The Well

What's a 5 star review going to do when they'll never lose business as long as people go to Sac State? I used to never go to this place because say... I'm too lazy to walk that far from the Union in hot weather and/or change into workout clothes. But it's my final semester, now in graduate school and I guess I'm finally going to go here... It puts the gym at work to shame! They simply have every equipment imaginable and other paid private gym memberships I've had didn't even have all the equipment this gym has. You can ping from device to device and not get bored / run out of muscles to workout on in the ways you want to. Plus they have people always on the basketball courts to play with and they even provide equipment for whatever other sports you want to play. I could list everything they had and my enjoyment using them but it'd be lengthy... Also, the staff is really friendly and helpful! And they're remodeling/expanding it soon, so I will definitely be a proud alumni :)

The Well is such an impressive facility on the Sac State campus! They have so much to offer such as their climbing wall, fitness classes, raquet ball rooms, basketball courts, indoor tracks, and their countless machines and weights. The only downside is that it does get very busy during the semester and after work hours (5pm-8am ish). The facility is mostly Sac State students so it can also come off as a more social environment. I love that it is always clean. There are always wipes, mats, and weights that are available to be used in empty studio rooms. I'm going to miss working out here if I ever relocate!

The WELL at Sac state is a great facility. They do seem to be suffering from success as it is extremely busy at certain hours, so much so that I only really go late at night after my classes (~7-9pm) to avoid waiting double digit minutes for all machines. There's something for everyone here and as an alumni they offer very cheap post graduate memberships.

Included (without choice) in your tuition however, is a $442 University Union / Well fee. For a 4 month semester, $110.50 a month is an absurd price for what you get, especially considering that you are forced to pay it whether or not you actually use their facility.

5/5 facility
3/5 value

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My review is based on use for basketball, including locker rooms.
We have competed at this site for many years now, we were BLESSED when Sac State and The Well opened their arms to the Special Olympics community.
My Husband and I coach teams for SONC/WPA, and The Well has been the home of our Regional Basketball tournament for the past several years. This weekend event is in March very year, and we will be here THIS weekend!
The basketball courts are AMAZING! I love teaching our athletes about the recycled materials used, including the sunflower shells used in the walls! Such a visual stunner!
The staff here is AMAZING! We are well treated by these amazing Sac State students (Go Hornets! We have TWO!)
As a coach AND parent of special needs adults, we have ALWAYS received the utmost in INCLUSIVE treatment! We have ABILITIES, not DISABILITIES! Not everyone gets that, but here at The Well--they do!
Proud to be partnered with such an amazing venue, and equally amazing staff!

Pros:
-Updated facility
-New and clean equipment
-Two (or more?) floors for workout
-Friendly welcome upon entering
-Many different sections of cardio equipment (on both 1st and 2nd floor)
-Weekly classes available to take
-Personal trainers available
-Mainstream music playing throughout the rooms
-Dancing rooms
-Raquetball courts
-Indoor track on the 2nd floor
-Check-out equipment
-Lockers available on every floor

Cons:
-Peak hours = Waiting for equipment
-Showers can be cleaner

If you are a student here at Sac State, be sure to take advantage of this center. Your semester fees go into this, so might as well use it!!

Soooo... I might need like 360 sac state students who would like to be my friend, and allow me to be their one-time guest to this fabulous facility they refer to as THE Well. Why? Because this school gym is crackin'! It's not one of those boring school gyms where machines are broken, weights are disorganized, small, gotta wait your turn, (or in my case-24 hr fitness). Its two stories, indoor track, basketball, volley ball, soccer, weights, cycling, yoga, rock climbing, cardio, etc. they got it all. Well, minus a sauna/steam room and a pool. That's pretty close to perfect!

Since I've been a student at Sac State I've taken full advantage of The Well! It has so much to offer for what ever your active lifestyle may be. They have racks for power lifters, free weights, cable weights, rock climbing, indoor track, basketball, pools, racket ball, treadmills that are energy efficient, yoga rooms, and much more!

I am mostly in the free weight and power lifting area of the gym. I use almost everything and enjoy the accessibility to all the weights and machines. They have a couple small sections dedicated to abs and stretching which are useful.

