Last updated on April 19, 2019
Five gyms between Santa Cruz and Aptos to get your sweat.
There are so many gyms in the Santa Cruz area that you might decide to take a day on the couch to choose one. Hey, we’re not judging, we’re here to help. Whether you’re a little late on your New Year’s resolution, or looking to get a head start on the beach bod, we can help you get oriented.
There are more than 30 gyms and fitness centers that polka-dot the map between Santa Cruz and Aptos, but we’ve chosen to focus on the five biggest and best.
The Cabrillo Wellness Education Center is next to the Cabrillo cafeteria. It’s the least expensive option for Cabrillo students, because the cost is merely the price of enrollment for a half-unit class.
The facility has everything somebody needs to get started or continue pushing their limits. The small crowd allows for efficient workouts and accessible equipment.
It’s a great option for beginners because of the access to help and advice. The bulletin boards in the WEC are always being updated with new workouts, nutritional advice, and dates and times of group exercise programs. Staff members are helpful, and always willing to jump in to assist.
Santa Cruz Power Fitness is a local gem, a bodybuilder’s haven, on its way to the big leagues. Hardcore music blares through speakers into the dim warehouse, big men grunt and toss hundreds of pounds of metal on the floor, and a mural of a stoic Arnold Schwarzenegger watches over the crowd.
Since buying the gym a year ago, Chris Ellis and Camile Periat have added dozens of machines, state-of-the-art equipment, and expanded class offerings. With plans to install a heated training studio into the recently purchased adjacent building, Power Fitness is building on its momentum.
Power Fitness is home to Santa Cruz Sports Nutrition, a supplement shop suitable for any avid gym user’s needs. This gym is paradise for iron clankers and weight slammers. The price to get started is $50 down and $25 a month with a student discount.
Toadal Fitness started in downtown Santa Cruz in 1996 and has added locations in Aptos, Live Oak, Scotts Valley, and Westside Santa Cruz.
Toadal Fitness is an unintimidating, beginner-friendly, community oriented gym. Its facilities house an abundance of cardio equipment, machine assisted weights, and friendly personal trainers.
It does lack some of the free weight equipment, vigor, and grit of Power Fitness, but it’s perfect for anybody looking for a low-key gym while doing business locally.
Toadal Fitness offers a day care service, so if crazy kids were your excuse for staying home, find another excuse. Their membership prices are between $37 to $43 a month, or with a student discount $33 to $39, plus an initiation fee that is often negotiable.
InShape is a chain gym that offers a variety of amenities, including indoor and outdoor pools, an outdoor training area, and a spa.
This gym is the largest as far as sheer square footage goes, it spans across two buildings and the outdoor area. It’s a beautiful, well-lit gym, with separate rooms that give a sense of privacy. This gym is perfect for somebody who wants to put their headphones on and relish their solitude as they train.
The free weight equipment is sparse, but the gym makes up for it with a plethora of machines. It’s a clean, well organized, pretty gym, not the best option if you’re trying to get all Hanz and Franz while you scream and throw weights around.
InShape is great if you are looking for some solitude, cleanliness, and state of the art machines. The price at InShape is an initiation fee of $99.99, and a monthly fee of $39.99.
24 Hour Fitness is the largest chain gym in Santa Cruz. With more than 400 locations nationwide that are open 24 hours, and a membership that gives access to every gym, it’s the perfect gym for a traveler.
The gym knows what works: friendly service, pathways to help reach your goals, and equipment that gets the job done. It offers a spa, indoor pool, group classes, and smartphone apps to track your progress at no extra cost.
The gym boasts windows that stretch the entire face of the building, allowing sunlight to spill into the gym and warm the hearts of the sweaty bodies trudging through the last minutes of the treadmill. The bathrooms could be cleaner, and the locker rooms are the kind of place you don’t want to take your shoes off in. Despite that, this gym is a go-to for many, giving it a community feel uncommon in corporate chains.
This is a gym for all walks of the fitness spectrum, great for a beginner, but serves a veteran just as well. The price at 24 Hour Fitness is $46.99 a month for the Santa Cruz Club alone, and $52.99 a month for access to all locations nationwide, plus an initiation fee of $50.
