Ron Zalko Fitness & Yoga

Moved back to Vancouver after spending the last 6 years in Toronto. Decided to look into personal training and gyms: innovative fitness ($$$), the community centres (mostly run down and small), and my last membership during the fitness world era of Steve Nash was unimpressive and impersonal. RZ so far seems to be a pretty good fit.
It’s usually a struggle for me to get to the gym but the set up and location make it a lot easier… The wall to ceiling windows let in a lot of natural light and it’s very spacious. Would highly recommend… and in fact trying to convince rest of my family to go.
Equipment is usually available and clean, they have a decent selection of universal and free weights. Also, looking forward to checking out some of the classes soon.
Will be back regularly!

Good gym for lifting, and the classes are good. The classes are fairly limited for working people, depending on what you want (look at the schedule to see if it fits your needs).
The biggest drawback (and reason for only 3 stars) is that they take huge amounts of time off for holidays. No classes for 3 WEEKS at christmastime. No classes for 3 – 10 days every time there’s a holiday (every holiday), which means if you’re lucky classes run 3 weekends a month on average. The price is reasonable, so it’s a trade off. Just know that going in… And the gym is closed every holiday, which is a bummer (6 days over Christmas and New Years, for example).

Great neighbourhood gym! This would be a five star gym, however, if they actively enforced their «refrain from cell phone use» sign on the door. I have never seen so many people sitting at machines *texting between sets*. One gym regular, when I asked if I could work in, made me wait until he’d finished thumbing his text message before he stood up.
I think RZ ought to put a ban on smartphone use in exercise areas except as music players. Hard to enforce, but would make the gym amazing.

By far, my favourite gym in the city.
It has everything you need/​want, plus so much more!
Fitness classes are included in your EXTREMELY reasonable monthly rate and yes, there’s also a ladies only area (if that’s your preference).
What’s that you say? You’re looking for something fancy and/​or with towel service?
Well feel free to head on over to a gym with ridiculous fees, or better yet, a spa!
If you’re looking to work out (I’m talking about a sweating, grunting, snorting kind of workout) with lots of equipment at your disposal, THIS is your place.

I’m been around the block when it comes to gym memberships. Reasons I have left gyms in the past isn’t about being only being lazy, it’s just that I don’t want to be there. Parking can be a pain, line up for machines break your rhythm, but even more so is that you really are just a number in their membership roster.
That’s why I’m with Ron Zalko’s gym now. It says Ron Zalko on the door because it’s not a chain or some corporate worldwide gym. It’s his gym — and he runs it with his wife. They aren’t only the nicest people you’ll meet but they know their stuff. Evidently, all of the equipment they choose is top notch and regularly updated/​replaced. Nothing overly complicated, just good honest weight machines that are ergonomically designed to help you lift safely. There is free parking as well and plenty of space. Finally it’s just comfortable to work out there, other patrons are chill and courteous.
There’s also an optional womens-​only area that ISN’T an afterthought. It’s a beautiful part of the building with the best view in the house. The yoga room is big, bright and the membership comes with free classes.
If you’re looking for a solid place to get fit that isn’t glam over substance, this would be a great choice.

Ron Zalko’s has been a regular member of the community for many, many years and their gym has earned a reputation for delivering top notch customer service while maintaining a well equipped facility.
The gym has something for everybody. From their spin classes, cardio kickboxing, to yoga, Zalko’s has it all! With many different rooms for weight training, cardio and core exercise, there is something for everyone!
Ron Zalko’s also has the distinction of being the only gym that’s truly Kits! Friendly members, helpful staff, tons of windows and tvs and best of all, the original fitness guru in Vancouver, Ron himself! Ron is always at the gym from afternoon to the evening. He is always there to chat about fitness and this man knows his stuff!

I come here about 3 – 4 times a week and would definitely recommend it to anyone in the Kits area — as others have said, classes etc are fairly basic, but if you’re looking for s place to do cardio/​weights on a regular basis, the machines are great (plus nice green views of the outdoors, and TVs on some) and the clientele is, as far as I can tell, polite and unobtrusive. Ladies area a bit outdated machine-​wise but I’ve been so comfortable in the main area that I haven’t needed it — monthly rate for 6 months very reasonable too.

Hanging out in Kits? This is a hidden gem. The club is immaculate considering it is over 30 years old.
They offer plenty of fitness classes 7 days a week.
Most of their cardio machines offer USB ports and head phone outlets to listen to the TV or iphone.
Zumba classes are also offered every Sunday 9:30AM, Tuesday 7:30PM, and Thursday at 5:30 with Alexandro, a very upbeat, fast past cardio class. I must have burned 1000 calories in that class. I could barely finish, but I was ensured that the next class will be easier LOL.
They also have Yoga, Pilates, boxerfit, step classes, core, indoor cycling, kickboxing and circuit classes that are all on my to do list.
I found their staff and the people working out courteous and friendly.

