So I'm thinking about joining a gym..

[Enzo Tha Great]

I live in the Northern VA area and i'm thinking about joining a gym because its too tough trying to work out at home and I don't have enought motivation.

As far as the gyms in the local area, we hav the big ones like Bally's and Washington Sports club as well as a bunch of smaller ones.

In making a decision, I have three things in mind

1. Price, I wanna spend between 30 and 50 a month on membership

2. Trainer - I want a ym with trainer that caan actually put some focus on me. Not just a generic work out and diet

3. Eye candy - I want to go to a gym that will have some eye candy. This is for enjoyment and motivation.


I'm open to all comments and suggestions

SOHH.. whats good

[Big H]

Aside from price, all those other factors are useless. Just find a gym that has reasonable space and equipment, make sure the weights are organized and the gym is well-staffed, and determine the peak hours when the gym is packed so you can build around that.

Its gonna be hard to find a focused trainer at a gym without paying extra money so I'd say stay away from that and do ya own thing. Trainers typically follow a set protocol of guidelines when it comes to training new people. Don't expect anything special if you do go that route.

[AnotherGirl]

http://www.lifetimefitness.com/
best gym in the free world. :yes: no contract....about $200 down ... $50 a month. not the cheapest gym ...but the atmosphere .. variety.. state of the art equip ...and shear SIZE of the place make up for the price. i LOVE it there...feels more like a resort than a gym.

[offthabooks]

http://www.lifetimefitness.com/
best gym in the free world. :yes: no contract....about $200 down ... $50 a month. not the cheapest gym ...but the atmosphere .. variety.. state of the art equip ...and shear SIZE of the place make up for the price. i LOVE it there...feels more like a resort than a gym.
damnnnnn

I just looked at the virtual tour pics on that site....very, very nice...no locations near me tho...

most important thing to me when joining a gym was the hours...I'm at a 24/7 place now cuz I have a crazy work schedule...

about the price, ask about every possible discount...student, corporate, referral...gyms want members so they'll usually try to give you a lil deal just to get you in the beginning...

[AnotherGirl]

damnnnnn
I just looked at the virtual tour pics on that site....very, very nice...no locations near me tho...
most important thing to me when joining a gym was the hours...I'm at a 24/7 place now cuz I have a crazy work schedule...
about the price, ask about every possible discount...student, corporate, referral...gyms want members so they'll usually try to give you a lil deal just to get you in the beginning...
yep..that was one of the most important things for me when considering a gym. My gym is 24/7 and only closes 1 out of 365 days. i think it's new Years Day.

[Mic Soloist]

im the sales manager at a large gym. im going to tell you some things that you need to do.

1. PAY IN FULL!!! do not sign a monthly contract. you dont want the gym taking money of you account each month. ask for a trial membership or a free workout. try the gym out and then figure out how long you want to commit. then pay the **** in full. you will regret it if you dont.

2. join a 24 hour gym

3. ask other members about the quality of the training before you commit to paying the trainers 8000 bucks for 10 sessions. some gyms have great trainers, some have crappy ones.

4. make sure the gym is SUPER CLEAN. dirty gym means ****ty management.

5. dont fall for typical sales tactics. make sure the sales guy knows clearly what you want. he will respect you for being honest. informed people are actually easier to deal with. believe it or not a salesman doesnt enjoy spending 20 minutes talking some idiot into joining.

[Jilla82]

im the sales manager at a large gym. im going to tell you some things that you need to do.

1. PAY IN FULL!!! do not sign a monthly contract. you dont want the gym taking money of you account each month. ask for a trial membership or a free workout. try the gym out and then figure out how long you want to commit. then pay the **** in full. you will regret it if you dont.

2. join a 24 hour gym

3. ask other members about the quality of the training before you commit to paying the trainers 8000 bucks for 10 sessions. some gyms have great trainers, some have crappy ones.

4. make sure the gym is SUPER CLEAN. dirty gym means ****ty management.

5. dont fall for typical sales tactics. make sure the sales guy knows clearly what you want. he will respect you for being honest. informed people are actually easier to deal with. believe it or not a salesman doesnt enjoy spending 20 minutes talking some idiot into joining.
why do you say pay in full?

I dont want to drop $600 at one time on the gym, especially if a may change my mind 6months into joining the gym

[HazelEyes]

why do you say pay in full?

I dont want to drop $600 at one time on the gym, especially if a may change my mind 6months into joining the gym
You can't cancel the contract usually and you'll be stuck paying the 20% or better interest rates over the 3 year period or whatever they force you into.

Lifetime is a great value I think. Bally's charges close to the same price monthly. When I was paying for my own membership it was $40 a month and I was forced into a 3 year contract. And it was hell trying to get out of it, even though I went by their guidelines.

[Jilla82]

You can't cancel the contract usually and you'll be stuck paying the 20% or better interest rates over the 3 year period or whatever they force you into.

