What gym to join

mrtechaddict

I've been thinking that it's time to join a gym and work with a personal trainer a bit. I have all the major national chains around me (24 Hour Fitness, Bally Total Fitness, LA Fitness, etc) which one would you pick to join? I know I should just do the trial membership at each and pick one from that, but I'd like some opinions, too. Since I've never been to a gym, I'm not sure I'd know what to look for and what to stay away from. So, please share your thoughts. Thanks!!

bbygrl5

If you have Gold's Gym in your area, I highly, highly recommend you join there. Their gyms are always really clean and they have a pool, cardio cinema, basketball/racquetball courts, lots of weight machines, etc, etc.. I can't tell you anything about personal trainers as I haven't gone that route, but good luck in your search!

beethedreamer

I have an LA Fitness membership and I think it's amazing. There's a pool, a basketball court, and racquetball courts. There are plenty of weight machines, cardio machines, and free weights. Also, you get a free personal training session when you join, and they teach you about some of the weight machines and also about your heart rate, and what it should be at when you're working out.
Of course I'm biased because this is the only gym I've ever tried.

waguchan

I've belonged to 24 hour fitness for a few years now. It's really 24 hours, except on a few holidays a year. So I used to go late at night after my family was sleeping. They also have child care, which is how my husband and I manage to get to boot camp classes together every Saturday morning.

Some locations are better than others though. The 24 hour fitness near my house is old and has pretty dirty smelly looking locker rooms. But there is a new one in the next town over that is clean and beautiful. The pool in the one close to my house isn't really designed for lap swimming either, which gets on my nerves some times. But I like the proximity to my house.

So I think the best one to choose is the one that 1.) fits your budget 2.) fits your schedule 3.) close to your home or office 4.) is well maintained and clean 5.) has all the equipment and/or classes that you are interested in 6.) makes you feel comfortable and has pleasant staff. The same chain might have different issues in different parts of the country.

Go check all of the ones that interest you. They are always so happy to show you around. And look at their web sites for specials and try to bargain for some free personal training sessions or other discounts or perks.

Amarillo_NDN

I been using Gold's Gym my self for the past 2 years. Very happy with it and love the pool for wateraerobics.

annie008

I've had 24 hour fitness (though not all their clubs are indeed 24 hours!) Some are nice, some are okay, some have just what you need but nothing beyond that. I had 24 hour fitness because i used to work and go to school after work. Because I would get out late 24 hrs was the only route for me. However they are expensive. I paid like $300 or more just as a start up fee!!!....then one day I lost my card where they would take the monthly dues, and they closed my account before I was able to provide a new card number. They were not willing to work with me and basically said I would have to re-enroll in a new membership and once again pay those ugly fees...so I said no way!....

I also had Bally's because when I first started college I was going to school in Rhode Island and there was no 24 hour fitness there. When I came back to my home state of California I canceled my Bally's membership and went to 24 hours (which is when the above scenario occurred). Last year I got a good offer from Bally's to come back for $100 a year!...with no other fees...so I jumped on that. So far I'm happy with it.

G_in_Austin

I joined "Planet Fitness". Very clean, equipment in great shape, all the machines I'd expect, great staff, personal trainer available. And... inexpensive. They put a high priority on being a "no judgement zone". You don't see a lot of gym rats and bodybuilders at Planet Fitness. Just lots of average folks losing weight and getting fit.

mark996

Me and my group went to planet fitness, we got kicked out because we "looked" intimidating...are you kidding me? No, we didn't even get to train, or every touch anything except the door. They'll be bankrupt once any of th 17 lawsuits for discrimination pays out,(that's just around here) please sir...don't sweat because they may intimidate someone. They have pizza days, a tootsie roll jar on the counter...they don't want you to get healthy, they want you to stay fat and overeat so they can make a profit. Not my gig, but hey if you're in to *****ard Simmons, go for it. You can't even squat in this place, that's one of the most fundamental, be all end all's of core and leg development. By the way, pizza monday and bagel tuesday....man that's just great.

24 Hour Fitness is a really good place, for weight loss they have great trainers who will show you the basics, just don't expect miracles from them unless you research stuff yourself, and don't buy in to the "everything we sell will help you along your way" hype. They have good, well maintained equipment, and nice staff members, from my experience at least in this area. We have 2 in our city, on wasn't 24 hours, closed at night on weekends, had a pool, steam room, and sauna, great place. The other was more geared towards lifters, had tons more free weights, several racks and a good assortment of dumbbells.

Golds Gym- Well equipped, good crowd, usually a good atmosphere. I've only been to one around here, and it was a smaller place, but had a lot of fun there.

Also check some local places around your area, they're usually cheap and aren't very crowded. Some gyms give members keys to the place, so it's 24/7 on your schedule. Great for those 3am can't sleep sessions.

