Basic-Fit Madrid Núñez de Balboa

"If you study in IE and you are looking for a gym nearby you have two choices: Basic Fit (140m from the library) or Crunch Fitness (60m from the library).
When comparing both gyms, there used to be a huge differentiation factor: price: Basic Fit (former name: FitUp) was the low-cost gym and CR7 Fitness Crunch (former name: Dynamic Fitness) was the high-end gym. But now both gyms have been acquired by other chains, so the identity of both gyms stayed the same but the prices changed: both are now low-cost gyms. So read the following review and the one I did for CR7 Crunch to facilitate your gym decision."



Installations: A terrible quality floor in the weight section, low ceiling (high enough to perform overhead exercises if you are average-sized but too low to perform muscle ups or high box jumps).
Material and equipment: Low range Technogym and Matrix machines and the dumbells only go up to 40kg. A lot of benches but only one squat rack (located in the soft-floor area) and no lifting platform. They have 3 or 4 rubber resistance bands (but only one of each) and they collect broken bar clips so plan around 5 minutes each time to find a pair that is working. They have TVs everywhere around the gym (in Crunch Fitness as well) for those who prefer to sit in a machine and relax instead of training.
Cardio: The usual (treadmill, elliptical, bike) plus a few steppers but no Stairmaster. Additionally, they have a couple or three sandbags, and a calisthenics structure (but again: the ceiling is too low).
Staff: Might have changed since Basic Fit acquired FitUp, but the staff that was in FitUp was very unprofessional, clueless about training and rude. One of the guys who always used to complain about people doing deadlifts was doing deadlift himself (needless to say his form was terrible), but using his own bumper plates (a.k.a. CrossFit plates) to perform the deadlift quietly, and when he was done he was locking them up and would not allow anyone else to use them.

It is the only Basic Fit I have been to in Spain, but it is incomparable with Basic Fit in France (Basic Fit France is far better).Less