Grand Trunk Fitness and Leisure Centre

After trying the medium and large recreation centres, this is NOT as bad as you think. It honestly has everything a beginner to an intermediate lifter needs before they move on to a GoodLife or Evolve.

It only has one major deficiency: The squat racks are not meant for deadlifting. (Further, FORGET POWERLIFTING. I mean, it only has one regular barbell bench, if you can believe it.) If you can do a minimum 135 pound deadlift (one 45 plate on either side of a 45lb bar), you can get to the official Olympic standard you're familiar with that gets you to the proper deadlift position. But the squat cages don't fully go down to the floor, so putting the plates on the bar for deadlifting is.not ideal.

Other deficiencies: Only two pullup bars (that I like; the ones on the squat cages are too uncomfortable for my liking). And if someone is using the cable pulleys, you can't even use one or both pullup bars. That also extends to dip bars: there exists only two.

There also doesn't exist multiples of equipment, which includes dumbbells. So yes: If someone is using the ONLY bench for bench press, you're gonna have to wait.

And yes, it is full of amateurs and people who try to lift more than they should. The chronic disease of "NO ONE organizes and puts back plates correctly" is true and ever present.

So the verdict? If it is NOT busy, it is absolutely phenomenal. I mean, you get the whole gym to yourself, and if you know what you're doing, you can get a REALLY GOOD workout. Seriously. (Especially for back day! It's SO GOOD for back day, except the subpar deadlifting experience.) It is a big hidden gem in the community. But when it does get busy, it is borderline unusable. Especially when it crowds with high school kids and people who clearly don't know what they're doing.

For going to this gym for over 5 years, I really wouldn't discount this one, despite being one of the smaller rec centres. You can get A LOT done, and as a regular, some really swole (and really hot lol) dudes keep coming back. So clearly it's not that bad. If anything, it's severely underrated.

The only complaint is it can feel crowded during certain hours. The lack of equipment can exacerbate this. It's great when it's like 2-3 people, though. Also, just expect a lot of newbies.

More technical points. Two squat racks. One incline bench press. One regular bench press. One typical LifeFitness cable system (which includes [most? ] all the attachments: handle, rope, bar, longer bar, lat pulldown bar, close grip row bar, etc.) One Smith Machine. One smaller cable system. One preacher curl bench (and small bar). Plentiful array of dumbbells. Some kettlebells. One Bosu ball. One seated shoulder press. Both horizontal and 45-degree leg press. One back extension. One leg extension. One seated leg curl. One chest fly/rear deltoid fly. One seated row. One chest press machine. One assisted pullup/dip machine. One regular dip machine. Two Keiser bikes. Two Concept2 rowing machines. And enough bikes, ellipticals, and treadmills.

The family room for the pool is completely disconnected from the pool and requires you take a path right by a large windowed (ai only saw men in there) fitness area in your swimsuit and then walk back wet to leave. Staff were very unfriendly and the pool itself is too cold for children (and this mama too brrrr). There are 3 separate fitness areas with seemingly similar equipment in each one, so the set up seems pointless. Overall it was a negative experience, which is really disheartening as there are already so few options for swimming in the NW of Edmonton

It's great facilities for what you pay. The pool is really big, but I just used the gym. A fair amount of people use it late night and it's not that big. But it does have a good amount of equipment. I wouldn't say it's better than a full size big gym but it does good for the price

Absolutely terrible swimming instructors. They don’t communicate with the child. Most of them seem to not want want to be there. They don’t care for the child’s improvement. Would not recommend! Go else where for swimming lessons.

Lovely facility in a lovely park setting. A decent gym and a good pool. I swim laps. Also has a steam room. Have been back twice since my initial visit last week.

Not to busy. Pool is small clean fun lots of lights. Dressing room is clean. Hockey rink is old cold. Change rooms are small, but hockey is fun. Workout ️‍️ room is small but clean and Adequate for workout needs. Also not too busy sometimes you’ll have it to yourself. Lots of mirrors for those guys. I love this place. Tennis courts baseball diamonds soccer fields are also surrounding the rink

Best shower I ever had in my life so good I forgot swim time was so short and missed out but I was sure clean

This place would be an absolute 10 if there weren't creepy old men making women feel uncomfortable. I feel as if the hot tub should be monitored more for time usage as there are guys that sit in there over 20 min.

Always clean nice gym swimming water is clean.the employees are very chill and funny.thanks a lot to this place.

