With all of the gyms available, it can seem overwhelming to decide on which one would be the best fit for your lifestyle. And by “the best fit”, I mean “the one with the best chance of you going for more than 3 nonconsecutive days”. Each gym has a variety of prices, equally confusing equipment and a list of perks. So what do you look for?
Before we begin, please note that the perfect gym doesn’t exist. But you can find a gym that can help you make it to the gym. Now then, let’s begin.
Questions to Ask Yourself
- Do you want to work out on your own or do you want to use a personal trainer?
- Do you want to workout as a group in a class or keep it solo?
- Looking at your schedule, what times do you think you’ll be able to go to the gym? (look at both your weekday and weekend schedule)
- Thinking of the times you’ll be going, will you need a gym closer to your home or your work?
- Do you need or want to use a pool (either for recreation or for health benefits)?
Take some time to answer those questions and then use your answers to create a list of items you want in a gym.
Gym Considerations
Personal Trainer
- If you want to use a personal fitness trainer, consider the price they charge (this amenity is not included in your membership). Gyms typically charge per hour or per 30 minutes, so decide on a price range you would like to stay within.
- Some gyms do not offer this service, but most of the major chain gyms will offer trainer services.
Classes
- Gyms post their class schedules online, so you can look at their options.
- Consider which classes you want to attend (zumba/dance, cardio, cycling, circuit, yoga/pilates…) and see what they offer in those categories.
- Some gyms will only allow you to attend the classes if you have a certain ‘level’ of membership.
- Look at the number of classes offered. Some only offer a handful a day, while other provide a full schedule.
- Look at the times the classes are offered. Most will have the wee hours of the morning and right after people get off work, but will you ever need to go at another time? And is there only one class offered at those times?
- Due to the traffic at the gym, some require a sign-up sheet, which is not as good a sign as you would think. Those classes will typically expect you to be present up to 20 minutes early to ensure you have a spot and the room gets pretty jam-packed.
Schedule
- If you need to go before work or later at night, consider their hours. And many gyms close earlier on Friday nights (they falsely assume I have a social life… the joke’s on them).
Location
- Ideally, find a gym with a location close to work and to home, so that you can eliminate any excuses you’ll come up with (I’m kind of really good at this, so I’m adding this onto the list to help anyone who also struggles with this).
Pool
- Take into consideration that the pool has a separate list of hours.
Final Step
Now that you know exactly what you’re looking for in a gym, look at all of the gyms within the ideal area. You can find all of the information on their website, so you can quickly rule out gyms. Once you have a list of all the gyms that would work for your lifestyle, you can then look at the levels of membership they offer, and decide on the price you would like to stay within and decide from there.
Happy hunting and good luck on finding your next gym!