Lifetime is a great value I think. Bally's charges close to the same price monthly. When I was paying for my own membership it was $40 a month and I was forced into a 3 year contract. And it was hell trying to get out of it, even though I went by their guidelines.
ahh, I see, w/ my gym your able to cancel whenever and its only $50 a month

[Mic Soloist]

at the gym i work at it is HARD AS HELL to get out of a contract. they make it as hard as possible... for obvious reasons.

if you PIF you dont have to worry about monthly charges and/or eventually being sent to a collections agency. people owe thousands of bucks... it's some bad **** to get into.

i always try to get people to sign contracts for 24 months cuz i make more money than when they pay in full... but im keepin it real with ya'll. unless it's a month-2-month kinda gym, pay that **** in full. it's cheaper that way too.

[YoHomeGirl]

If you do Bally's under a "sign up a friend or family member" deal...you won't be subjected to a long contract. You can pay yearly.

[whoa4]

I joined a 24 hour gym once and I hated it. I like classes...weight training, cycling, step, etc and this gym offered none of that. Just people up at midnight gunning it on a treadmill.
I'd say find a gym with multiple locations...one near your job/school and one near your home. That way you're not driving out of the way on the weekends to work out.
24 hour is just really for people who don't have the time to go during the day, or are up at night like me.

I need to join a 24 hour club though. I be up at like 3:00 in the morning doing pushups and situps at home. For no reason...

[whoa4]

Yeah, I guess. I just didn't like it. It was soooo boring.
Yea, not really good if you're going to socialize or just to watch people an be entertained. More if you trying to focus on your workout with no distractions. Kinda like when serious athletes/lifters go to the gym early in the morning, or late at night on the evening and weekends so they won't be sidetracted or bothered.

[AnotherGirl]

*swims laps @ 2 am sometimes* i have a crazy work schedule though. my gym HAS to be 24 hours...

[whoa4]

See, I can't just get on an elliptical or treadmill and just be on it for 30 minutes or whatever. I'd probably fall asleep. I like taking classes because it's a set time and plus it's like you gotta finish because if you walk out you'll look like a gay.
bump that, i'll walk out that step class or be in it acting like Martin, Tommy, and Cole.

But yea, it could be boring, especially is you like the class/people environment.

I know in some that they don't have people working there at nigh. Did they have someone working at yours? or was it like Key activation and everything?

[whoa4]

Yeah, it was a guy sitting up front. He mostly was on the phone or had his feet propped up. You still had to swipe your key badge thingie.
I must've been mistaken then. I might get that job. There's a 24 hour Gold's right down the street from my house in ATL.

[offthabooks]

Just people up at 3am gunning it on a treadmill.

fixed & guilty as charged...

guy who works the overnight shift mainly sits at the desk looking at porn & listening to some crazy ass heavy metal music...some strange folks in there during those hours tho...tell me why:
-every treadmill is open & some dude decides to get on the treadmill right next to me urghhhh
-guy at the desk asks me "where I dance at" like it's nothin...guessing lots of scrippas frequent the gym during those hours.

[whoa4]

See that's ignorant. That's like people who use the bathroom stall right next to you when the rest are empty. Bullsh!t. Hey share some of your health tips with me. I saw in a thread that you got real healthy at one point. Hook me up
Yeah, it'd be a nice part time job. Either that or a 24 hour laundromat.
Fareal. And i'm a night time person. I'm seriously gonna ook that up when i get back

[offthabooks]

See that's ignorant. That's like people who use the bathroom stall right next to you when the rest are empty. Bullsh!t. Hey share some of your health tips with me. I saw in a thread that you got real healthy at one point. Hook me up

ha I was mad as hell...I was like damn, I know this muthfukka did not just decide to get on this treadmill right next to me...no, no, no...but whatever, can't do anything about it but get mad about it & think evil shyt to myself...

oh yesss I got on this health kick a few years ago...what kinda tips you need...diet, exercise? read the book "the truth about beauty"...I learned so much from there...natural hair/skin care is talked about alot in there which is something I'm really into as well...as far as general food tips go, I added green tea, cut down on coffee, completely eliminated soda, fast food, high fructose corn syrup, any junk food, white carbs...started drinking a ton of water...got on a good vitamin/mineral routine...

exercise...I'm doing about 4-5 days a week...hard to fit it in sometimes hence my 3am workouts...if you want video recommendation, lemmie know cuz I got a whole bunch I like.

and I'm about to start the master cleanse this weekend...

[offthabooks]

OMG, what do you eat?
lol stop...lots of stuff...alot of whole wheat pasta & brown rice, I love mediterranean/thai/indian food...I don't eat any red meat...pretty much the only time I eat chicken is when I have hot wings. if I want something, I eat it...I don't really feel like I deprive myself because trust me girl...I can eat. I just cut out all the crap I was eating before.

[offthabooks]

I like brown rice. I'm sick of chicken...that's all I eat really. What else is left besides turkey. I'm about to eat yogurt and cottage cheese for my protein.
I love yogurt...I can't really get with cottage cheese...well actually I haven't tried to yet, it just looks nasty...

check out this link for info on protein...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/85/98576