CalFit Martinez

For its size it has an adequate amount of equipment. It has plenty of cardio machines for people less interested in heavy lifting. The trainers are nice and helpful and usually seem pretty focused on their clients. Never really seen a time when there are too many people in the gym. Obviously haven’t dealt with their cancelation policy however from the looks of it this gym is pretty small and likely operates off of one or two people manning the computer. Expecting immediate service is unrealistic at best. I’d suggest walking into the place in person when the door is open for best results.
Centrally located in downtown Martinez. Open ²⁴⁄₇. Machines always available. Clean with a (insofar as I have experienced) polite member base.
Havent run into any problems. Been going there for around four months.

I love the convenience of location and hours. It is never too crowded and has all the equipment I need to get the results I want. The staff is also very friendly and helpful. I would recommend it to anyone.

So far I love it!
Their education discount or deal was great for me, the location is fantastic and it’s never too crowded! Which is great for me cuz sometimes you’re just intimidated by larger gyms. They have lots of different options to to work out on and it never smells (which I’ve encountered at other gyms).

I love my gym. It’s small (but has what you need), great reps that always say hello, and no grunting. Great location in downtown Martinez for locals. And it’s never overly packed, maybe one or two days in January it’s «packed» but still no wait for machines. You can’t say that about 24Hour Fit-​not.

Dealing with this place is a complete nightmare! I cannot believe I even had a membership for so long. I signed up with them right when they opened and Ben had helped me. I paid first and last months payment and had been a local customer with them for over 2 years. I recently moved out of Martinez and needed to cancel my membership, I called the main line over a dozen times and left multiple voicemail’s and not once did anyone return my call. I remembered I had Ben’s cell number from when I signed up with them and sent him a text letting him know what was going on all he replied was saying «I DON’T WORK THERE» like great thanks, a lot of help! I went down to call fit and no once did I see Stacey. I decided to call again and there was no return. I called my bank and cancelled the payments just to receive a call from the payment company saying that they have no proof of me trying to cancel for a period of time and that I would have to still pay the current months bill. I even advised them that I have paid and have a statement stating I paid last and first months bill as you do FOR EVERY SINGLE GYM MEMBERSHIP IN THE U.S. just thought this was ridiculous and horrible customer service. Get it together Cal Fit!

Love this place… it’s a small gym, it’s right in downtown Martinez (which happens to be like a 10-​minute walk from where I live), and it’s open 24 hours. Because of its size, there are never too many people that you can’t get the machine you want, and because it’s open 24/​7, if you wanna work out at midnight, go for it (you’d be surprised how many people you’ll find there at that time of night).
There are TV’s that you can change if you wanna watch something while you run, and you can change the music (whoever keeps putting on R&B to work out to… really??).
Something else that I’ve never really thought about, but my gf brought up, is that — because of its size — it’s not intimidating at all. Just a handful of regular people (young & old) working up a sweat.

A great gym! Convenient when you work in DT Martinez. Rich is an amazing trainer– very patient but also very encouraging, and always mixes up the workout so you don’t get bored. It’s always nice and quiet, with plenty of available machines.

Just signed up for a free week trial. Great little spot, nice people working here. It’s ²⁴⁄₇ which is awesome! Love it so far…

CalFit is the best gym I have ever been a member of! The reason why is because the people that go there are actually there to workout. It’s not a social scene. People aren’t talking on their phones, or jabbering to the person next to them about their night out on the town. People of all ages go here. I have never done a personal training session, but they are always going on when I am there, and the staff knows what they are doing! The gym is conveniently located if you live in Martinez, as I don’t think there are any other gyms near by. I also love the fact that you can access the gym with the swipe of a card, and you can workout any hour of the day! I would definitely recommend this gym to anyone in the area!

Ben is an energetic, effective and solid instructor. He runs a very professional and clean facility that allows his clients the opportunity to exercise and workout using a variety of different machines, free weights and anaerobic devices. His rates are very reasonable and I highly recommend him to anyone in downtown Martinez.

Great small gym, no waiting for equipment, no idiot posers admiring themselves in the mirrors.

CalFit Martinez is by far the best gym I’ve ever been to. I’ve had memberships at the YMCA and 24 and I’ve never had the experience there that I get at CalFit. The owner, Ben, is the nicest funniest guy and he’s always on top of everything, plus he’s super knowledgable and always willing to help.
The unique thing about CalFit is that it’s very family oriented. I always feel super comfortable walking in when I get greeted by name and asked how my days going from people who actually care.
I’ve done training with both Stacy and Ben and they’re amazing. They know their stuff and always have me leaving the gym feeling awesome.
Highly recommend this gym, I’d never pay to go anywhere else!