We bought a Groupon now to work out one rainy day. Facility was good and not too busy but we were really off put by the high pressure sales pitch at the end to buy a one year membership. We told them we weren’t interested but they called every night for the next 3 months. Would highly suggest to everybody NOT to purchase the day pass on groupon unless you are looking for constant telemarketing after.
*Update*
I just logged into Unilocal and see that I received a cryptic message from Ron Z. that says «lawsuit on it’s way». What a bizarre message to send. The facility was nice but they did ring constantly for a few months and eventually stopped when we did not answer the phone. This was our experience and I feel that receiving a message threatening a lawsuit to be in poor taste.

I like this gym. It’s not flashy or trendy and it’s filled with a wide variety of people, which is kind of nice. I feel like everyone is just there to do their own thing and the staff have all been pleasant and nice. Based on some reviews I am a little scared about being reprimanded for exceeding the 20 minute time limit on the machines, but I’ve done that practically every time I’m at the gym, and no one has ever said a peep to me. Although, I’m not a jerk and exceed this limit if the type of machine I’m using is busy at the time.
Pros: TVs on the cardio machines, cheap monthly membership, great location, friendly staff
Cons: some fans would be nice — it can feel pretty warm and stagnant sometimes and if you use any resistance beyond 10 you’ll quickly dissolve into one hot, sweaty mess. I sometimes feel like I’m in a serpentarium, but in all fairness I think it is better to be on the warmer side rather than cold when working out. They close pretty early on the weekends (6 and 5, respectively) which sometimes is a bit of a pain. Also, a male instructor for one of the classes annoyingly shouts «WOOT WOOT» constantly throughout the class which interrupts my tv watching/​listening abilities. It is incredibly cheesy and annoying though.
BUT with the help of Ron Zalko’s gym I have lost 25 pounds in 4 months, and that includes the holiday time over Christmas where I ate and drink everything ever invented. Ever.

The gym is clean and the other members are pretty friendly, no alpha-​male posturing here!
I gave the gym 4 out of 5 stars because I didn’t have to wait for the machines, they were (mostly) clean and modern and I could watch hockey while on the elliptical machines (though some of the TVs on those machines don’t work properly, and the treadmills don’t have them at all).
After an initial bad experience with their customer service, I received a phone call from a very friendly Sara who straightened all my billing and customer service issues with me immediately.
If it was not for my knee injury I would probably continue at this gym.
Advice to those signing the contract; read the whole thing and save it! Also Sara informed me that it is possible to end your contract via Fax — which I did not know previously — other reviewers say it can only be done in person, but this isn’t the case.
Overall, I can chalk up my issues to «mis-​communication».
Thanks, Sara!

Some budget equipment, some good equipment, some not so helpful staff all packed into a very uninspiring space. Top it off with the third degree when you try to cancel, and I can’t in good conscience recommend this place to anyone.

I’ve been going to Ron Zalko for the last 2 years and have to say it is hands down the best gym I have ever been a member at. I first got my membership there because of the numerous classes on the schedule. Everything from Yoga & Pilates to Dance Sculpt & Boxing, the teachers are in tune with their practice, friendly and play great music!
I have never once had to wait for cardio equipment and really like that I can watch tv while I sweat (they even play Cauncks games during the season).
Ron and his whole staff are all convivial and accommodating, they really take the time to get to know their clients and make sure they are comfortable.
The gym is clean & affordable and has every piece of equipment you could ever need — you may even catch a glimpse of a local celebrity ;)

This is a sports club where staff and management obviously care about money more than anything :(well, at least U can get a good workout. If you’re worried about getting scammed then try paying in cash. :)

It’s a pretty good gym with all the equipment that you’d really need. I’ve been there plenty of times (although not regularly enough — as my lazy butt will attest to) and it’s pretty decent.
There are nicer gyms out there, nicer washrooms. but for the basics its decent and clean. You’ll see a lot of regulars there and the atmosphere is reasonably friendly, not pretentious at all.

STAY AWAY! If I could give lower than 1 star I would. After cancelling my membership in person after 15 months as per the agreement they continued to charge my credit card for 12 months. They hide the charges as «RZ Vancouver BC» on your statement hoping your won’t notice.
They made it impossible to stop the charges as they would not accept a letter in person to cancel, would not accept registered mail, have no email to send a cancellation to, and will not provide a fax number. What business has no email or fax and will not accept registered mail? When you cancel in person they claim to have no record of it after continuing to charge your credit card. Nice scam.
You can see by many bad reviews online and checking out their numerous complaints on Unilocal and the BBB to see why you should never join this gym or provide them with a credit card or banking info. Oh and the gym sucks too that is why I quit in the first place.

