3 Factors You Must Consider Before Joining A Gym
I remember the first gym I ever joined. It was a place called the Power Dome on Clark Street.
My flatmate and I joined because the flat we lived in was above the gym. The two owners offered us super cheap memberships to join so we wouldn’t complain about the noise of crashing weights at 5:30 am every morning. Smart business from the owners and being poor students at the time it suited our budgets.
It was my first introduction to the fitness industry and I loved it.
Fast track 25 years, 1000’s of workouts using 10+ different gyms in various parts of New Zealand and the world, it’s fair to say I’ve had my share of good and bad experiences as a gym member.
Over the past few years, I have seen more and more gyms enter the fitness industry. There are now gyms that exclusively offer Group Training, there's 24-hour access gyms, yoga studios, Spin studios, and the list goes on.
I've put hundreds of hours researching the best gym options over the past 25 years and what I have found is that there are 3 important factors that everyone needs to consider before joining a gym.
I have ranked these factors in order of importance so you can tick or eliminate your gym selection point by point.
Let’s get started.
#1 Factor when selecting a gym- PRICE, PRICE, PRICE.
What phase of life are you currently in? Still at school, studying at Polytechnic? Maybe you have just landed your first job or you’re recently married and have started a family. Wherever you are in life, only 5% of New Zealanders consider the PRICE of a gym membership irrelevant.
For the remaining 95% of us, PRICE is a major factor when choosing a gym.
I’ve done some shopping around for you in our local Dunedin market and the prices vary dramatically.
Standard gym memberships vary between $15 and $35 per week. From small box locally owned to huge chain gyms. Moneyhub have even compared all the big Dunedin chain gyms for you here.
There are also many Group Training Facilities that exclusively offer GROUP Classes, where you can expect to pay from $40 to $66 per week.
What you don’t often see in Dunedin are gym facilities that offer both standard 24-hour gym memberships and Group Training Facilities under the same roof.
Definitely, a bonus if you can find a gym facility that offers this.
#2 Factor when selecting a gym – Location & Car Parking
Dunedin’s not a big city BUT I bet you value your free time, so travelling to the other side of town to workout is likely to be your second deal-breaker.
Dunedin has one of the highest rates of gyms per capita in New Zealand. The majority of those gyms are conveniently located in our city area. Great access for you BUT wait there’s a problem. Car parking within the city limits is terrible and can add an additional $400-$500 a year to your gym membership. If you can find one, we’ve heard people are spending up to $15 per week just on parking.
Ideally, the gym you select will have enough of its own FREE car parking but still be central to the city for convenience.
#3 Factor when selecting a gym – Free Trial Week
If you can tick the first two factors off the list and you’ve got a gym in mind, then the next thing to look for is a free trial. Does the gym you're considering offer at least a 7 day Free Trial?
If you can try before you buy then you place yourself in a better position to tick all the boxes.
1. What type of people attend the gym.
2. What time the gym is busy?
3. What type of equipment the gym has.
4. Is the gym clean and tidy?
5. What are the opening hours (Ideally it’s a 24-hour facility)
6. Do they offer Group Fitness or Team Training classes
7. What other services does the gym provide
8. Are the staff, Trainers, Coaches friendly approachable and willing to help?
9. Do they offer FREE Personal Training sessions
Keep these three factors in mind and you’re off to a good start.
Stay safe, train hard, and be consistent.