Calfit Martinez is near my home and the advertised price really can’t be beat, so I tried the one week pass to see how I liked it. In the end, I decided on another gym that is closer to work and had a few more amenities, but some of the things I liked about CalFit during my trial run:
— Enough machines/​equipment to go around, at least at the times I would go, all in working condition and well maintained/​clean
— Convenient location
— Complimentary clean towels to use during your workout
— Very nicely maintained restrooms with toiletries, etc.
The minuses for me were the size — it is a smallish space which can make it a little claustrophobic — and the parking closeby is street metered parking from 9 – 6 everyday except Sunday, which, depending on when you get there and how long you work out, can start to add up. You could probably find non-​pay parking in the neighborhoods nearby though. Other than that, I would totally recommend this place to anyone who needs a low-​key, no-​nonsense gym that’s well-​equipped and clean.

Great gym that has everything you need. The gym is ²⁴⁄₇ and has enough space to do most of my workouts. It’s never overcrowded compared to a planet fitness or 24. Ben and Stacey (owners) are very helpful, humorous, and knowledgable individuals that are always around. Very good overall gym in my opinion.

I read A LOT of reviews before I called (even the 70-​something filtered reviews)… so here’s my attempt at giving my fellow Unilocalers a solid information packed review all in one *smiles*
I was looking for a new gym close to work that had ²⁴⁄₇ access; I found 2 in Martinez. I tried THE OTHER gym for several months; (for $ 39.99/month). They had the basics, but only a few select machines and a couple of standard elliptical machines; not enough variety to keep me motivated.
THIS GYM: I saw a flyer in the mail for «*as low as $ 19/​month» and I found myself not going to my other gym nearly enough to make a dent in my long term goals. I called the number and left a voicemail regarding interest to see the facility; someone called me back within 2 hours and let me know that someone would definitely be on sight to assist me until 7pm during the next several days (whew, I can never get anywhere before 5pm).
I showed up without calling back that day. I almost passed right by the place, it looks deceivingly small from the street; no parking meters after 5pm (small metered area 1 nickel=8min). I was greeted by an obviously fit woman (good sign) and had a moment to review the corkboard of REAL before/​after photos of current members (very motivating). I made it clear that I read mixed reviews on Unilocal,wanted to sign up for the 7 day FREE pass, wanted to see for myself what the gym had to offer AND I had less than 10 minutes to spare. She was very pleasant and gave me a detailed tour and all the info I needed. Hearing the word « Unilocal» (super sonic hearing?), «Ben» came over and introduced himself with a light-​hearted humorous remark referencing basically the only negative Unilocal review by «Stacey»; by the way, he has no hard feelings, he’s still a little confused about what came off negative during their 2-​min convo on that day (I guess we’ll never know) :P
Today I finally got off the couch and took advantage of the FREE 7 day pass. Inside the gym, the music was pumping at just the right volume (excellent speaker system), but I’m one of the «un~social» headphone people so I blocked it out with my own music. They had an EXCELLENT Variety of machines that work out every part of your body (8 – 9 machines for upper body/​back alone). I am MOST IMPRESSED with their sit-​up machine and the machine that isolates the muscle on the back of the arm (below the tricept)… I don’t know what it’s called but it AWESOME! Oh and they have at least 4 of those cross-​country floating elliptical machines (which I LOVE!)
Prices with 12 month contract:
-$ 19/​month is for WEEKENDS ONLY (kinda deceiving flyer ad, I don’t know anyone who only goes on weekends?)
-$ 29/​month for ²⁴⁄₇ access; 2^nd person can sign up at the reduced rate of -$ 19/​month for the same ²⁴⁄₇ access.
–STUDENT DISCOUNT is $ 24/​month for ²⁴⁄₇ access.
Set-​up costs: 1^st month + last month + $ 59 processing fee for EFT. I agree with previous Unilocalers that it’s a little high for adding a name/​card number into the system, but it a local business so I don’t mind the 1 time fee so much. IF 24-​hour fitness did it, I’d be scouring the internet for a coupon code ;P
Prices with NO CONTRACT (Month-​to-​Month):
-$ 34/​month for ²⁴⁄₇ access (still less than the other gym offering ²⁴⁄₇ access)
–They have other options listed, including student discount, but it didn’t pay close attention.
***BONUS: TOWEL SERVICE IS INCLUDED, take a clean towel at the door and toss it in the hamper on your way out. I can’t recall how many times I’m searching laundry for a «gym towel» and end up bringing a kitchen towel or an oversized towel instead (what a hassle).
Notes:
–If you choose not to enroll in EFT, then I think that it states (in small print) that it would be an additional $ 5 per month on ANY membership option (which would bypass the EFT $ 59 processing fee).
–You can ALSO opt to AVOID ALL FEES and hassles of EFT, by purchasing 6-​months or 12-​months in advance. I’m looking at buying the 6-​month ²⁴⁄₄ access for $ 174 total (no muss, no fuss).
In Summary: Are you KIDDING ME?! $ 29/​month for ²⁴⁄₇ access at a gym that basically has EVERYTHING I need. I am again MOTIVATED to get back into the gym!
PS While nobody offered up an incentive to Unilocal… I will be sure to ask them about it if/​when I become a permanent member *LOL* ;)P

