Burbank Gym With Sauna and Hydromassage: Crunch Burbank

Crunch Burbank, at 761 N San Fernando Blvd inside the Burbank Town Center, has a sauna in the locker rooms plus hydromassage water beds and Hyperice recovery tools. The One Crunch plan is $72.25 a month, and the club runs from 5am to 11pm Monday through Thursday. The trick to finding it is in the club's own directions: drive to the top of the parking structure near CPK and the front entrance is right there.

Club Solutions reported in March 2012 that Crunch was opening its 36th location in Burbank, a 26,000-square-foot club with a sauna and full-service locker rooms. More than a decade on, the club is a Signature Club in the chain's own terms, with a named management team on its page led by general manager Casey Callangan.

The setting is unusual. The gym sits at the Burbank Town Center next to the 5 freeway, and its FAQ lists Woodbury University, Universal Studios, CityWalk, Disney Studios and the Warner Bros. backlot among its neighbors. The FAQ even names the other gyms in the same complex, from Equinox and Gold's Gym to Orangetheory, Blink and a YMCA, which tells you how crowded the Burbank fitness market is and why the sauna matters as a selling point.

The club's FAQ answers the sauna question directly. Asked which relax and recover services it has, the club lists a sauna, a hydromassage water bed, Hyperice compression boots, Hyperice massage guns, rollers and balls. The locker rooms add showers, the sauna itself, towels, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, mouthwash and hairdryers, so you can come straight from work with very little in your bag.

The FAQ is equally clear about what is missing: there is no pool and no basketball court. That makes this a dry-heat gym rather than a spa. A sensible order is fifteen minutes in the Hyperice boots after a run on the treadmill, then the sauna, then a cool shower. Ask at the desk which recovery tools your plan includes before you count on them.

The schedule is busy from early morning to late evening. A sample day on the club page runs from Strength and Alignment at 6:30am and The Ride at 9am to Power Yoga at 5pm, Party Ride at 6:15pm, Cross Train Challenge at 7pm and Latin Dance Blast at 7:45pm. Most classes last 45 minutes, so a class plus a sauna fits into a little over an hour.

Away from the studios, the floor has dumbbells, kettlebells and barbells, a dedicated indoor cycling studio and the HIITZone, Crunch's functional training area with indoor turf. The in-house Crunch Shop sells pre- and post-workout fuel and Hyperice products, which helps if you want to try the recovery tools before buying your own.

The club page lists two plans: One Crunch at $72.25 a month for this club and All Crunch at $127.20 a month, which opens the wider chain. If you train mainly in Burbank and only travel occasionally, the single-club plan is the obvious choice. A free trial is offered from the club page, and you sign up online before your first visit.

Guest rules are short. Members can bring a guest if it is that person's first visit, or if they last visited at least three months earlier. That makes it easy to bring a friend once to try the sauna, but not every week. If a friend wants regular access, they will need their own plan.

Hours are Monday to Thursday 5am to 11pm, Friday 5am to 10pm, and Saturday and Sunday 7am to 7pm. Weekday evenings from 5pm to 8pm are the busiest, when classes run back to back and the locker rooms fill. Late evenings after 9pm are calm, which suits shift workers from the nearby studios.

Weekends close early at 7pm, so do not plan a Sunday night sauna here. A mid-morning visit on a weekday is the best time to have the hydromassage beds to yourself.

This club is a good fit for someone who wants classes, a solid weight floor and a sauna on a mid-range monthly price, with long weekday hours. The single-club plan costs less than most boutique studios charge for a few classes, and the recovery corner is better stocked than many budget gyms in the Valley.

Look elsewhere if you want a pool, a steam room or a basketball court, since the FAQ rules out the first and last and lists no steam room. For that full circuit, a 24 Hour Fitness Super-Sport club with a lap pool, steam and sauna, such as the one on Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, is a short drive south.

Parking is free on site, though the club notes that availability and time limits can vary. Remember the instruction to drive to the top of the structure near CPK, because the gym's entrance is not at street level. The Downtown Burbank Metrolink station is the nearest rail stop for anyone coming in without a car.

After a session, the mall's restaurants are an elevator ride away, and the downtown Burbank stretch of San Fernando Boulevard has independent cafes and a cinema within a short walk. For a longer outing, the Warner Bros. studio tour and Universal CityWalk are a short drive, which makes a morning workout and an afternoon on a backlot a realistic day.

Address: 761 N San Fernando Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502. Hours: Monday to Thursday 5am to 11pm, Friday 5am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday 7am to 7pm. One Crunch $72.25 a month, All Crunch $127.20 a month. Sauna, hydromassage bed and Hyperice tools on site. No pool or basketball court. Free on-site parking.

Use the Karpo APP to build a Burbank day around an early class and sauna, lunch downtown and a studio tour, so the workout sits neatly inside the rest of your plans.