Finding a Gym that you Love
Moving into a new apartment often means having to start a whole new routine. Why not make fitness a part of that new schedule?
We know you’re busy, you’ve got school, work, kids, cleaning, cooking, laundry, and you don’t really have much free time at all. If you’ve joined a gym before, you may have gone religiously the first few weeks or months of your membership, but eventually the novelty wore off and you subsequently paid monthly for something you hardly used. When you look for a possible gym, the closest or most popular one might not be the one that fits your lifestyle best. When you belong to a gym that fits you, working out can become a part of your life that’s fun, exciting and easily works into your daily routine.
When deciding on a gym, here are some things to consider:
Location is everything.
Do you plan on working out during lunch hours or after work? Mainly on evenings and weekends? Mornings only? Your gym has to be where you are, it just works that way. The more convenient it is, the more likely you are to go. The gym can become your closest friend or your worst enemy based solely on how hard it is to get to. Try to find one that isn’t too far away from your normal route back and forth to work or school.
Style makes the gym.
Gyms these days are not just dark, dingy places filled with barbells and torture-chamber-like equipment. Some have a wide variety of classes, others have none. The environments in gyms vary greatly, from the more-is-less style, with only the bare minimums, to the over-the-top facilities with saunas and juice bars. Before you sign any contracts, walk around a couple different types of gyms to see which type you like best and where you feel the most comfortable. During your walk-through, observe the following:
- What are the members like?
- Does it seem like you would fit in?
- Is the equipment new and well-maintained?
- How crowded is the gym? (If you are visiting in the middle of the day, ask a member about the crowd flow during peak times.)
- Who is working in the gym—professional trainers or Johnny Football Captain from the local high school?
- What are the changing facilities like? Are they clean?
Accessorize with care.
Gyms can have varying levels of amenities, so make a list of the top two or three things that you really would like to use and pick a place that matches. If you have children, see if the gym offers child care services. Look in the parking lot and determine if there are enough parking spaces for the members. (A good deal of frustration can be avoided by not having to take ten to fifteen minutes off your workout time because you had to wait for a parking space to become available.) See what the hours of operation are on the weekends, during the week and on holidays. Classes come in three general types: free, available for a fee, or not offered. If you really want to take classes, make sure to find out exactly what classes each gym offers, what the cost is for each class and find out if any of the classes are included in the membership agreement. Ask for a class schedule to determine whether the classes you are interested in taking are being conducted at times that you will be able to attend.
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