My wife and I have been changing/upgrading our fitness equipment. We started going to Busy Body, and I'd recommend it for anyone who wants quality equipment and a knowledgeable staff.
Busy Body carries treadmills, elipticals, and some combo weight machines (those all-in-one types of machines). The selection is good, and the pricing seems on par with other places. Their selection of pilates/core equipment such as bands, balls, basoos, and such is good. Their free weight selection is - pardon the pun - a little light.
What really makes them stand out is the knowledge of the staff. My wife went in a month ago and explained what she liked/didn't like to do and what she wanted to get out of a program. The staff person gave her an honest opinion on workouts and sold her just the right amount of equipment. He even gave her some pointers to pass along for me regarding how to improve my arobic activity in light of a back injury.
I went in today to look for free weights. Discussed with the staff person (Gary in the Seattle store) what I wanted to accomplish, my current lifting range, existing equipment, and space constraints. His first question was whether I had any injuries, after which he went on to discuss pros and cons of a selection of standard dumbbells and one of those adjustable weight dumbbells. He also told me that I had 30 days to try my purchase and if I didn't like it just bring it back and we'll try something else.
The staff makes the difference. Much better than trying to figure it out for yourself at GI Joe's or Big 5 or the like.
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