This is an edit of a review originally posted in 2010:
Customer service is not dead! I just got off the phone with Sarah in customer service at Zalko. She expresses that the owner had read my review and was sorry to hear about the situation. They offered a free membership to help make up for the regrettable situation (covered in detail below). I no longer live close but I work near downtown some days so I look forward to going back and updating this review yet again with feedback from my next visit. Stay posted!
Original review below, posted 12.18.2010:
The gym itself is not bad with ample space/​machines/​free weights. Like most gyms the interior design and layout will never win any awards.
I signed up here when I first moved to Vancouver for school and paid for a year in advance– it was a great student deal so well worth it if I had actually used it. The thing was I really got immersed in Uni and barely used the membership (maybe 5−6x), pretty much forgot about it, until about two years after the paid first year had expired I received a collections notice for approx $ 600. WTF. Apparently part of the deal was that I was to give my credit card on file and then have monthly payments taken off. The thing is I got a new credit card with a new # within that period. Any pont of sale clerk putting through a visa payment without the cardholder there will usually make a quick phone call to alert the cardholder that payment is not going through. Zalkos did not do this, instead opting to wait 2 years then send a massive bill. They had my proper cell # on file and could have reached me in an instant 24/​7, but they did not.
The only way I would go back here would be for the same deal, but without obligation at the end of the prepaid first period.
Addendum in response to Mr. Zalkos response below: I am aware how a contract works, but contrary to what you said no-​one called or mailed me anything for 2 years. If I had seen a charge on my credit card that would have been a reminder to cancel the membership, but since there was no charge, no call, no letter, no email, no text, no knock at my door (you had all this contact info) I honestly forgot! Had you actually taken the 30 seconds to call the month after my unused membership had expired, I would have cheerily responded– «Whoops, here’s another month payment to cover the cancellation fee, please accept this as notice of my departure.» I ended up paying for 3 months more membership as a compromise so you ended up getting about $ 350 for 6 visits– pretty good deal for you, Mr. Zalko. Reasonable due dilligence was definitely NOT undertaken by your company.

Never in my life have I been treated so badly by a gym.
As an athlete, I have spent much of my last 5 years in gyms. Recently retired, I was looking for a new place to work out — yoga, classes, spin, and weights. My boyfriend has a membership and he thought I would love it. When he got a postcard in the mail inviting him to ‘take a friend for free’, he convinced me to try it.
I called, explained my story and made an appointment for an orientation. Later that evening, I headed to Ron Zalko to meet my boyfriend there and see the gym.
After a long tour, we sat down and I said, «the gym looks great, I would love to do my workout now and see how I like it.» The woman touring says, «That will be $ 20». I expressed my surprise given I had booked on the ‘free workout for a friend’ premise and that my boyfriend, a member, was right there with me (he had forgotten the card). She said due to «Olympics security concerns, my area code (I live at Howe and Davie downtown, not in Kits), and low membership fees», I could not work out for free. We mentioned that the card said the pass could be accessed online– she stated that the gym did NOT have a computer with internet, and since the website was in flash we could not access it on our blackberries to log in and show her.
After speaking to her and her manager, no matter how I tried to rationalize to her (we are here, I made an appointment and I mentioned the fre workout, the card is available online, my boyfriend right here is a member who was mailed the offer), we gave up and went home.
After all of this, at home we checked the card and it said «CARD IS ALSO AVAILABLE AT THE FRONT DESK».
What a joke. If a gym treats potential members like this, I can’t imagine how bad it must be for real members. Needless to say, I am never going back.

When my biggest issue in going to the gym is actually getting motivated to get there, it doesn’t help that the «free» parking pass, which used to be available at any time of the day how now changed to after 5 on weekdays and on the weekends. I guess that’s just one more motivating factor telling me to ride my bike more!

The Ron Zalko gym is nice but not too nice, which works great with me. I don’t want to work out where everything is perfect and overdone.
The equipment is boasted to be the top of the line — I’m no expert, though, so I can give no insight there. There are lots of machines to go around and a nice balance of equipment with personal TVs and no TVs. The gym offers a diverse schedule of yoga, stretch, spin, and step classes.
Reports are the Canucks do a power pacing class here twice weekly. I’m thinking that adrenaline would be a little intense for my liking. But there is a ladies-​only weight room to help escape the boys club.
Overall, I really do like the Ron Zalko gym. With all its ads of scantily clad models I’d expected far, far more pretentious Kits atmosphere.