Gym

chatonx

I am interested in joining a gym, but i have no idea what gyms are good.

Anyone care to give me some suggestions?

chatonx

Also - tips on good walking/running shoes?

antoniosmooth

I always tell my wife I'm jealous of Curves. Curves is ONLY for women and is PERFECT in my opinion for any woman who is beginning gym workouts or doesn't care about meeting someone/trying to find a date/hoping someone will notice them. Curves should make another "brand" for men and call it Beefcake... hmmmmm that actually sounds like a male strip club, but you get the idea.

When I consult I always recommend Curves to women who are beginning. Check out their website, I conducted a fitness class last week and noticed Curves has a free trial for a week for new prospective members. Next choice is Planet Fitness and your local Y.

If you need to workout very early in the morning or late at night I suggest Anytime Fitness or 24 hour fitness.

chatonx

I always tell my wife I'm jealous of Curves. Curves is ONLY for women and is PERFECT in my opinion for any woman who is beginning gym workouts or doesn't care about meeting someone/trying to find a date/hoping someone will notice them. Curves should make another "brand" for men and call it Beefcake... hmmmmm that actually sounds like a male strip club, but you get the idea.

When I consult I always recommend Curves to women who are beginning. Check out their website, I conducted a fitness class last week and noticed Curves has a free trial for a week for new prospective members. Next choice is Planet Fitness and your local Y.

If you need to workout very early in the morning or late at night I suggest Anytime Fitness or 24 hour fitness.

BEEFCAKE! Yes. This is perfect. Lets go in on this together and make a work out place for me. It will be great.

I am gonna check out Curves. Thanks. I did "Workout Express" when I was a young teen. They had a class that was free all summer for teen girls. I loved it.

antoniosmooth

If we don't capitalize on that name soon SOMEONE will.... : )

Free to all teen girls during the summer? That's awesome, when coupled with a body image class for teen girls.

I forgot to mention Gold's Gym. In the past Gold's catered to guys primarily however the past 8 years Gold's has revamped tons of their gyms to incorporate overall fitness and a very inexpensive price. $10.00 per month to be precise, my wife had a personal trainer at the time and it was inexpensive as well.

Personally for me I'm 24 hour Fitness however I would have switched to Gold's primarily rather than secondary if they were closer to our home.

chatonx

If we don't capitalize on that name soon SOMEONE will.... : )

Free to all teen girls during the summer? That's awesome, when coupled with a body image class for teen girls.

I forgot to mention Gold's Gym. In the past Gold's catered to guys primarily however the past 8 years Gold's has revamped tons of their gyms to incorporate overall fitness and a very inexpensive price. $10.00 per month to be precise, my wife had a personal trainer at the time and it was inexpensive as well.

Personally for me I'm 24 hour Fitness however I would have switched to Gold's primarily rather than secondary if they were closer to our home.

I was looking at LA Fitness (cause it's really close to my house) but.. last time I checked it was like.. $10/week with no way to do a longer "contract" for cheaper.

I will look into 24 hour fitness, because I think there is one close as well. ((And according to the website right now it's $30/month with no start up fee. Woo!))

EDIT: I lied. There isn't a 24 Hour Fitness near me. i was mis-remembering. ]: There is one next to my old apartment in my hometown.

cardbucfan

I would try out a few gyms NEAR YOUR HOUSE! Most places should have a free/cheap trial offer and if they don't that tells you something right there. Make certain you feel comfortable in the place and that they have things you want to do-cardio machines, a good weight training area where women aren't made to feel like interlopers, classes that interest you and fit your schedule. Make absolutely certain that it's easy to get to. The best gym in the world on the other side of town won't be any good to you if you won't make the effort to go there. I belong to our local YMCA and love it. It's actually an older facility so won't win any prizes there but they maintain it well, it has great classes, tons of machines and free weights and the people are nice.

As far as shoes, I would suggest finding a good running store in your area and taking in your old shoes for them to look at and have them fit you. It will probably cost a little more than your local sporting goods store but the information is so worth it. Once they fit you you can then buy those shoes online or from somebody else that may have them cheaper. I have bad knees so good shoes are invaluable to me. (I wear either Asics a lot and currently have Addidas).

Nopedotjpeg

If you could find a small business gym that suits your goals, I would give it serious thought. They usually seem to care a lot more about the progress of their members than big box gyms. And for the shoes, I would check out a local running store to get fitted. Even if you don't buy there, they can help you figure out what's best for your foot. I use Brooks myself, but that's because there's not a lot of choices in my size/width and they're very good support.

antoniosmooth

I without a doubt agree with this advice.

Find a gym close to either where you live or where you frequent a majority of your time. This is why I dropped Gold's Gym, although I LOVE Gold's I don't want to drive 25 minutes just to go workout.

For longevity the closer you are to your gym, the more likely you be able to reach your long term fitness goals.

Luthorcrow

I think everyone has covered it. It really is as simple as...

1) Keep it convenient. Whether that is close to work or close to home, your gym needs to be close to your routine. My gym is just across the street from my work. For me working out during my work day ensures I never miss a workout unless I have an injury.

2) Never, ever join a gym that won't let you try it out for free. You should never have to pay to trail a gym for a week. You may get a bit of a sales pitch but if they are trying to sell you too hard and won't let you get a decent test drive before signing up then walk.

3) If you can go local rather than big. If you have a locally owned gym choice it will almost always be a better choice. You will be less of a number and more of a customer.