Clay Whitaker BS, ACE CPT
Daniel Reese AS, ISSA CPT
1:Statistics
The numbers are against you, but there are easy ways to change them in your favor. 94% of members that set, record, and track goals before starting and during their program remain active 9 months later. Gym members are more likely to stick with their programs if they participate in at least one Group Fitness activity. Goal setting and getting involved in the club community are easy ways to ensure you continue on a successful fitness journey.
2:Your Objectives
It is important to know what your objectives are and communicate them when you join. A good health club will be a partner and invested in attaining your reasonable health and fitness ambitions. Look for ways the club supports you with recording and tracking your journey. It may be necessary to break long-term objectives into smaller 30, 60, or 90-day goals. Your health club support team should be able to help you with this. If not, move on to another club.
3:Variety
Many gyms are very limited in programs and equipment they offer. Another very important component of a program that keeps people engaged and progressing is variety. Following the same routine on similar equipment for a significant period is not only monotonous, but also inefficient, and will lead to lost motivation. It is important that your gym choice supports your specific goals and is large enough to offer a full line of fitness options. As mentioned earlier group training and classes may be very important to maintaining your motivation. There are some hardcore gym goers that do not need community and group training to maintain their plan, but those people are in the substantial minority.
4:Features
Features not offered by some health clubs, but that are very important to many members are:
- 24-hour access
- Group Fitness
- Childcare
- Showers
- Towel service
- Apps
- Certified personal trainers
5:Weight loss and fitness
Weight loss and fitness are related, but not the same thing. My doctor always says fitness happens at the gym, but weight-loss happens at the table. Many people communicate their goals in how many pounds they want to lose and weight-loss is important. However, their real ambitions are often different from the weight-loss. They are really interested in how they look and feel. Their real targets may be to gain energy, stamina, balance, flexibility, and the self-confidence! These are all things that many people believe weight-loss will provide, but weight-loss without adding fitness will disappoint!
6:Personal Training
A good personal trainer will be able to assist you in accomplishing your goals in much less time than you think. In addition to accelerating your progress toward your ambitions they will be able to help you spend less of your valuable time in the gym. Make sure they are interested in your objectives and tailor your program toward your goals. Be sure you are comfortable with your personal trainer. If not, asked to be assigned to another trainer. Professionals understand that not everyone is a good fit and will be happy for you to try someone else. After all, you attaining your fitness aspiration is what is important here!
Another valuable benefit of a good personal trainer is assisting you to avoid injury by ensuring you are utilizing proper technique. Even if you are not in a personal training program, trainers ought to be happy to assist if you have questions on a specific piece of equipment or movement.
Personal trainers should be certified by reputable and recognized organizations in the field. Nutrition must be an important part of their certification. Ask questions!
7:Memberships
Health clubs ought to have different memberships to meet a variety of member types and needs. When you look at the gathering in a gym it will be obvious one membership cannot fit every member. Some members make fitness a family affair and health clubs should offer family and couples plans.
Some health clubs are simply playing the “Numbers Game”. The “Numbers Game” is signing up as many people as possible and hope some stick or the price is so low they forget they are paying the monthly fee.
8:Contracts
At every business there are significant initial costs to bring on new customers. Some people have difficulty committing and lack the discipline to stick to most of their initiatives. Those people ought to stick with the month-to-month no contract memberships at a slightly higher cost and initial fees.
Some people set goals and have the discipline to always follow thru on those ambitions. Those members may take advantage of memberships with contract periods at a lower cost. Should you sign-up for a contract your health club is committing to providing you great service at a lower initial and monthly cost. In return for this benefit you are committing to a specific time period to remain a member unless very specific unforeseen circumstances occur. If you decide to end the contract early it is reasonable the business would recoup some of the benefit you realized during your partial contract period. Carefully consider your commitment level and the cost-benefit before entering into a health club contract.
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