what to look for in a gym?

Llamapants86

So far I've been doing sl in my house(I have a bar squat rack and a bench). Unfortunately I go back to work soon and working out at home is going to be difficult during the week. There are a bunch of gyms by my office so I was thinking during the week I could hit the gym during my lunch hour. I am just wondering what to look for in a gym?

krokador

1. Power or Squat racks. The more, the better
2. Power racks. Again. Seriously, do not underestimate this one! And also that they have a good number of oly bars to use.
3. Check with the staff what are the buisest/quietest times. Go to one where it's most likely to be quiet when you can go
4. Check for silly rules like "no noise during deadlifts". If the gym is a bit more slack, and allows chalk, it might be a bit more suited to strength training.
5. If you plan on doing accessory, check with the misc. items availability. Boxes, kettlebells, free weights, machines, etc.
6. opening hours. Kinda goes with #3, but if you workout at 6PM and the gym closes at 7, you might have a problem...

That's all I can think of lol

jstout365

I look for
1. Equipment: do they have what I use and a good amount of power racks.
2. Cleanliness of the locker room. I work out over lunch most days and having a clean locker room with showers is important.
3. Is the equipment well maintained.
4. Do the bros constantly leave crap around and not wipe up after themselves.

randomtai

1. More squat racks
2. Cleanliness
3. Friendliness of the staff
4. The general environment (gut instincts for this one)
5. MOAR SQUAT/POWER RACKS!!!!1111111 :laugh:

ETA- 6. Eyecandy

redheadmommy

I just joined a gym 2 months ago , and these were my main decesion factors;
1. Accessibility timewise. Does it open in the hrs you want to work out? If you looking for workday lunch hrs, this may not be a problem for you though. I work out after i put the kids into bed , which is 8 pm -ish, or weekend /holiday during the day. Many gym is closed on holiday and have significantly reduced opening hrs on weekends, and not open late enough for me.

2. Accessibility location wise. How far is it? Can you walk there? bike there? need to drive? I live on a cold climate and i hate driving on the snow. I know myself that it is much more likely that I actually go to the gym if I can walk there and I do not need to drive even if it is -30 outside.

3. price/contract. Here gym prices have a really wide variation from $25/ month to $70/ month or more. I am a grad student with 2 small children, so price is a big deal for me. However sometimes cheap monthly payment come with multiple year contract. I made that mistake before and learnt my lesson. Before my first child I signed up the "cheap" $25 /month gym closeby. I got pregnant 2 months later with a high risk bedridden pregnancy , and they would not let me out of the contract. I ended up paying for nothing for 1.5 yrs.

4. Atmosphere/ busyness: Before you sign up, make sure you have a chance to try it out a couple of times, and visit in exact days/ hrs you plan to go regularly. If the plan to go during lunch hr, go and check it out at lunch hr. Gyms in city centers can be really full at lunch hrs, gyms in the suburbs tend to be busy after 5 pm. A gym can have the best equipment if you not able to use it when you want to use it.

5. Equipment. Usually most gym have olympic bars, and powerrack/squat cages, but the weight plates matter too. Deadlift and barbell row both would benefit from having bumper plates. DMy gym does't and it would be a huge help. Bumper plates are low weight plates (like 10lb,20lb,25lb, 30lb etc) , which are the same size as the 45 lb big plates, but lighter.
Also check out what is the lightest weight plate.Your minimum increment will be twice of the weight of the smallest plate they have. If they have 2.5 lb plates, your minimum increment is 2x 2.5 lb=5 lb. My gym only have 2 pairs of the 2.5 lb plates and often they are being used. When the 2.5 lb plates ar in use, the next available is 5 lb, which mean 10 lb increment. I started onlly 2 months ago, but multiple times I was not able to increase the weight, because the small plates were in used, and increasing 10 lb is a big jump. In fact, increasing 5lb can be a big jump for a women, especially on the OHP. Many ladies here ended up purchasing their own fractional plates and carry to the gym, but that is a PIA.