Your First Session at The Anvil
A first visit should be decided before you walk in. Here are the facts that shape the decision — and the ones that shape the session.
The Anvil is at 3930 Fifth Ave in Hillcrest, San Diego. The floor is 4,500 sq ft and the equipment is Arsenal Strength. The gym opens at 5:00am on weekdays, which makes a session before work realistic. The rest of the first visit is logistics.
Check the hours before you leave
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday–Friday | 5:00am–8:30pm |
| Saturday | 7:00am–7:00pm |
| Sunday | 7:00am–5:00pm |
Sunday closes at 5:00pm, not 8:30pm. If you are planning a late session, check the day rather than assuming the weekday schedule carries over.
Parking is a morning decision
Street parking is free until 10am. After that, paid garages are directly across the street and next door. If you are coming for an early session, the street option is straightforward. If you are coming at midday, budget for a garage and give yourself a few extra minutes.
Choose the access that matches the stay
- Drop-In — $25 for one day of full gym access.
- Week Pass — $100 for five visits within seven days of your first visit.
- Single Month — $130 for one month and app access, with no auto-renewal.
- Monthly Membership — $110 per month, auto-renewing, with app access and no annual or initiation fee. First and last month are due at sign-up.
If you are in town for one session, the drop-in is the obvious choice. For a week of training, the week pass covers five visits. For a stay of about a month, the single month avoids a recurring charge. For a local training schedule, the monthly membership is the lowest monthly rate and includes the app.
Know what the room does and does not have
There are lockers and three private restrooms. There are no showers and no full locker rooms, so plan the rest of your day accordingly. The gym is 18+, or available with a legal guardian's consent. There are no hidden fees; the only timing detail to know is the first-and-last-month requirement on the monthly plan.
Bring a water bottle and shoes you can train in. If you are following one of the app programs, have the session open before you start so you are not scrolling between sets. If you are training without a program, pick a small number of movements and give them real attention; the floor rewards focus more than a tour of every machine.
Use the first session to learn the room
The equipment is the point of this gym. A first session is a good time to find the racks, the benches, the cable stations and the machines you will actually use, and to check how each one loads. If a piece is unfamiliar, ask before you load it. That is faster than guessing and safer than copying someone mid-set.
Leave a note of what you did: the movement, the load, the reps and how it felt. It becomes the reference for the next session. The plate loader and the 1RM estimator on this site are there to make that note more useful, not to replace it.
The first session is not a test. It is a measurement.