It does get a little over crowded in certain hours of the day. I wish that the squat racks and power lifting racks could face the mirror so one can maintain and focus on form. I feel a little off balance when I'm not able to use a mirror. I feel that the University wasted money on the new technology of a full handprint scan before entering the gym... I personally feel that it's unnecessary for that type of security to enter a gym. There was the option of finger print or sliding your OneCard to gain access which was faster and efficient. Sometimes there's huge lines to enter the gym because they only have two scanners.

This place is amazing. I have a membership at 24hour Fitness and I go to the newly remodeled Super Sport in the Downtown mall, and they've got nothing on The Well. This place is well stocked with equipment and there's always plenty going on with classes and intramural sports.

The best thing is the the fee to join is comparable to other gyms, but the facility is amazing. This really only works if you go to Sac State though, otherwise you have to purchase a parking permit which will run you about $140 for 4 months. Plus, unlike 24, there's only one of them.

On the plus side, if you're going to CSUS the gym membership is included and you can check out things like rackets for racquetball - plus they have a rock wall that is 2 stories tall, which is a cool bonus. Another, obvious, but hidden benefit to going to The Well at Sac State is the scenery :)

As a gym, if you can get there, you should go. I've even been wondering if there's a way to put my 24 membership on hold. I wouldn't want to cancel the membership though, because if you're not in class, going to The Well just doesn't make sense.

Update: I still give it 5 stars, but I just wanted to identify some improvements - how minor they might be - that could be made. I've got a 40 inch waist and the towels don't fit around me, awkward. The showers have a button that has to be pushed 30 times throughout the course of a shower to keep it on, so I've been using the handicap stalls, which both have broken shower heads.

Also, I like to do 28 minutes on an elliptical machine and there is a TV on every single one and flat screens - let's chock it up to: too much a a good thing. I end up staring at a blank, black screen or looking around, or over it to the other flat screens.

Most disturbing, there are never any lockers available and about 10% are broken. More lockers are needed. I think they really underestimated how many people would be utilizing such a great resource.

What! The running and elliptical machines have individual fans in them... I never knew such contraption could exist!

Really impressed with all the amenities of Sac State's gym such as:
- nifty, accessible, "no locker" lockers
- machines have "counters" to count your reps
- the fans in the running machinese
- basically all the gym equipment you can think of (or so it seems)
- rock climbing wall (that is free!)

Being a very casual gymmer, I was thoroughly wowwed by all the cool features this gym offers. I thought UCD's gym was pretty good... but Sac State's gym definitely beats that!

Downside... I'm not a Sac State student so I won't be able to return whenever I want, but current students can bring in one guest for free/semester.

Thank goodness I have two sibs going there right now! Must take advantage...

WOW, I was so blown away the first time I stepped foot in the Well. I knew that Sac State was about to open up a state of the art new facility, which made me less upset about transferring there (I transferred in Fall 2010 when The Well just opened up) instead of UC Davis. I have only gone a few times during the school year, but this year I am going to start going consistently now that I have been back to my healthy/fitness lifestyle and working out regularly. My sister and dad were former members of the Gold's Gym in Elk Grove and when they invited me there, I was AMAZED of all the equipment and classes. Needless to say, The Well trumps Gold's Gym 2000%. The facilities are TOP NOTCH AND CLEAN!!!

I usually use the elliptical here. There are a wide variety of cardio equipment, weight machines, etc. but I am a VERY happy camper after finding out that they also have kettlebells. I LOVE KETTLEBELLS!!!! Kettlebells are just starting to get recognition in the US and very few gyms have them, so seeing them there got me very excited. I get faster results and feel stronger, sexier and leaner using kettlebells than I do with dumbells and weight machines.

I have tried yoga and pilates classes here, and I definitely want to get back into that when school starts. And come here after class to run the indoor track, do the elliptical, or kettlebells. They have a wide array of group fitness classes, or you can play tennis or racquetball or whatever. There is also a huge rock wall (the biggest rock wall in the CSU system) that I definitely want to try sometime.

If you are a student at Sac State, take advantage while you can! This is a perfect way to sneak in exercise between classes, work, activities, etc. Just be careful that you don't ruin your workout with the Yogurt Cafe in the corner. I have been guilty of this as well.