The Ultimate Guide For Joining A Gym

The Ultimate Guide For Joining A Gym

The Ultimate Guide For Joining A Gym It’s so frustrating. You’re tired of not feeling t and you’re also just tired of being tired. You know you need to get in shape and get healthier and you’ve tried doing it on your own. But it just doesn’t work. The exercise videos. The home exercise equipment. The online tness gurus. The more you try, the more overwhelmed, discouraged and frustrated you feel. But then you hear that your friend has joined a local gym. “You should try it,” she says. “You’ll love it like I do!” And so you think about it. You think about the fact that all those magazines talk about joining a gym. You think about how many folks talk about “going to the gym and taking tness classes.” You read that approximately 50 million Americans are members of gyms or health clubs—and the number keeps growing like crazy. You hear about the bene ts people are getting from exercise like losing weight, developing and maintaining strength, improving balance, increasing exibility, meeting new friends—and simply having a better life.


The Ultimate Guide For Joining A Gym So now, you think, maybe it’s your turn. Maybe there’s something to this “gym thing”. Well in this little guide, you’ll see step by step what to look for when you nally make that decision to join a health club. Enter the guides in your journey. Meet certi ed tness professionals Brandy Beyer and Betsy Stevens at the award-winning Gold’s Gym in Douglasville and West Cobb, GA, right outside of Atlanta. According to these pros, there are six simple, key questions to keep ask on your journey to choosing your gym of choice: Is it friendly? “Let’s face it,” commented Betsy. “If the club doesn’t feel good when you walk in, that’s a red ag. If you don’t receive a warm greeting and a smile the rst time you enter and when you leave, chances are it’s not going to get better as you stay longer in your membership.” Many clubs use customer service rankings and scores to monitor their customer experience, so feel free ask the club what their ratings are if you’d like. However, one of the best ways is simply to assess your “gut instinct” when you enter and walk through. You can also ask members about the experiences they have had, and one very revealing question is to ask them, “Would you refer this club to a friend or family member?” If the answer is yes, that tells you a lot.


The Ultimate Guide For Joining A Gym Is it clean? If a health club does not appear to be clean…it probably isn’t! However, most clubs and gyms have become so competitive that a typical gym is respectable in this department. In fact, members these days likely won’t stand for anything else. According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Asssociation (IHRSA), “An overwhelming 84% of members perceive their clubs to be clean.” Brandy added, “Working out at a gym shouldn’t be an unpleasant experience, and that includes the cleanliness aspect. You should be able to have the same standards in looking at your health club as you do anywhere else—maybe even higher. It’s a non-negotiable to me.” Is the gym convenient? “This is high on the list,” says Betsy. “If the facility isn’t close by—say within 10 or 15 minutes—you’re probably not going to go very often. I mean, we are creatures of habit and it’s much easier to get into a new habit when it’s convenient. Of course, there are exceptions, like if the club has speci c activities or features that you can’t nd at other closer locations.” Think about your other activities like going to the grocery store or the cleaners or local restaurants. Chances are a big part of your decision to choose their location is the fact that the store or service is nearby. The club can be close to your home or it may be close to your job, but as they say “convenience is king”. Also, one thing to consider if you are thinking of joining a club near your work is you will likely not return to the gym on weekends or holidays when you are off work or on vacation. Look around and see if there are bottles of disinfectant that you may wipe down equipment with, and take a look at the locker rooms to ensure they are in order and the details are paid attention to.


The Ultimate Guide For Joining A Gym What’s the crowd like? Brandy commented, “Health clubs can be busy— and that’s not a bad thing. Unless it’s so crowded you can’t get your workout done in the time you have available. Actually when a club is busy, there is good energy—a good feeling—and there’s also the opportunity to meet new people and get involved with activities like classes, etc. “ Try to visit the club during the time that you would normally workout so you can gauge what the clientele is going to be like on a regular basis. One footnote: People mistakingly think that clubs want very few people working out in the gym so that it frees up space for even more members. In actuality if a club has ample room, the management wants members to use the club for referral purposes. By using the club and getting results, members will tell friends. If members don’t use the club, they are not likely to get results and most often won’t refer the facility—so usage is typically a good thing in service-oriented facilities. Will you get a plan? When you rst join a club, you’ll want to have a plan to follow to get your bet results. Even a simple routine designed by a knowledgeable tness person can make a world of difference in whether or not you succeed. “If you have a plan like our ‘Starting Point’ at Gold’s Gym, you will feel like you have a tness GPS,” commented Stevens. “I tell clients that if they don’t have a goal and a plan for getting there, they are decreasing their odds of success to almost zero.”


The Ultimate Guide For Joining A Gym These days, most clubs provide the opportunity to work with personal trainers individually or in small groups at a cost, which can be a great bene t. However, if you’re not quite ready for that, make sure your gym will give you a complimentary starter plan to get you on the right path. Is there variety? In addition to typical equipment like treadmills and weights, you’ll want your new facility to have some activities to help you “mix it up” a bit. Brandy notes that many of the best gyms include classes at no extra charge. “Cycling, yoga, kickboxing, are all great ways to get a workout without getting bored. Plus depending on the class, you can get strength training, exibility, balance, and cardio all in a short period of time—and they’re a lot of fun because you’re in there with other members with similar goals.” Joining a gym can be a positive, life-enhancing experience. So take your time, “kick the tires” a little, ask these questions—and then jump in and enjoy it! SUMMARY: WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN JOINING A GYM Use this handy checklist to keep with you and remind you of the Big 6 Questions: I s it friendly? Is it clean? Is it convenient? What’s the crowd like? Will you get a plan? Is there variety?

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