What to Think About When Joining a Gym

How to Get the Best Out of a Membership Package

Sep 22, 2009

Gym memberships can be expensive but is it possible to decide if it is money well spent?

Most gyms and leisure centres require the user to pay membership costs. Usually the member will sign up to a direct debit which allows their fees to be taken out of their bank account once a month.

Ideally an individual should shop around to get an idea of the different gym membership costs in his area before making his decision.

Look at What is Included in the Membership

Every leisure centre will have its own unique gym membership which will include the different facilities it has to offer. Large leisure centres will often offer a package that includes the use of the gym, swimming pool, fitness classes and other facilities such as squash or badminton courts and sauna and steam rooms.

These deals are sometimes misleading as certain facilities may only be available to users at certain times. For example if schools have use of the centre it may mean that the swimming pool is out of use due to school swimming during the day.

Smaller centres or private clubs may only have a gym or limited facilities to offer therefore it is vital the user checks what is included in the package he is signing up for.

How Often Will the Gym Membership Get Used?

A keen gym goer will very often save money as a result of their membership however this isn’t true for everyone. Every year many people throw their money away because they simply do not make use of the facilities they pay for. This may be down to a dislike of exercise but it could be that their package does not fit their lifestyle.

If an individual is paying £40 per month on a package and they visit the gym once per week they are effectively paying out £10 per workout. However if an individual with the same package is using the gym four times a week and sometimes has a swim after their workout they are averaging at £2.50 per session and getting their swimming for free. If the cost of a pay-as-you-go gym session at the same place is £6 the first individual would save £16 a month by not having a membership. The second individual however would be saving well over £50 a month on his gym sessions alone by keeping his membership going.

Look Out for Special Offers

Many leisure centres offer free trials or special offers for new members. These trials are a useful for potential users to test the facilities and see how often they are likely to make use of them. January is an excellent time to bag a cheap gym membership as fitness providers try to take advantage of people making new years resolutions to get fit or lose weight.

It is also worth asking about corporate gym memberships as many centres now offer cheaper rates to employees of certain companies.

The copyright of the article What to Think About When Joining a Gym in Fitness is owned by Kim Ford. Permission to republish What to Think About When Joining a Gym in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.