My perspective is soley from how good I can train in a center, not how good it makes me feel. We've train at locations all over Texas, my trainer does photo shoots, he's been in Muscular Development, and is a staff writer for EliteFTS, plus one of their athletes. I had a 24 hour fitness membership a while back, but cancelled that once I moved to Metroflex for training. Find out what you want yourself, what makes me want to train, what makes you want to lay down and sit on a couch while eating pizza with tootsie rolls for dessert.

Samantharose8akaDebbie

I have LA fitness and just love it. It really does not matter what Gym you join as long as you just get moving.................................:bigsmile:

caffeinejunkie237

I work in Central London, UK and I've joined Gymbox because they're two doors down from my office!!

They're good, pretty funky for a gym. They do boxing and have a really big free weights section. The classes are all really cool - loving Kangoo and Bust 'A' Gut.

ShaneT99

I've been thinking that it's time to join a gym and work with a personal trainer a bit. I have all the major national chains around me (24 Hour Fitness, Bally Total Fitness, LA Fitness, etc) which one would you pick to join? I know I should just do the trial membership at each and pick one from that, but I'd like some opinions, too. Since I've never been to a gym, I'm not sure I'd know what to look for and what to stay away from. So, please share your thoughts. Thanks!!

Pick one that doesn't require you to sign a contract. I go to 24 Hour Fitness and really like it. They have a month to month plan that is pretty reasonable. No contracts and no penalty fees if you decide to leave. I canceled while I was doing P90X and they didn't question me or give me any problems whatsoever. When I decided P90X wasn't for me I went back and picked up where I left off.

One thing I haven't seen anyone mention is location. If your gym isn't convenient for you to get to then you won't use it much. That's pretty important.

By the way, Planet Fitness is a joke. Any gym that sounds a "lunk alarm" because you grunt, drop a weight, do a deadlift or lift what is in their opinion too much weight doesn't deserve to be in business. I'm not a bodybuilder by any means, but that's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of.

G_in_Austin

Well, I never expected to see so much venom for Planet Fitness. I just got to say, maybe you're collective bad experiences are a result of something you are responsible for yourself. The "lunk alarm" is awesome because it keeps jerks from doing the things that jerks do in a gym. Anyone who has spent time in a gym knows there are bad behaviors that can make the experience pretty annoying. Don't believe me? Google "gym bad behavior". One thing that's great about PF is that they have posted rules against these obnoxious behaviors and they enforce them (imagine). And by enforcing them, they anger some people who can't get along.. I'll stick by my comments - PF is clean, well run, tons of equipment, inexpensive, and supportive. If you have one near you, it's a great option. But like others have said... just find a gym you're comfortable with and go for it!

etarre

I belong to Crunch in NYC/Brooklyn and love it. But if you don't have one in your area, I've also belonged to 24 hour fitness and really liked it. They used to have a part-time membership deal where you could go three days out of the week at a discounted rate, which seemed like a nice idea for people who don't go to the gym every day.

raindancer

I love my 24 hour fitness. It's clean, well staffed with friendly trainers. I've only had good experiences.

ShaneT99

Well, I never expected to see so much venom for Planet Fitness. I just got to say, maybe you're collective bad experiences are a result of something you are responsible for yourself. The "lunk alarm" is awesome because it keeps jerks from doing the things that jerks do in a gym. Anyone who has spent time in a gym knows there are bad behaviors that can make the experience pretty annoying. Don't believe me? Google "gym bad behavior". One thing that's great about PF is that they have posted rules against these obnoxious behaviors and they enforce them (imagine). And by enforcing them, they anger some people who can't get along.. I'll stick by my comments - PF is clean, well run, tons of equipment, inexpensive, and supportive. If you have one near you, it's a great option. But like others have said... just find a gym you're comfortable with and go for it!

I have no bad experiences there. I've never even been there. I just read about their lunk alarm and think it's ridiculous. Especially if it's for doing things like deadlifts (a great exercise), grunting, dropping a weight or lifting too much weight. I don't like obnoxious people in the gym anymore than anyone else does (and to be clear, I don't do those things except deadlifts), but what's more obnoxious than a loud siren going off in the middle of everyone's workout? Just my opinion. I'd never join there.

mark996

I won't mention anything about the "jerks" comment you made, even though you basically called anyone who deadlifts or grunts, or drops a plate a jerk...we all know there's bad behavior in a gym, we're not challenged, but thanks for spelling it out. PF is for overly sensitive generally over afraid people. The lunk alarm is for the "judgement free zone" but how are you not judging everytime you pull the stupid thing? I just don't get why someone would go to a place that harbors obesity and really doesn't seem to see it as a negative impact on the world, or on a person themselves. With the supply of 400,000 pizza slices (from their website). I train for competitions and would never legitimately consider ever training there, no one in their right mind would consider it in my opinion. I guess I'm one of the jerk, gym rat, morons you speak of, that's ok though.

sbilyeu75

I belong to LA Fitness. When I was shopping for a gym it was either UrbanActive or L.A. Fitness. L.A. Fitness won because of it being month to month and it was 5 minutes from the house vs. 15 minutes. It's been very nice and clean. I would not bother with thier trainers. They are very expensive and require a year contract. I've only seen a couple of the trainers actually give their clients a real workout. Also, you can't bring your own trainer in, so that might be a big negative for you.

stormieweather

YMCA.

