Tips for Choosing a Gym or Health Club

Location

The natural choice for choosing a gym is finding a location close to either your house or your workplace. Most people start their search for a gym by searching online for gyms in vicinity of their address - services like Google Maps make this easy. The easier it is for you to get to your gym the more likely you are to attend regularly and stick to your training programme. Psychologically if the gym is a significant journey away the more likely you will be to talk yourself out of a gym session when you’re not in the right mindset. If there are no gyms in our local area then pay extra attention to the public transport routes or parking availability at your nearest facilities.

The location of your gym will play a role in dictating the price, for example london gyms will be more expensive than out of town clubs.

Price and discounts

Gyms main income comes from monthly fee’s payable by members. Many also charge a one-time or annually recurring joining fee of a predetermined amount which should cover the cost of your induction with a trainer and initial medical examination (where required).

Price will obviously play a major part in your decision of which gym or health club to join but make sure you factor all possible costs into your calculation and compare the value of each based on the facilities and classes available and included in your membership fee.

Discounts and incentives

Its always worth asking about possible discounts and incentives which the gym may be offering to new members such as free or discounted joining fees, frinds and family offers and corporate memberships.

Gym Classes

In addition to the use of the gyms facilities many health clubs will offer a range of fitness classes such as spinning, aerobics, circuit training and body pump. Some will include these classes in the cost of membership, others will charge extra per class. When making your decision have a look at the class timetable and work out if they run classes which you might be interested in attending and if the times of these classes correspond with your intended training times.

Personal training

All gyms should have fitness instructors available in the gym to ensure proper supervision and assist you with your workout and use of the various pieces of gym equipment. Instructors are also required to be on hand to deal with any basic first aid required.

You may also choose to hire a personal trainer to plan your workouts, motivate you during training sessions and monitor your progress. In the UK most gyms will either offer personal training as an additional charge or allow their instructors to also run their own personal training sessions (when they are not on duty in the gym).

Facilities

Included in the price of your gym membership you should usually expect to receive access to the gymnasium, spa and swimming pool if there is one as well as obviously the changing rooms and social areas such as bars, cafes or restaurants. When you are deciding which gym to join you should always ensure you take a tour of the gym (or ask for a 1 day pass to try the facilities for yourself). During your tour take note of the following:

- Quality of the equipment and the number of machines and free - weights available vs the people in the gym
- Are the changing rooms clean and hygienic?
- Is the swimming pool and Jacuzzi clean and hygienic?
- Are staff on hand to lend assistance?

Take some time to get a feel for the gym and decide whether you see it as a place you would like to spend time or an experience you’re going to dread. It may be worth spending a bit more each month paying for a gym membership you use than saving money on a cheaper membership which you do not get value from but this will depend on your circumstances, motivation and goals.