I went to this place and their open But their pool or steam service is closed a very weired recreation center ever in Alberta their pool and steam room closed at 7 pm I don't know why but most of working people need to go to gym after 6 pm till 11 pm.
And it's funny their employees are more there just standing after 7 pm like 6 people standing infront and tell you our pool is closed after 7 pm that's crazy.

I love this pool. I will continue to go here from now on. Excellent staff as well. They will answer any question that you have.

Bit old needs some improvements and renovations especially the washrooms and changing area more free lockers and towel renting however pool is nice and water is clean and warm! Slide only works and holy did I say its 2 meters the water deep when you finish my kid he just looked and said ah maybe next time! Even I was scared Haha

I went tonight to go sit in the hot tub, it was out of order for some reason sadly. So instead I just swam laps.

They have a community swim on Friday night and it is not obvious on the web site so I had to go elsewhere

I like the aquafit classes very much but they are soon to be changing it so I may cancel my membership. The hot tub is no where as good as it used to be. The jets are so light, you might as well not have any. I am giving this rating based on the current aquafit programming but it will change in April. I have not tried the gym. It looks small but it seems to have most equipment including spin bikes in the common area. The locker room is small and cramped but not an issue if you are more into getting your workouts.:)

The lockers are really old and maybe they could make it free instead of 50 cents and the water has too much cloreen but the water is really warm but i gave it a 3 for over doing everything

Kids have done swimming lessons here for a few years. Nice pool. Staff has been friendly during our visits

The pool is super clean as is the locker room. However the gym does not have as many options for working out as you would like. Staff are super nice!

Just moved to Edmonton and this place is great. Well priced, friendly staff, nice equipment and good/clean facilities.
Good place for everyone!

Wednesday night class is small. The instructor and O had a conversation prior to the class. She was very helpful. The woman were accommodating.

I come here sometimes for workouts because it is only a few minutes drive from my house. The gym is smaller as compared to other rec center gyms and so the fitness equipments are also limited. What I don’t like here is that the smell of sweat is strong so probably the gym ventilation is poor.

First time to Grand Trunk and is the 3rd leisure center I've visited since moving to Edmonton.will certainly revisit more till Feb 2020.usually go to O'Leary which is closed for maintenance. This facility was basically what I expected from reviews on website. I certainly enjoyed my swim & hot tub. Checked out the gym area before leaving.just like O'Leary it is a smaller cozier gym which I rather attend. Every place is different. Clearview has the lazy river and O'Leary has the waterfall

The ice is O. K.but the building could be renovated, and the change rooms could be a bit bigger.

A decent place to work out and swim. Can sometimes be busy during community days, but that's to be expected. Wish they regulated their lane swims a little better. It is not unusual for the lanes designated for swimming laps to be full of people just floating and children playing, which makes it very difficult for people to swim laps.

Grand trunk is a quaint fitness center that has a nice variety of equipment, a good sized pool, and helpful, friendly staff. The facility has always been clean and kept nicely whenever I’ve gone.

The only city pool that offers AQUA KARATE! Love the instructors and the pool here. There are also tennis courts, a full gym and a hot tub and steam room.

Great community swimming pool. Solid staff and lots of attentive life guards and assistants. The only slight drawback is the family change room is a bit small and inconvenient. This is the pool we go to most.

I really enjoy going to grand trunk pool however I was kind of disappointed to see that they have changed the night time 8 to 10 Sunday to Thursday to just open swim where it used to be adults only. I feel Grand Trunk Pool has the best steam room in the city.

I love this place I grew up in this pool as a kid so nice to be home in Calder so many memories

My granddaughter is taking swimming lessons at the pool. Staff is pleasant and are really good with the kids

Great little diamond in the rough. The gym is rarely crowded. The pool is big enough for my liking and the kids can take swimming lessons. There is a gated play area (parents supervise) for smaller kids where they can wait for their siblings to finish lessons. Very convenient.

Pool is nice and tidy, just found that it's not a very good pool to take your toddler, the shallow area of the pool is still quite deep and not many amenities for young toddlers.

The staff at the desk were a tremendous help, and the instructors even took the time to sit and talk about the programs and how they could benefit me. Facilities were very clean and well kept.

Extremely friendly staff. My first time here and everyone amazed me with their welcoming attitude. Amenties are perfect for all ages. Great hours as well.

The staff is very friendly. The pool is never too busy. They just redid the play area next to the pool. The pool is a little cold for babies but fine for older kids

You can always work out in peace at the small and quiet fitness room. Never seen it crowded even during peak hours.