It's inexpensive, it has daycare (free) for your children while you work out, it has a very nicely equipped fitness center, many have pools for swimming laps, and lots of reasonably priced classes (zumba, spinning, kickboxing, dancing, and bootcamps, among other things). My Y also has frequent classes on eating right, health, etc. There is no contract, it is month to month, but if you do cancel it and later want to renew it, you pay the registration fee again. Also, I can use any of the YMCA's in my region.

Most of the people who go are very serious about their workouts. Never seen any goofing off or behaving like a jerk and I've been going for over a year now. In addition, there are several trainers who specialize in various things - rehab, weight loss, competition, etc.


I love it.

mark996

I never thought about the Y. A few of the guys we train are regulars at the Y, been there a few times, it's a pretty awesome place. Like you said, most of the people are really serious about their workouts and don't mess around. Usually a really good place.

sbilyeu75

YMCA.

It's inexpensive, it has daycare (free) for your children while you work out, it has a very nicely equipped fitness center, many have pools for swimming laps, and lots of reasonably priced classes (zumba, spinning, kickboxing, dancing, and bootcamps, among other things). My Y also has frequent classes on eating right, health, etc. There is no contract, it is month to month, but if you do cancel it and later want to renew it, you pay the registration fee again. Also, I can use any of the YMCA's in my region.

Most of the people who go are very serious about their workouts. Never seen any goofing off or behaving like a jerk and I've been going for over a year now. In addition, there are several trainers who specialize in various things - rehab, weight loss, competition, etc.


I love it.

When I researched the Y here, I found it was cheaper to join LA Fitness and I would have access to newer equipement.

stringcheeze

I never thought about the Y. A few of the guys we train are regulars at the Y, been there a few times, it's a pretty awesome place. Like you said, most of the people are really serious about their workouts and don't mess around. Usually a really good place.

I'll preface this by saying I've never been to a gym. I probably should (I've discovered I enjoy strength training and would probably get a kick out of lifting weights), but I can be upfront and say I'd be horribly embarrassed.

The one thing that struck me about your comment is the point you made about the seriousness level. I think that's a key point with any place you go to. A place could be a real hole in the wall, but if the members/employees are serious about what they're doing (improving their bodies), that's where you should be if you really want to make an improvement in your life. The "wet noodle" joints that are more there for show than real gains might be worth it for a trip or two just to get used to the gym atmosphere, but personally, I think you have the right idea, mark996 -- go for someplace where you're going to be asked (and required) to do the best you can.

lotusfromthemud

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One thing I haven't seen anyone mention is location. If your gym isn't convenient for you to get to then you won't use it much. That's pretty important.


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This!

If one of your choices is between your work and your home, or closer to home than the others, then go with that one.

I also agree that if you can avoid a contract, that's a good idea.

I used to belong to a gym that had all the "right" stuff...equipment, hours, classes, etc...but it was 20 minutes from my apartment (on a good day) and I had to take public transit....there were way too many days I didn't go because of the inconvenience of it.

Now, I belong to a slightly less equipped gym a two minute walk away, and I go all the time.

My 2 cents, anyways...

think48

By the way, Planet Fitness is a joke. Any gym that sounds a "lunk alarm" because you grunt, drop a weight, do a deadlift or lift what is in their opinion too much weight doesn't deserve to be in business. I'm not a bodybuilder by any means, but that's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of.

Whoah. I had never heard of Planet Fitness before this post even though there is one right around the corner from me. I just researched it and are they serious? They are calling themselves a gym? That's insane. Offering pizza, bagels, tootsie rolls??? How about apple slices and peanuts if you are going to offer stuff. And cancelling memberships on the spot for one wrong move? People ought to be afraid to do anything there. Do the treadmills have a max speed of 4.0 on them? That is just beyond belief.

Edit to say: I belong to Lifetime Fitness and it is INCREDIBLE. I also have a membership to LA Fitness and it is good for convenince of location, but most of the ones i've been to generally have a bad (sweaty) smell to them (yes, I know, people are sweating in there). Lifetime is great in every aspect.