CHOOSING YOUR GYM MEMBERSHIP
When you're deciding what type of gym membership you want, you need to ask what facilities you are REALLY going to use: Free spa's, squash courts, fitness classes and personal trainers, or maybe you only need the basics of exercise machines and weights? You should consider these important points before you spend what can be serious amounts of cash on your membership and possibly a joining fee on your new health kick.
To point you in the right direction, we've got a list of questions you should be asking both yourself, and any health club you are looking to join:
- What facilities do I really need?
It might be all well and good being impressed by the racquet courts, swimming pools and saunas but unless you actually envisage yourself using them you should probably ignore them and only focus on whether the facilities you need are up to scratch.
- What are my aims in joining?
Depending on what your aims are you might be able to find a more affordable gym than the one you might originally be thinking of. If you just want to maintain your general level of fitness then basic cardio machines might be sufficient while muscle-building programmes will require a much more varied selection of equipment. If you want to meet people while you stay fit then look out for classes you can take as part of your membership.
- What times suit me going to the gym?
Some gyms these days are 24 hour but if you are planning on going early morning or late evening you need to check whether your chosen gym is going to be open when you want to use it. If it isn’t then you might have no choice but to try elsewhere.
- Do I want professional advice?
While most gym chains will have professionals on hand to help you and advise you, other smaller gyms or those that are part of a leisure centre might not have experts on hand.
- How often will I go to the gym?
Depending on how often you plan to go to the gym, you might want to buy a subscription based membership or you might just be able to pay as you go where it is available to do so.
- How will I get there?
One factor people often overlook is the time taken to get to the gym. It might save you money to join a gym that isn’t the closest one to you but if you then only use it half as much because of the hassle of travelling, you wont actually be getting good value for money.
Once you have worked out exactly what you seek to achieve, and have realistically answered the above questions, you need to work out which gym provides the right facilities at the right price - factoring in things like costs of getting there, joining fees, whether they provide towels etc. Here is a checklist of questions you could take with you when you go to look at a prospective gym:
- How much is it to join?
- Is there a one-off joining fee as well as monthly fees?
- What is included in the basic membership cost?
- What is the minimum contract period?
- What is not included? (e.g. creche,sunbeds,towels etc)
- How many members are there and do you have a limit?
- Do you have a trial period to try out the facilities?
- Is there car parking?
- How much is it to bring a non-member?
- What are your opening hours?
- Are there professionally qualified fitness instructors here?
- Do I get professional advice on using the equipment when I join?
- Do I get a free personal health & fitness check up when I join?
- Are there periodic reviews of my programme and fitness?
- How often can you have a professional trainer advise you on your programme?
- What qualifications do the gym staff have? (e.g. first aid, nutrition etc.)
- What (fitness) classes do you have?
- When are these run and are they always full?
- Do you have a sprung aerobics studio floor?
- Do you have air conditioning?
- Are there plans for additional services?
- Is there a separate ladies gym?
- What changing facilities are there?
It's important to get answers to the questions relevant to what you need from the gym, but also to be totally honest about whether you'll use the facilities - don't waste money on novelties that you may use once, but won't do again.
Once you have got all of this information for all of the local Gyms and Health Clubs, work out what you can afford - there's no point looking good if you can't then afford to go out and show off your new healthy body! The difference between £40 per month and £60 per month may not seem a lot, but £240 per year can buy you a nice short break, or a new outfit - it DOES add up. If gyms do a short term membership, it may be more expensive, but well worth using in short bursts when you feel you really need to beast yourself back into shape for a couple of weeks, then leave it for a few months, go jogging, ride your bike, then go back again for another short burst when you feel you need it.