It’s 2017; if you thought 2016 sucked it was probably your fault for not going to the right gym. I’ve had a lot of experience with good gyms, bad gyms and gyms that like to steal from you.
It was only a few years ago that a club in my area closed down only to continue taking payments from my bank account for six months. Yes, gym ownership can be a greasy, greasy game.
If you want to avoid choosing the wrong gym, and get into shape for the new year so you can fit into your MaleBasics, use these tips when selecting; hint: it’s not the gym that serves pizza.
Location Matters
The winter, rain storms, your gas tank, motivation level; all of these factors come into play when you are trying to find the energy to work out. Getting there is half the battle. Is it on the way to work? It all matters.
2 miles and 20 miles can make all the difference when getting up to go work out; it could mean the difference between having to fill up on gas or driving on icy roads. It can also be a huge time saver. The closer your gym is to you, the fewer excuses you will have to justify not going.
How Annoying are the Employees?
It sounds silly sure, but that gym that ripped me off? Well the writing was on the wall when they cornered the young, impressionable me in a room to get me to pay for a personal trainer.
Intimidation tactics are a huge red flag and a sign of things to come in terms of trying to get you to pay for nonsense, as are the “can we get you to do this before you sign the contract?” questions. By that I mean, if they are getting you to do tests or throw silly statistics at you, they are probably full of it.
I recall being given a tour of a gym, and not being a first timer I wasn’t really up for it but they insisted. The girl was nice, but the completely nonsensical statistics she tried to give me in terms of the benefits of a personal trainer left a sour taste in my mouth and proved to me no one ever questioned it nor did she have any knowledge on the subject apart from what she read off the poster. What does “working out with a trainer gets 33% per cent more results” really mean?
Does it Have Everything You Need?
A lot of people get bored of straight weight training and that’s okay. Many get their sweat on through group classes or simply cardio machines. Here are some notables to check out:
Like a new car or spouse, you need to go for a drive to see if it works for you.
Go during peak hours, usually right after work from 5:30-7:30 or thereabouts. This will let you get a feel for how the gym really operates. Are there unclean puddles of sweat or water due to lack of staff? Are there enough machines that you aren’t waiting stupid amounts of time? Enough lockers for your stuff?
Most importantly how many token ‘naked bald guy shaving his head’ are there at this time? Just like a busy restaurant during dinner rush, if a gym operates smoothly and works for you at peak hours, then you are likely safe in assuming there will be no problems whether you go at 1 p.m. or 1 a.m.
This should cover most of your questions, besides of course the price. Beware of biweekly or weekly payments that make it seem less than you are paying in total, and added fees for things like towels when you can easily bring your own. If you leave a gym, make sure to put a ‘stop payment’ on the withdrawals if the money is coming right out of your account.
Be careful and feel free to eat an extra pizza for all your hard work.
It was only a few years ago that a club in my area closed down only to continue taking payments from my bank account for six months. Yes, gym ownership can be a greasy, greasy game.
If you want to avoid choosing the wrong gym, and get into shape for the new year so you can fit into your MaleBasics, use these tips when selecting; hint: it’s not the gym that serves pizza.
Location Matters
The winter, rain storms, your gas tank, motivation level; all of these factors come into play when you are trying to find the energy to work out. Getting there is half the battle. Is it on the way to work? It all matters.
2 miles and 20 miles can make all the difference when getting up to go work out; it could mean the difference between having to fill up on gas or driving on icy roads. It can also be a huge time saver. The closer your gym is to you, the fewer excuses you will have to justify not going.
How Annoying are the Employees?
It sounds silly sure, but that gym that ripped me off? Well the writing was on the wall when they cornered the young, impressionable me in a room to get me to pay for a personal trainer.
Intimidation tactics are a huge red flag and a sign of things to come in terms of trying to get you to pay for nonsense, as are the “can we get you to do this before you sign the contract?” questions. By that I mean, if they are getting you to do tests or throw silly statistics at you, they are probably full of it.
I recall being given a tour of a gym, and not being a first timer I wasn’t really up for it but they insisted. The girl was nice, but the completely nonsensical statistics she tried to give me in terms of the benefits of a personal trainer left a sour taste in my mouth and proved to me no one ever questioned it nor did she have any knowledge on the subject apart from what she read off the poster. What does “working out with a trainer gets 33% per cent more results” really mean?
Does it Have Everything You Need?
A lot of people get bored of straight weight training and that’s okay. Many get their sweat on through group classes or simply cardio machines. Here are some notables to check out:
- Do the frequency/timings of the classes work for your schedule?
- Is there a personal trainer available for your schedule?
- Are there enough treadmills/machines available at peak hours?
- Are there showers for when you don’t have time to go home?
- What are the hours?
- Are there food/drinks nearby?
Like a new car or spouse, you need to go for a drive to see if it works for you.
Go during peak hours, usually right after work from 5:30-7:30 or thereabouts. This will let you get a feel for how the gym really operates. Are there unclean puddles of sweat or water due to lack of staff? Are there enough machines that you aren’t waiting stupid amounts of time? Enough lockers for your stuff?
Most importantly how many token ‘naked bald guy shaving his head’ are there at this time? Just like a busy restaurant during dinner rush, if a gym operates smoothly and works for you at peak hours, then you are likely safe in assuming there will be no problems whether you go at 1 p.m. or 1 a.m.
This should cover most of your questions, besides of course the price. Beware of biweekly or weekly payments that make it seem less than you are paying in total, and added fees for things like towels when you can easily bring your own. If you leave a gym, make sure to put a ‘stop payment’ on the withdrawals if the money is coming right out of your account.
Be careful and feel free to eat an extra pizza for all your hard work.