You will (finally) give yourself back to the sport. And for good! But how to choose your gym? What to check before signing? To guide you in your choice, follow our 10 tips
This is one of our good resolutions of the year: we move !
But not anywhere. The ideal thing, especially when you get back to sports, is to practice in a gym.
A perfect place to be followed and accompanied by a coach, but also find training partners with whom to have fun during group lessons.
Check out gyms around you: gym near me
But before you start, here are some tips for choosing it.
1. Location
The first criterion for choosing your gym is its location. When you start the sport, it’s even more important to make sure you choose a club that is not too far from your home, so you do not have to apologize for drying out.
The ideal is a gym that is on his way, between home and work.
In addition, we must ensure accessibility: can we come by public transport ? Can we park without problem ?
2. Opening time
Whether you are very early or rather late-night, it is important to join a gym whose schedules suit us.
Some gyms are open late, which is ideal because if you train in the evening, after work, it must at least provide one hour of effort, without having the pressure of the closing time. In general, at least some nights are scheduled at certain evenings of the week.
Conversely, if you prefer to train in the morning, we check that the gym opens early, in order to benefit from its services.
Most gyms also open on weekends, a significant choice criterion.
3. Number of members
Some gyms accept a lot of members to make their clubs profitable. In practice, it’s a real constraint. When we train, we do not really want to wait a quarter of an hour in front of the machine that we covet … at the risk of losing motivation and stop our session.
If possible, we inquire with the commercial who welcomes us during our first visit on the number of registered.
And if we plan to go to the gym rather in the evening, we visit the schedule at which we will come to train, to check the availability of machines, lockers in the locker room and the number of people present.
A medium-sized gym is preferred to an overcrowded or deserted.
4. Group classes
The possibility of doing group lessons is often a little more popular, especially when you start the sport.
We inquire about the courses offered as well as their schedules and the conditions of access to the courses (do you have to pay a supplement or do you have to register beforehand?).
If we like the courses and the schedules are interesting, it’s a good point.
In general, all gyms that have the same types of courses: LesMills, zumba, yoga…
On the other hand, if we look for a specific category of courses, we make sure that the gym that we covet has the license to deliver them.
Find your future gym in UAE
5. The equipment's quality
We seek the essential and we are wary of the superfluous. What is needed for successful sport sessions?
A good gym should include, at a minimum, a free weight zone, where you can do weight training. It is important that this room be equipped with mirrors to control and correct our posture.
The gym must also include a machine area, which must be adaptable to best meet our specific needs. It is very important that there are coaches available in the gym to teach us how to use these machines.
We also ensure that there is a cardio zone, where we must find at least treadmills and bicycles. We check that they are in sufficient number. Everything else, elliptical, steppers… is optional.
Finally, a zone of relaxation and stretching guarantees the reliability of a good gym, since one must be able to find floor mats to stretch or finish with an abdominal session.
6. Health and Safety
We will sweat (a lot) and we will only have one desire after our session: showering! The hygiene of a gym is essential. She must be irreproachable.
We must not tolerate hair packs in doubly clean showers or toilets. To check the hygiene of our (future) gym, we ask to go to the bathroom during the visit. We can get a quick and very representative opinion. We must be uncompromising about the cleanliness of the place.
Similarly, security is very important.
Upon registration, we must be asked to provide a certificate of fitness for the sport, issued by a treating physician (or sign a waiver).
7. Atmosphere
Training in a good atmosphere is very important. And that motivates. But beware, a gym is not a nightclub.
When visiting, you must be attentive to the atmosphere in the club. Is the music too loud? Does it suit us? Is the staff friendly and available? Are those present only to chat or remain serious in their training?
A happy medium is better, we come to get into the sport, but if we can do some dating, it’s a plus.
8. Staff
9. Prices and fees
Of course, the price of the gym membership is one of the most important criteria for choosing it.
We take our time before signing and compare the different gyms available to us.
We do not hesitate to negotiate with the commercial who will make us sign the contract: we ask for a month of free subscription or a reduction during the first quarter. We must also learn about the different formulas that exist.
Some gyms offer only annual subscriptions, but it is often possible to register for the month, quarter or semester, which may be good to try a club before adopting it permanently.
10. Additional services
It is up to us to determine whether this part is important or not. Some gyms offer additional services. Most are charged a bit more, but sometimes it’s interesting for what you are looking for.
For example, gyms can be found where personalized coaching is offered at an additional cost. It is necessary to ask if the gym is correct even if one does not pay this service in addition (do I still have a follow-up?)
The majority of the gyms offer a complete check-up with the establishment of a suitable program during the first session.
In addition, we must ask ourselves if we are willing to pay more for access to additional services such as a steam room or sauna. If the answer is no, we look for another gym, cheaper and simpler.
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