My butt has been charting new territory in my jeans. I bike a fair amount, walk a ton, eat well, but as 30 approaches, my body is exploring the outskirts, and that’s not cool.  I asked around, and got a glowing review of a neighborhood gym for women that costs only $10 a month.  Cheap and close were my two main criteria, and this place passed with flying colors (signature yellow, pink, and red, to be exact).

Lucille Roberts, the gym version of Joyce Leslie (that may only make sense in my head), is located on Myrtle and St. Nicholas Ave in Ridgewood. It is a quick bike ride for any ladies off the Morgan through Myrtle stops on the L and some J folks as well.  It’s got all the machines you need (ellipticals, bikes, treadmills, weight training, etc…), plus a ton of room for stretching ,and classes (included in the price), my favorite of which is the Butt and Gutt class which I try to attend bi-weekly.

Patrons are a diverse crowd of women of all ages, and the mood is supportive, amiable, and fun.  What I like best is that my schedule allows me to go during the day sometimes, and during those hours it is practically empty. It fires up around 5:30pm when many of the classes start, and when daycare hours begin (yes, they offer free daycare for kids while the moms work out). Lucille Roberts herself was a daughter of Polish refugees and grew up in East Flatbush.  She built her gym mini empire on the mantra: “know your customer.”  She realized that ” the woman who might have two kids and two jobs was an ideal health-club member.” The gym is indeed set up for women without a whole lot of time or money. It’s super cheap, there is no cafe, no sauna to lounge in, and the workout classes are basic and pack a punch.  Yoga is not on the class schedule.

Though the place could use an aesthetic makeover, it is always clean and they seem to be big on quality control. I witnessed a visit from who I think was the Lucille Roberts VP (a tanzilla workoutaholic in very white pants), having a strongly worded conversation with the managers about loose threads in the carpet, and an invisible leak in the ceiling.  One quote I remember: “It’s about the difference between right and wrong!”  For my $10 a month, that’s more consideration than I would expect.

PS: okay, so once I saw a woman put a burrito in the water holder of her treadmill and chow it while working out.  That is all I am going to say about that.  It’s mostly a great place where women of Bushwick and Ridgewood go to feel healthy and get that butt to behave.

Lucille Roberts
54-32 Myrtle Avenue
Ridgewood, NY 11385
718-628-6262