What should be aware of when considering a gym membership?
In order tο gеt ѕοmе exercise, I’m considering joining a gym. I’ve read tаlеѕ аnd reviews οf hοw gyms аrе οftеn crowded аt rυѕh hour, hοw employees οftеn push fοr consumers tο bυу іntο plans, billing іѕ a pain, thе equipment іѕ unavailable οr really ancient, etc.
Despite thіѕ, I’m still considering іt. Whаt аrе ѕοmе things I ѕhουld watch out fοr?
billing is a huge thing…..make sure you know the terms of your contract, how much they will bill you, when and what are the terms if you want to cancel the membership say due to illness or injury…..see if you can negotiate yourself a 1 week pass to see how the gym is during the time you will be working out….DO NOT give them any of your banking info or sign anything previous to you have chose to join, you could possibly end up being billed.
Discount for paying term up front – sometimes better than bank draft because they may give better deal
Know that a contract is a contract and they will expect you to pay it out.
Make sure you look over the whole place and that you like it. Go there as a guest a few times and see how often equipment breaks down. It is a let-down when you count on being able to shower and change at the club and the showers are down.
Make sure the place is clean and in excellent repair. You don’t want a fungus or disease or to have a machine break and hurt you.
There are a few worries here… First make sure you can make the monthly payment, and make sure to see how long you sign the contract for. If you cancel previous to the end of the contract, get ready for a hefty cancellation fee. It’d be best for you to go early morning or late night, because it could be packed…. is it worth being at a gym when you are going to be coming up for equipment the majority of the time?
If you have a choice of gyms here are a few considerations. Is it close to work or home? You’ll be more inclined to go if it’s well-located. I rather close to home in person as I can make it more easily on weekends. What kind of billing or membership do they require? Most will have penalties if you have to break your contract so question them what that is and choose if it’s worth it to you. I in person don’t like to have such long-term multiyear contracts but often prices will be reduced if you go long-term, that’s a judgement call. Be careful about having them autobill from a banking account, I’ve heard tales where the member cancels a membership and through a glitch they keep withdrawing, etc..
Have a close look at the equipment, especially the free weights. Many gyms have lots of fancy looking machines as much there to impress as anything else but the condition and variety of free weights is a right indicator. It would suck to have a glaringly missing piece of equipment like a clad powerrack, squat rack or some free weight loading bars like EZ curl bars (yes, I’ve seen gyms not have these basics). How heavy do their dumbells go? That’s also an indicator of how much they invest in equipment. Obviously, condition is a huge one so see if they’ll let you train one day for free; bring an experienced companion, that will help evaluate the gym better. If you’re not so serious about building muscle than with cardio, maybe that’s not as huge of a deal.
Many gyms do try to push their junk products on you, you can always opt out. If you find a gym you like but they pressure you with a sales pitch about additional products and services, opt out. You can always get these later no matter how excellent of a deal they make it sound. Many people end up not using these services anyway so unless you’re a newbie who has never lifted previous to, don’t worry about getting the eight session schooling package with two free sessions superfluous, that’s how they make money. Also, many gyms won’t allow self-determining trainers, that’s a huge ding for me.
Most gyms have peak and low times, that’s really hard to avoid. After work is usually the worst, between 5-7pm at most places. I’ve never been to a gym that that wasn’t the case. You just learn to work around it as much as doable.