The newest 24 Hour Fitness gym in Las Vegas opened recently (Mountain Vista) and I got to spend some time checking it out. There are a lot of amenities at this new location that are pretty awesome and if it weren’t on the opposite side of town from me, I would probably be there a lot.

(Disclosure: I got a press release telling me about the new gym opening, I got a tour, a free workout, and I posted about it here. Anyone can do that, I’ll detail that below.)

4440 East Tropicana Avenue Las Vegas, NV 89121

There are varying levels of gyms in the 24 Hour Fitness system, this location is a Super-Sport gym. Basically, the newest gyms with the most amenities are typically Super-Sports and the old ones that have been around for a long time are not. The most important thing to remember with these is if you buy a Super-Sport membership, you can pretty much use any 24 Hour Fitness around the country. But if you buy your membership at a lower-level gym, you can’t just go use the fancier ones as you please. It’s not a workaround to paying the higher rates.

This Mountain Vista location is the pilot location for a pretty awesome “open air” cycle studio. Basically, the bikes are not locked up in a room separate from everything, they have their own corner of the main gym floor plan.

But the coolest thing about this is that if you visit the gym at a time when there is not a cycle class going on, you can just go load up a virtual cycle class and it will display on the TV. Then you just use your headphones to patch into the audio system and you’ve got a cycle class whenever you want one. Or if someone else is doing a class on their own, you can hop on a bike and join in.

The same concept applies in the studio class, if there is not a scheduled class being held, you can go in and load up a yoga class or a strength class or something of that nature.

This location has a junior Olympic-sized pool with 6 lanes. The nice thing is that it’s indoors so you can use it no matter what the weather is like outside.

Also inside… there is a whole area of the gym devoted to functional fitness, it’s like an inside-playground for adults! The 24 Hour Fitness near my house has an outside version, and who wants to use that in the summer in Las Vegas? (Not me!) Want to flip a tire? You can in this area. TRX straps and a turf zone live in this area, as well as a lot of really cool tools and pro trainers to teach you how to use them.

Speaking of trainers, 24 Hour Fitness hires all of their personal trainers. So these aren’t a bunch of independent contractors that work out of several gyms, but instead people who know this environment and can focus on you as an individual. And while they do have a lot of expertise and knowledge to help people with weight loss goals (which I assume is a lot of the traffic they see) they have knowledge beyond that. I spent some time with a trainer, James Daws, and he taught me some great stuff that is geared toward improving and prolonging my running.

I got to do a little warmup run on a Woodway treadmill, and if you’ve never used one of these, you’re in for a treat. Or something… it’s definitely an adjustment to get used to it and I never fully got used to it. But if I ran on one more frequently I think I could, it just really forces you to focus on your form. The belt has no motor, it’s all powered by you. Plus the curved shape makes it a little different from the treadmill experience most people are used to as well.

James helped me find some imbalances in my stride and then instructed me on TRX and kettlebell moves to incorporate into my routine to address those.

At the end of the workout, I wanted to try the Octane Fitness items they had in the gym. I don’t believe the other 24 Hour Fitness locations in town have these tools yet, but it was exciting to me to see the new commercial Zero Runner available. I’ve followed the Zero Runner since it was announced and I really think it’s a solid addition to a running repertoire, you can get more miles and cardio fitness without the added pounding on the joints. (It’s not a complete running replacement for race training, you’ll never survive the impact of a race if you never run on hard surfaces. Just a pro tip from me to you.)

Also, the gym location has the Lateral X from Octane Fitness. This machine helps you move in a lateral plane of motion, instead of the forward motion we runners always rely on. It’s a lot of fun and I was actually fortunate enough that a representative from Octane was there showing the 24 Hour Fitness staff the features. So I got a demo on it as well! Seriously, this is the machine I would go into the gym for each week to help balance my training.

Other features at this location include a full basketball court. Instead of a slick, high-gloss wood floor, this one is specially made so it is not slippery and it doesn’t have any dead spots.

There is a rig available to help people train to become Olympic lifters. People could literally train to become an Olympian in this location, it’s all approved and verified for that.

The club manager made this comment while I was touring:
Remember that the root word of workout is WORK.
You gotta put in the work if you want results, whatever results you are seeking to achieve.

And something else I want to add in light of that, we all have different goals so don’t compare yourself to others while at the gym or at a race or anywhere in the world. Everyone is a unique individual, so we’ll never be the same as someone else. Stop trying to be that and focus on being you!

If you are a 24 Hour Fitness member visiting Vegas, check out this new location. And if you are a Vegas resident who is a member of the franchise or you live in this area, definitely consider checking it out. I was impressed!

Anyone can sign-up for a 3-day trial membership to check out 24 Hour Fitness on the web. So as I said, you’ll get the same benefits I did, except maybe I got a more in-depth tour as a member of blogging media.