If you're in the New York area-- specifically "The City"-- you don't have a lot to choose from when it comes to good, old-fashion, hardcore gyms. That is, unless you want to leave the island. . . and that can be a pretty daunting task for most folks. Once you're in Manhattan you just don't want to have to leave and go to another borough, for anything; let alone working out.
This leaves you with a couple of choices. You could work out at one of the New York Sports Clubs, Bally's, Crunch or other gym chains that seem to vie for your every attention and dollar. Or, you could go to a place where no one minds how hard you're lifting, how much noise you're making, or how loud the plates and dumbbells clang when you drop them.. . a place where getting a spot on a 300lb bench isn't a problem and "lunk alarms" don't sound if you strain and grunt while pushing out that 20th rep. For a place like this, you've got relatively few choices! One of my favorites is known as Mid-City Gym (2 locations-- Hell's Kitchen & Midtown).
Mid-City opened it's doors to the weightlifting public in 1962 and has since expanded beyond it's meager beginnings to two locations in New York and another in Bayonne, NJ. Since then, more than a few members of the iron game have graced it's doors. Among them you'll find such folks as Lou Ferrigno, Dave Draper, Hulk Hogan, the WWF's Iron Sheik (back when it was The WWF), Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lenda Murray and Monica Brant among others. Even our very own Dave Palumbo was a regular on Monday nights back in the mid-90s.
With a free afternoon to myself one sunny day, I decided to investigate just what had attracted these legends of the iron world to this otherwise, non-descript place. Aside from the low prices. I was soon to discover that today's Mid-City Gym is, in reality, two separate and distinct gyms; each with their own feel, flavor and atmosphere.
My first stop was the new location on 42nd street. Just west of Kaufman's Army & Navy and across from Port Authority you'll find the entrance and a set of orange and blue stairs descending deep under the building. Pass through a second set of doors at the bottom of those stairs and you'll find yourself right in the heart of the action. The ubiquitous counter & juice bar, tanning and retail area is right there and wraps throughout the center of the space. Brand new electronic lockers and locker rooms are on your right. The entire cave-like space, although modestly sized, feels a bit small and was dark enough that I thought I might have wandered into a local nightclub. The majority of the weights are around a corner with cardio equipment of all shapes, styles and sizes filling the unique space. No lines; no waiting. An open classroom in one corner of the gym is reserved for their Kettlebell classes. Three or four bench presses, a preacher, a pair of 60-degree angle leg presses, some nautilus equipment, a rack of pre-loaded straight bars up to 120lb, and enough rubber-coated plates and dumbbells to satisfy your average lifter decorated the free weight area to my delight.
The Hardkore brand rack with the built-in spotter mechanism was cool. (The bar is supported by a pair of adjustable belts for squatting or bench press. They're set to the depth you want to achieve.) If I was working out alone, I could get in a reasonable thorough workout but I wondered what this place looks like around the rush hour? My guess is it would feel more like trying to workout while riding the 7-train than anything else. This was not quite what I was expecting of a hardcore gym... It felt more like a gym chain than an hardcore dungeon to me. However, not to be deterred, I thanked Steve for his time and headed to their original location up on 49th street, in Midtown.
Similar to the first, if you didn't know this place existed you'd walk right by without even noticing it. Down a quick flight of stairs is one of the best kept secrets in the city and it was readily apparent why the likes of Arnold and Lou Ferrigno trained here back in the day. The place doesn't look like it's changed since it's 
inception and it's packed to the gills with equipment-- good, solid, old-school equipment! Benches and dumbbells? They got ‘em. An entire wall on your left! Squat racks and plate-loaded hack squat machines? Right over there, along another entire wall. Hammer strength equipment & cable stations? A full line taking up the middle of the room. Including some equipment I've never seen before and some I still have no idea what I would do with. Cardio? A third entire wall, with a few more clustered near the squat racks for good measure. Looking for space to do something a little...different? There's an outdoor space that's at least as long as the gym is wide and secure and it's only accessible from within the gym.
I stopped by in the mid-afternoon and, while sparsely packed, there wasn't a single individual there who wasn't dead serious about what they were doing. And despite being small, this place could easily handle a lot more people. From the guy doing step-ups with a 135lb bar to the guy who looked like he bailed out of work early just to lift, there was no question this is a Hardcore Haven. For anyone working in midtown, Mid-City gym on 49th St is the place to train! Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself at:
244 W. 49th Street or give them a call at: 212-582-8924.
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