Jay Farrant – Dublin Gyms Review
As a personal trainer I’m constantly asked which gyms are good and which gyms suck. Over the last few years I’ve made an effort to visit and train in as many Dublin gyms as possible. When training for certain competitions I like to get away from the personal training studio and train in another gym. A change of scenery is sometimes good.
Here are four gyms that I chose to review.
Ben Dunne Gym – Jervis St, City Centre
This Ben Dunne gym has two floors. Downstairs is mainly “cardio” whilst upstairs is weights and lifting equipment. I trained here on a Saturday afternoon around 13:00. The place wasn’t too busy and I was able to access all the equipment I needed. In general the equipment is good but there were a few things that would stop me and my personal training clients joining.
Firstly the safety bars on the squat rack are set too high. Every time I did a squat I hit the bars and barely got parallel. There is no way of adjusting the bars and this might explain why so many people were squatting shallow. The next big issue I have is that the dumbbells only go up to 30kg. For a gym of this size I find it unbelievable that they only go up to this weight.
Overall rating for Ben Dunne Jervis 7/10
Animal Barbell Gym – Blanchardstown
I had heard good things about this new gym so I decided to go down there and try it out. The equipment in this gym is great!! There are plenty of power cages to squat in (and go deep!!!). It has a dedicated area for performing deadlifts and Olympic lifts with bumper plates, lifting platform and a chalk bowl.
The dumbbells go up to around 60kg so there are no worries about getting too strong! The gym has all the usual machines that you’d find in most gyms and everything was in good working order.
The atmosphere seemed friendly and relaxed and the music wasn’t bad either. They even had a hook with some resistance bands in the corner.
Overall rating for Animal Barbell Gym 9/10
Crunch Fitness – Temple Bar
I wouldn’t really call this place a gym, it’s more like a nightclub. Overall the weights section isn’t too bad and in fairness the squat rack is better than the one in Ben Dunne’s. The dumbbells go up to around 35kg, which personally I think still isn’t enough. It has all the usual machines but with computers attached to them. These are for tracking your “workout” and progress. They even tell you how to perform the tempo of your reps. My major problem though with this gym is the benches. They are useless for bench pressing and impossible to get a good setup on. The gym does have a pool downstairs and it’s kept clean and well maintained. Personally it’s not my cup of tea and quite a bit more expensive than most gyms in Dublin.
Overall rating for Crunch Fitness Gym 6/10
Morton athletic stadium – Santry
One of my favourite things about this place is its pay as you go rates. It’s a reasonable rate at €8. I’ve trained here a few times and quite like it. The equipment is good and there are plenty of racks to squat and bumper plates to perform Olympic lifts etc. The dumbbells go up to around 55kg and there’s also a trap bar for deadlifting. In my opinion, his gym would be on par with Animal Barbell gym for equipment. The only reason I’m marking this place a little higher in the scores is its indoor and outdoor running track.
Athletic Stadium overall rating 9.5/10
Jay Farrant CPT PTI
Personal Trainer Dublin – The ABS Gym Personal Training Studio Dublin