Jersey Strong Gym

I’ve been going here for about 2 years now. I do love the fact that it’s so close to home and it’s 24hours. I would give this place 5 stars if it were cleaner. The machines are dusty and the bathroom is always dirty when I go. I deal with it because I do love the amount of free weights they have and the women’s only section is a plus. I’m used to this place but they could really use a better cleaning person. And it wouldn’t hurt the staff at the front desk to greet members when they come in … but hey you get what you pay for

I love this gym. I’ve been a member of several gyms over the years, this one is the most comfortable and enjoyable. This is due to my amazing Zumba instructor, Donna. She brings the best out of people. Donna is always encouraging and has helped me on my fitness journey. I am so happy to have met Donna because she made me fall in love with exercise and getting fit.

*Updated review* After waiting an hour for service, I was informed that I couldn't cancel payments until my contract ended and was given a number to call to place my request. Two weeks later, Dave confronted me about my first review. He explained that he lacked the authority to access my account, unlike the person who came in an hour later. This makes me question Jersey Strong's staffing decisions: if you claim to have helpful staff available at 8 am, why assign a team member with limited abilities/authority to work at 8 am as they cannot handle various customer inquiries? Advice to Jersey Strong Staff: Even if you are not able to help a customer due to your limited access, digging deeper and showing you care to keep the relationship, goes a long way. This proactive approach might have prevented my initial review. ‐---‐--------- First review: Disappointing Experience at Jersey Strong Old Bridge I visited Jersey Strong Old Bridge at 8:05 am to cancel my SHIFT class membership due to unforeseen life changes. Unfortunately, my experience was marred by poor customer service and deceitful practices. After waiting 10 minutes for assistance, Representative Dave informed me that he couldn't help me and that I had to wait until 9 am for another representative. This was frustrating, but what followed was even more alarming. The trainer I had signed up for, listed on the app, no longer works at the gym - and has been gone for weeks. Using her name to attract customers is misleading and dishonest. The combination of unhelpful staff, inaccurate information, and lack of transparency raises serious concerns about Jersey Strong's customer service and integrity. If you're considering joining a gym, I would caution against this one due to their questionable business practices. Rating: 1/5 stars Would not recommend.

I originally wrote a glowing review of this place, but it was really about my trainer, who has helped me make a ton of progress. She was easily the best trainer there and a sole reason so many people attended their overpriced SHIFT classes (which are not included in the membership). Unfortunately, the management here very unprofessionally fired my trainer IN THE MIDDLE OF MY PAID SESSION. We were 10 minutes into the 30 minutes I paid for when they pulled her aside and let her go. I have never experienced anything like it and let the front desk know I wanted to cancel my sessions on the spot. Aside from the unprofessional management, the gym leaves a lot to be desired. It's dirty, they use vinegar in place of real disinfecting solution to save money, the music/wifi is always out, and they take forever to replace broken equipment. The room the SHIFT classes are held in is filthy and there are clumps of hair the size of my cat collected in the corners, where they clearly don't clean. In addition, they use shady practices to get people signed up. They advertise a free trial to get you in the door, only to then tell you that if you take the free trial (instead of signing up on the spot), you'll lose access to a better deal on the monthly membership dues. Then, as part of their sign up process, they give you a "body scan" session where they weigh you and shame you into a personal training package based on your weight, body fat percentage, etc. I am 34 and the person who signed me up (also the person who so unprofessionally fired my trainer mid-session, Brian), told me that he was surprised I wasn't on heart/cholesterol medication based on my numbers as a part of his sales pitch. They even screw over the trainers: there's a new policy that if less than 5 people show up for a SHIFT class, the trainer doesn't get paid for their time teaching that class. Is that even legal? It's no wonder so many of the best trainers there are leaving in droves. I was happy with this place at first but it has quickly gone downhill. After seeing how they treat both their paying customers and the trainers who bust their asses for them, I won't be back. Save your money and go somewhere else, where you won't be hundreds of dollars out on your training package after they fire your trainer with zero warning in the middle of your workout.

The neighborhood people that go here are nice and laid back. Brief list of pros and cons: Pros: 1. A good array of equipment to work with to focus on whatever muscle you’re working on. 2. Open 24 hours 3. There’s usually always the price of equipment you’re looking for available. Cons: 1. I know you sign the contract with an early termination fee of $100. But there’s no consumer protection to break that contract if the maintenance fee you pay is not going to the actual maintenance of the club, rather just an extra bonus to whoever because it’s an industry standard to charge it. Look at the locker doors missing in the men’s locker room and equipment breaks often. It is repaired within a week or so. But still, equipment shouldn't be down for repair consistently. 2. Micro purchases incentivized with lack of convenience. The water fountain for example, you have to turn the head of it to fill your water bottle which takes awhile. & the water tastes a little weird. Or you could always buy a water bottle every time you go. Lol it’s a little bit of a ripoff. 3. I tend to shower at the gym after a workout so I can go to work after - just a personal preference. But the showers are pretty small and it’s impossible put your own shampoo and wash in them. Also, they’ve been times where the curtains get cruddy and not cared for. 4. The manager who signed me up - while a really nice guy, had a classic car-salesman vibe about him. Always has a mitigating factor for the areas I saw an issue with after signing up. For example, he mentioned a study without reference that showed showing after a workout is not good for muscle growth. Lol in-fact, I can see a correlation between how unappealing the showers are in Jersey strong old bridge and East Brunswick with that bogus study haha. And for the $100 early termination fee… “if you don’t plan on quitting and put your health first, that’s not an issue for 2 years.” Well if there’s a better quality gym nearby and an implied contract of cleanliness with basic maintenance that’s not honored, it should be waved. As well as the maintenance fees that we don’t feel the difference on. Maybe a poster board in the front to show how the money was spend every 6 months would get more trust back with the members. 5. There’s no way for them to opt you out of all sales calls / texts at sign up. I was getting messages by a personal trainer to set up an appointment for what?? To upsell. Let me just click or respond no and stop the upselling. 6. It’s hard to find plates because they're scattered around the gym. Part of maintaining the club should be somebody organize them, or hold the other members more accountable. Because the cons outweigh the pros, I’d like the $100 fee waived for early termination based on quality. But I don’t expect that to happen. If I do, I’ll definitely add that in at a later date.