern California, even if you have to cough up $22 for a day pass.

The 30,000-square-foot facility, which opened in February 1997, has about 8,000 members, the bulk of whom are in the entertainment industry, says manager Alex Fernandez. Crunch caters to those members by offering group exercise classes at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.--times that don’t usually attract a lot of people. But because of the industry’s quirky hours, these are the times those folks can get to the gym.

This place impressed me. It is cutting edge with a capital C and a capital E.

For instance, you won’t find many other gyms offering the classes that Crunch does. For example, there are “Raw Groove” with DJ Rock at 8 p.m. on Mondays, “Urban Rebounding,” at 1 p.m. Tuesdays and “Afro Brazilian Cardio” at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. And how about “Karaoke Spin” on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. or “The Goddess Workout” at 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays?

My Monday morning 8:30 class, “All The Right Moves,” is taught by Grace Woodard Lazenby. (She also teaches the class at 10:30 a.m. on Thursdays.) She has been teaching this class for about a year, but Woodard Lazenby, 33, is a 17-year veteran of the aerobics industry. Her class blends Pilates, yoga and dance and incorporates dumbbells, a Body Bar and a small rubber ball.

And kudos to Woodard Lazenby for asking if anyone was new to the class: “Don’t worry if you haven’t taken yoga before,” she says. “All the moves are very basic.”

Basic, yes. Easy, no. My legs quivered. My abs ached. My balance and posture were sorely tested.

And then there’s the hypoxic chamber: It’s a 9-by-9 deoxidized room that offers the physical and mental benefits of being at an altitude of 9,000 feet. (According to the Hypoxia Medical Journal of Geneva, Switzerland, individuals who use hypoxic training get maximum strength and endurance by inhaling oxygen-depleted air during physical activity.)

Netpulse has a fun idea too: It has teamed with Crunch to provide Internet access while members exercise. Crunch has outfitted 10 bicycles--five recumbent--with monitors that are hooked up to the Internet. The access is free of charge, and the day I was at Crunch, all 10 bikes were taken.

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If you need a personal trainer, you won’t have trouble finding one. Fernandez says the facility is home to 50 certified personal trainers. And you probably won’t have trouble getting into one of the 38 Spinning classes, because there are 72 Schwinn Spinners.

In the first-floor cardiovascular area, you will find 37 LifeFitness treadmills, a Concept II rower, two Reebok Body Trec elliptical machines, five Tectrix steppers, five LifeFitness cross-trainers, nine Precor elliptical machines and three LifeCycle recumbent bicycles. And as at most gyms, you will need to bring an FM radio with you to hear the audio portion on the television.

Besides the aerobics room and the Spinning area, the upstairs floor has a boxing ring and three boxing bags and a weight room. Icarian and LifeFitness are the weight machines of choice here along with a few by Hammer Strength. Weight plates are made by Iron Grip.

If you know of a gym or health club you think the Gym Rat should scope out, fax to (213) 237-4712 or e-mail: gary.metzker@latimes.com.

The Rat Trap

On a rating of one to four rats, four being best, here is how the Gym Rat rates Crunch in West Hollywood:

* Parking: Lots of it underground, and Crunch will validate for two hours. ****

* Locker rooms: Very nice, although the morning I was there, one of the managers was walking around the bathroom picking up pieces of toilet paper as he led a prospective member around. There are steam and sauna facilities for men and women, and 20 showers equipped with soap and shampoo. If you don’t mind showing off your bod, you can shower in one of the “peek-a-boo” showers and let everyone take a look at your chiseled form through smoked glass. Locker rooms are also equipped with televisions--lots of them. Unfortunately, they are all on the same channel, so if you don’t like VH1, that’s just tough. ****

* Juice bar: Smoothies, bottled drinks and protein bars. ***

Crunch, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. (323) 654-4550. A day pass costs--yikes!--$22. There are two membership options: Passport membership gets you into Crunch’s 15 other gyms around the nation and costs $849 per year (two more are planned for Mission Viejo and Las Vegas). The standard membership gets you into only the local facility, and that will set you back $749. There is an initiation fee, but check with the gym for special membership offers. The gym is open 5 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday; 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.