Joining a Gym ??

Editor's Note: This article is entirely composed of my own thoughts and original writing; no AI assistance was used in its creation.

Joining a Gym!

Over the past several years, joining a gym has become a major purchase. Due to the monthly costs and contract that can tie you in for years, it’s something that can drain your pocketbook without providing you much value. You need to become educated in gyms, their operation procedures, as well as other factors before you sign on the dotted line.

Considering your needs

You need to find a gym that fits YOUR needs and goals. It’s just like any other purchase, it doesn’t matter if someone recommends it to you, you are the one who must like it. What is your purpose for joining the gym? Do you want to lose weight? Tone up? Are you looking to treat an injury or certain health condition?

With this in mind, you need to look for gyms that fulfill these needs. If you’re new and need a lot of instruction, look for gyms that have a lot of classes. If you’re looking to tone, look for a gym that has a lot of small weights or free weights – you don’t want to join a gym full of 400-pound men bench pressing small cars in the weight room. Make sure you get a tour of the gym’s facilities before you sign up and get a tour of the equipment and rooms.

Questions to ask:

There are a few important questions that you should ask the gym. If possible (and within reason), try to get any commitments and guarantees in writing. It’s hard to get out of your gym contract later on by saying “Bill told me XYZ.” To prove anything, it needs to be in writing.

Are your trainers qualified?

Unfortunately, there is no universal association you can check with to find qualified gym trainers in the United States. However, some gyms (the more reputable ones) require trainers to achieve some sort of certification from the American College of Sports Medicine. This is the largest sports medicine/exercise science organization in the world.

It’s recommendable that your gym has trainers and knowledgeable individuals helping you.

Are classes free?

Just because they advertise the classes to you when you sign up, they will rarely mention that they cost money to attend once you sign up. This is often the case. If you are looking to sign up with a gym to take certain classes, make sure you know the fees associated with taking that class so you can consider that when comparing the costs of different gyms.

How often do you clean?

Many gyms have a full-time staff member who goes around cleaning machines throughout the day. Other gyms trust their actual gym members and leave cleaning supplies around the gym. Regardless, you don’t want to sign up with a gym that is less than sanitary. Check under the machines to make sure dust isn’t built up. Make sure there aren’t a bunch of dirty towels lying around the showers or locked rooms.

What are your peak times?

This sometimes varies per gym. If you work or go to school, you probably have a certain time during each day when you go to the gym -- as do others. You want to try to find a gym that has peak times different from yours, if at all possible. Going to a gym when everybody else does can be a good way to guarantee you will not always have the machine you want available.

Finally, once you find the gym you want, you need to read the fine print. Joining a gym most of the time means signing a membership contract. These are usually pretty long, at least a few pages, and require different things of you.

A few noticeable things included in a gym contract are that they are nonrefundable. Also, they are almost impossible to cancel. Most say that you can cancel if you live more than 25 or 30 miles away or if you have a serious injury (with a doctor-provided note). Otherwise, you will be stuck in your contract regardless if you use the gym or not.

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