GYM PEOPLE...

I look for :
+ flexibility in memberships - don't sign up for a year only to find out they suck
+ do all the machines work? broken machines tend to stay broken at a lot of gyms
+ towel service is a great bonus - less laundry for you
+ hours, if I wake up early on a wkd, will they be open? If i work late on a thursday, will they let me come in at 9?
+ how easy do they make it for folks to wipe down machines?
+ how many pull up bars do they have? i hate having to wait b/c there's only 1
+ how big are their class rooms? and how many classes do they offer a day?

Talk to a few members as you walk the floor. Ask them what they like (and don't like.) You might be surprised.

The truth is your only goal should be to find success. Finding success means you need to know what you are doing. It's like dieting, you will see better results if you are doing it correctly. However you do not need a personaal trainer to gain the knowledge that you need. Just be really proactive in seeking out information. Google correct form for any excercise you learn. Watch youtube videos. Most importently though, GO!!! You don't need to waste time by being there to long or everyday, but you do need to go there and do your workout.

Good luck.

I go to my local gym as it's near, it has a crèche to coincide with the morning classes, and it's relatively cheap. The nicest gym in my area is a Bannatynes, but it's about £60 a month, and takes a good half hour to drive there/back in bad traffic. My gym also has the option for payment holidays, which has been useful when I was at the end of my pregnancy, and if you do want to leave you only have to give a month's notice. It's small, and sometimes the machines break, but it serves its purpose just fine.

I've worked out with 3 personal trainers in total. One after I had my first child, and she was great. She was an ex dancer, and a really nice person as well as a fab trainer. She left though, and I was pregnant again, so after my 2nd child I started with another trainer. She was great too, and I achieved a lot. Then she moved, so I started with a male trainer, and out of all of them he's the best. He's only 25, but he has an amazing work ethic, and I think my results are most noticeable through training with him.

ERASED

ETA just saw the update...lol

Squat rack or power cage, preferably both.

I just want to add to find what works for you. I've belonged to lifetime and the Y because I use their childcare and group fitness classes. I'm currently at the Y, and I love that I have about 6-10 girlfriends from my moms club that all go there. We go to classes together, one of them lifts weights for me, and I love it. I also love it because I'm not the only obese person working out there. There are tons of group fitness classes and it's great.

However if I didn't have kids, I'd choose lifetime if I wanted group fitness, or a small gym with a cheaper membership like anytime or snap if I didn't need group fitness or daycare.

So I think start out with what are your basic gym needs and go from there.

As for personal trainers, it depends. We have 2 exceptional trainers at our Y (one won Best of Twin Cities Personal Trainers last year), and I have a couple sessions with him. He's fantastic for form and pushing me, but at my size it's not really necessary. I think it might be more helpful if I ever get in a fitness rut.

So it depends on what you are looking for. If you are following your own lifting program and are able to motivate yourself and push your muscles, then you don't need one. If not, the right one would help. I would suggest observing at the gym for a while before choosing one.

You probably dont actually need a trainer, as quite a few gyms will provide support in the way of a tailored fitness programme for you, for free as part of your membership. Alsobtry and make sure that your membership has a few classes included in it so that you can change it up a bit.

I look for power racks because most of my work is done in one. Ideally a gym that isn't too busy so the big dudes don't look at me crazy when I'm in one for 40 minutes while they wait on one.

Finding a good personal trainer is hard. Most of my female friends that have trainers end up doing some girly workout in the nautilus room then get frustrated because they don't make much progress. Most of the trainers in my gym completely avoid the free weight room with their female clients which is really unfortunate. Deadlifts, squats, presses and other multi-joint compound lifts are what every beginning lifter should be doing regardless of sex. They make the biggest impact on your metabolism, strength and physique. I think the biggest value in a personal trainer is in those lifts - if you're brand new to lifting it's important to learn those lifts with good form so you don't end up broken after your second session. A personal trainer should be able to show you those. That's really the only reason I would find a personal trainer. Everything else you can find on the internet.

What I look for in a gym?
- Good range of weights equipment. There has to be a squat rack, and preferably more than one bench (because everyone loves benching and I hate waiting)
- Can pay monthly, I don't want to be signed up for a year with no way of getting out in case I want to change gyms!
- Members with roughly the same goals would be nice - I don't wish to join a gym that's main focus is cardio/losing weight basically! I like seeing others there get really freakin' strong!
- Helpful staff

As far as the trainer goes, I don't think it's necessary. Learn the exercises and good form online, do your research (not everyone knows what they're talking about) and you'll probably be better off that way, and save yourself a lot of money too!