Look around the gym and see what the equipment usage is like, is there any obvious waiting for equipment? Are you going to be intimidated by huge bodybuilders making too much noise? On the other hand does it deem to country club like for your tastes without a motivational feel?
Even though you may have worn workout clothes for your health club tour try to make sure that you do not use the equipment, the act of working out may distract you from your objectivity.
While you are seeing the equipment take a look at the lighting, is the workout area bright enough. How much space is there between pieces of equipment? Are you going to be crowded in or is there to much room that makes the place look too empty?
Check out the layout of the entire fitness center, are there enough water fountains? Are you going to run into people while you are getting weights for the bench press?
When you get to the changing room check out the showers, stalls and lockers and make sure everything is clean. You may be uncomfortable with the idea of showering with other people but over time you will likely find it useful to be able to have a workout, shower, and then continue on with your day.
Workout Equipment
When you tour the health clubs there are three kinds of equipment to look at.
Cardio Equipment – steppers, stationary bikes, treadmills, rowing machines. How are the usage of these machines, these are always very popular and if your are at the gym at busy time your will not want to wait between uses of the machines
Weight Machines – contraptions that you put weights on including nautilus and others. How well are these maintained?
The worst thing for using these is if they are jerky when you are moving through your range of motion and you will not want to be using them which means they would be wasted equipment to you.
Weights, benches, racks – There are various ways to do your exercises but you have to sit or lean on something. Are there lineups for this equipment? How close and how many plates are around?
Again you would not want to wait to use this equipment as the time between sets is an important factor as to whether you have a good workout or not.
Miscellaneous equipment– abs equipment, lower back. This equipment is usually shoved off to one side in the health club. You will want to be able to get to it as almost every workout you will want to either work on getting a six pack set of abs or strengthening your lower back.
Is this equipment well covered or is it torn? Is there enough at a busy time or do you have to wait for this? It may not be too bad to wait for these pieces of equipment occasionally so it may not be a deal breaker for you.
One thing to really take a look at in your tour of the health club is the equipment and the apparent servicing of this equipment. Gym equipment is very tough looking and it may look to you like the equipment is very sturdy and does not need any work to keep it going.
This is very wrong! Any reputable gym will have someone working for them part time to maintain the equipment, keeping everything greased, recovering the benches and seats and generally making sure that all of the health club equipment is in tip top shape.
Cardio equipment must be maintained as well. The cardio equipment in a gym has to take much more abuse than nay equipment ever has to. Parts are worn and have to be replaced so that everything feels smooth when using stationary bikes, treadmills, stair machines and rowing machines.
Gym Amenities
Lastly you will want to check out all of those really cool amenities.or maybe not.
Suntan Beds – Are you going to get a great deal on the suntanning? Do you even care if you ever use a suntan bed? If not why even factor that into whether you want to join?
Squash or racquetball – if there is some kind of courts look at whether you have anyone to play with, if your are outgoing you may find plenty of people to play with but if not it may be just a waste of space to youand your membership fees pay for that upkeep.
Proshop and snack bar – these are among the most expensive places for clothes, drinks and equipment on the planet. Always an excuse for a break from the workout but they will always lighten your wallet.
Personal trainer on staff – This could be a great one, if there is a personal trainer then you may want to pay the 40 or so dollars an hour to improve your workouts but it can add up over time. See if there is some kind of plan for 10 sessions or something. And if you set up training then remember to take lots of notes in the car in the parking lot afterwards.
Pricing the Health Club
After you have been through more than a couple gyms and fitness centers you are going to know the tour pretty well and the hard close at the end that tries to have you sign up before you leave the door. Do not sign up right away as you can always leverage how the other gyms are when you are ready to sign up in the end. Every area of the country is a bit different as far as memberships go for health clubs but almost always there is a monthly payment, some kind of signup fee and a two or three year contract. When you are ready to decide look at all of the factors that are important and discount any amenities that you will be paying for but not using. The decision is usually a tough one between a couple of places but in the end I am sure you will be happy with your decision and on your way to an exciting new lifestyle.
Heartburn Home Remedy says
April 15, 2009 at 6:34 am
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Health Solutions says
August 26, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Thanks for the informative post, I actually learned a lot.
Supplements in Canada says
November 3, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Great info above!
I used to work in a health club selling memberships for over 2 years and as you could imagine I have heard every excuse for why not to exercise.
My best advice in joining a gym is to:
1. Visit a few (as long as they are convenient to get to)
2. Really pay attention to how the staff treats you from the receptionist to the person touring you. Do they smile, act sincere, friendly…etc
3. Don’t purchase solely on price. In general the best clubs cost the most money and often the more you like the club, the more you go and the more you go…you get my point. Spending an extra $20 a month in the whole scheme of your life really amounts to nothing compared to the value of genuinely improving your health
4. If you are hesistant to join because you will fail, hire a qualified personal trainer. This I can’t stress enough. Yes it costs money and yes you are going to be pushed to exercise on a regular basis, but at the end of the day the trainer will teach you how it is properly done, get you to your goal much faster and ensure you are educated enough to continue on your program without them or with little assistance from them.