I have read some of those bad reviews and I don’t quite understand them. If those people encountered some problems why they didn’t discuss at large with Ben. Do they think that writing a bad review was going to solve whatever problems they had? They were totally wrong on that.
Myself and my wife have recently joined CalFit Martinez through a program offered by Silver & Fit and Kaiser Permanente and found nothing of what those people are talking about. The Gym is small but this is something that we were looking for. I have been a member of Bally in South San Francisco and I always had to wait for any machine that I wanted to use. Here a CalFit I can use any, threadmill, eliptic, standing bike and many other exercise equipment at any time. The place is very neat and clean and so far the people that we have met there are all very nice.
About the Owner, Ben, all I can say is that he has treated us, myself and my wife, with attention and kindly has helped us to sign up for the year through the Silver & Fit program that was new to us as this is the first year that Kaiser Permanente has offered to the Senior Advantage members and nobody knew anything about it. He accepted us temporarily and after that has gone through whatever was needed to get us signed up.
About the parking, we just go one block West and it is plenty of free parking. We don’t need to park at the front door.
So far, keep it that way Ben and you will have us for years.

I was not able to workout for a year from major knee surgery… told I could never run again! So I wanted a simple gym that would be about cardio and weights! This gym is perfect for that! Open 24hours and has everything I need. Never too crowded! If you are interested in simply losing weight and getting fit without all those foofoo classes (sorry but my idea of losing weight isn’t beating on drums, lol)…this is the place to go :)

I live in Martinez and have been a member for three years. Even though the gym is small, it has everything I need and then some. I never have to wait to use anything (I mainly use free weights) call it perfect timing or whatever.
I find Ben to be a real nice guy who is always willing to answer questions… I see that he takes an interest in his clients & keeps a tidy shop.

My husband and I started to attend this gym about a month ago. The amazing customer service and professionalism Ben displayed from our first visit to our joining the gym, and continuing to attend has never wavered. He is full of wonderful information and has been an asset in our getting back in shape and stress relief.
I have had one personal training session so far, and oh my, was the areas I needed targeted worked out. I have back and attachment issues that need a lot of adjustment for during training, and Ben was able to target those issues to strengthen them without distress or pain. Thank you.
This place is completely affordable. When I attended another work out location I paid the same price for just me as we pay for BOTH my husband and I to attend California Fitness ²⁴⁄₇. There is a first and last months dues and a minor paperwork fee, but nothing shocking or outrageous. Everything is clearly explained up front when Ben walks you through the information.
The location is completely convenient for us to attend on a regular basis, and parking is usually never difficult for us. We truly enjoy the atmosphere here, no inappropriate stares at myself (which is my I dislike co-​ed gyms in general). Everyone seems they are here to better themselves for health and wellness. And today one of the regulars even noticed my hubby missing, and sent an encouragement for him to keep up the good work. Ben walks around and checks in with everyone throughout his «free time» (when he’s not training). It is great to have a management team that truly cares about the individual and not the bottom line.
There is plenty of work out distraction from TVs and music to not allow monotony during the workout time. There are enough machines to go around, cardio: elliptical, treadmill, bikes and stair climbers. Plus enough strength training machines, supplemental workout equipment, and free weights to meet your needs. And Ben’s personal training session will keep your muscles plenty occupied, and never plateau. The gym is kept clean and sanitary, which is very important to us germaphobes:)
Give this place a try. WE LOVE IT and you may TOO! If its not your cup of tea that’s ok, but you will have missed out on a life/​health changing experience.

The saga continues.
I thought I was finally (FINALLY) done with dealing with this place after my previous fiasco, but apparently not.
After calling and cancelling my subscription AND paying the 60 dollar cancellation bill AND the January bill, today I received ANOTHER statement saying that I owe ANOTHER 29 dollars, EVEN THOUGH I CANCELLED AND GAVE MY 30 DAY NOTICE. I am completely and utterly fed up with this place.