January is the biggest time of year for health club memberships—but without the right match, your New Year’s resolve may fall flat by February.
If you’re in the market, check out Consumer Reports’ recent article (based on a survey of more than 10,000 subscribers) about choosing a good gym.
Independent clubs and YMCAs are usually your best bet in terms of value, the report found. Big chains are generally more expensive, but often have more options.
If you are looking to join a new club, keep these smart-shopping tips from CR in mind.
• Get a free trial. You’ll likely have to listen to a sales pitch, then can work out for one day, or even one week.
• Ask about membership choices. Seniors or students can usually get special rates; many chains have levels of membership based on club access or amenities.
• Ask about payment options. You might pay more for a month-to-month plan, but it offers more freedom than a full-year contract.
• Don’t get pressured by a ‘special.’ Clubs run promotions all the time; about half the clubs had specials on the day Consumer Reports’ survey respondents visited.
• Try bargaining. Haggling down enrollment fees and even monthly dues worked for some of the Consumer Reports shoppers at big chains.
Another important point to consider? Convenience. To me, switching from a YMCA in Brooklyn to the New York Sports Clubs—with more than 50 locations in the city—was well worth the price increase. Now I can go to a gym near my office or home, and I’m making it there a lot more.
That’s what’s important to me. What about you? Do you love—or hate—your fitness club and why?
Comments (2)
I enjoy my fitness club. First of all, it’s for women and it’s all about pampering the woman. The gym I go to is called Total Woman Gym and Day Spa. I think there are many here in the California area and perhaps in other states. Not only do you get a great workout, you can also take great classes where the women there are having fun, not competing and trying to attract a man or anyone else for that matter, and there’s a spa, a jacuzzi, and an area where you can get facials, get waxed and get lovely massages. They have special types of memberships, such as a spa membership which includes the gym membership and half off the spa membership and then there’s the regular membership and student memberships. They are a bit pricey but I think given how it’s generated towards women, it’s a great place to work out, find and make friends and relax at the same time. Oh, and they do give out discounts to special people, have raffle prizes and sell boutique items, and they have a pilates studio, which does cost extra to use with a personal trainer. But they have pilates classes for those who don’t want to pay extra for one on one with a personal trainer.
Fortunately, work covers part of my gym membership cost at the NYHRC, which makes it economically-effective for a young professional such as myself. But, why don’t all companies cover part (or all) of their employees’ gym memberships? Think of the long-term cost-savings on the company’s health insurance premiums, increase in workplace morale, decrease in worker sick days…and those are just a few off the top of my head.