How much per year does everyone pay for your gym membership. I’m trying to decide between the two in my town that actually have free weights.
One has personal trainers at to extra charge and plenty of eqipment (i.e. free weights, various machines, and tread mills). The hours are 5:30am-9:00pm. Closed Sunday. It's $450 per year.
The other is a little smaller but has alot of equipment stuffed into it. It has a full sized boxing ring and bags. The owner (a scary huge man) teaches Greco-Roman Wrestling and Boxing for an additional charge. For $350 per year, you get a key and can use the facility anytime day or night, 7 days a week.
(I'm leaning towards this one.)
Which one would you pick? Trainers, or a 24/7 gym facility?
Well, my initial response would be go for the 24/7, but it depends on what your particular needs are. If you feel that you need a trainer, then that may be a better way to go. Are the hours to your liking/fit your schedule? Clearly if you see yourself working out on Sundays, then the first option is not for you. If your new to working out then a personal trainer (provided it’s a good one) may be in order, at least for a few times to get to learn the equipment.
Any decent gym should allow you a 1 week trial period (at least) before you commit. I’d take them up on it and see which one you feel most comfortable in (if your scared of the gym owner in the second one, it may not be an overall good environment for you).
24/7 facility. You can learn more than any personal trainer could ever know just by reading on your own. From what everyone here says, personal trainers are more of a pain than a help, I wouldn’t know personally though, I train at home.
Check them out for a week. See if the 24/7 gym has some guys who are knowledgable that you could train with. That way you wouldn’t need a personal trainer. I would like to learn the boxing too.
Does the 24/7 guy break kneecaps of people who mess with his gym? He seems like a brave or overly trusting soul to give out keys to people who he just knows by membership. Barring the occasional broken kneecap/mafia connection, id say go with the 24/7 place.
I’d check into the quality of the trainers - get them to give you some references. If the gym sells any add-on services (nutrition analysis, etc.) the “free” trainers may turn out to be salesmen pushing these services. Or they may be very inexperienced trainers getting some experience before they start up their own service. The closed-on-Sunday also sounds like a pain in the butt. Unless the trainers are good and justify the price difference and hours, I’d go with the 24/7 place.
There is a gym close to my house that is small but packed full of good stuff. The hours are 6:30am until 10:30pm weekdays and a bit shorter on the weekends I think. The price is $180 a year - and remember that is in Canadian dollars so that is around $120 american I think?
I’m going to use the 2 wk membership from the first one, to see what the personal trainers come up with. I’ve been reading T-Mag for over a year so I know enough to keep from wasting my time and money.
The owner of the other gym isn’t mean…just big. He seems to be polite and professional (of course we weren’t in the ring boxing or wrestling).
Well if you want to check out chicks when you train then the trainers gym would most definitely be better! If you just want to work out then than the 24 hr.club would be it. Just make sure the 24 hour club is a profitable business and that it’s not going to shut it’s doors 2 weeks after you pay your yearly membership. Oftentimes a gym in trouble will start selling discounted memberships, staying open all hours etc. in order to gain more money…this approach usually doesn’t work.
Let’s see. I own a gym. So, this seems a little strange to me for a couple of reasons.
However, I’d have to say that, while the owner is most likely insane, the 24/7 deal is to sweet to pass up. Hell, I wouldn’t get a workout in if I had to do it during regular hours!
Try to get an idea how his business is going. It would suck to drop 350 and find out after the fact that he is bankrupt. That place folds in 6 months, and you’re screwed. Just in case, find out if yearly memberships are bonded. If I remember correctly, anything past 60 days has to be. I guess localities may differ…
What about a spotter? I have a bench, pull up bar, plates, and isometric machine. I want to go from general strength trainning for sprinting, to full blown BB. Is it possible to make larege strength gains without a spotter (to keep the 300 pounds your benching to failure)?
For 450 bucks…I would go buy an olympic bar with a set of weights. Then go buy a huge mirror. There is your gym. 24/7. No schmucks, no greasy greco romans. And you can DJ your own party, No britney spears on the piped in music. You must be living in Podunk, maybe make a deal with a local high school coach to get the key to the weight room.
D_End or is it Rear_End. A 450.00 weight set for your home? A key to the high school weight room? Are you out of your friggin mind?
A home gym let alone a high school gym cannot compare to the atmosphere and service of a well run fitness center.
What one needs to do is work out at each facility for at least a week. This will give you an idea of the type of clientel, staff, and the overall quality of each gym. If a gym is reputable they will allow at least a free week trial.
A minute amount of cardio-crap, and tons of free weights, power cages, 5 flat benches, and dumbells up to 250… Damn I love it!
I actually drive 20 minutes to get there, past a Golds, and a Crappy ‘Health Club’. The atmosphere is perfect, chalk on the floor, flyers on a board for a few local contests (usually powerlifting meets), and pics of chicks in bikinis above the urinals
but the real icing on the cake, is the vending machine,… filled with quite the assortment of protein packed goodies (makes ya realize what a freaky sub culture we’re all part of)
