[Mel]

I'm interested in knowing the top reasons people select a gym. Would be good to hear from participants here (instructor views are welcome, but also may be slightly biased). I don't necessarily want to know why participants SHOULD choose a gym, but rather, what are the main factors that make them choose in the first place.

[mikesbytes]

True I'm an instructor nowadays, but I joined as a participant. My requirement was that there was a gym near work, only problem was that my work location constantly changes, so my choice was limited to joining a major network. Nowadays I'm an instructor at the same network.

[Shane]

Hey, instructor here... BUT I still choose which gym to work at based on the same things....

Things of importance to me as a participant (in order):
1. Location (I aint driving for more than 20 minutes to get there)
2. Good Group Fitness (Ok, I was a Group Fitness addict, but I wanted a decent fitness room and a decent instructor.)
3. Membership Price (Sure Next Generation is close to work and has decent classes, but I aint paying THAT much!!)


Not much different as an instructor:
1. Location (I aint driving for more than 20 minutes to get there)
2. Good Group Fitness Facilities (More about the facilities now)

[Janne]

Since I moved last year I searched a gym that had all the Les Mills classes I wanted, good atmosphere and instructors and affordable. I found a gym that I liked and googled it for more opinions of people going there or why they didn't anymore. I then went to the gym and got an all week free classes pass which I used intensively and then decided I'd stay. They even payd 2 month of my former gym, so I could participate 2 month for free
Never regretted it, I'm really enjoying being there!

[jaffa]

I chose my first ever gym because of the timetable, having narrowed it down to gyms in my local area. It was the only one that had bodyjam more than once a week, and when I got my licence and started working further away, I stayed (rather than going to the uni gym which was cheaper) because I had a few locations to choose from in my area, and again, jam.

When I moved to Sydney, I "considered" (not particularly seriously) giving up teaching and would have gone with the big blue guys because my job involves quite a lot of travel around Sydney and it gives me lots of timetable choices. For example, today I have driven from home on the lower north shore, to the office WAY WAY up on the Northern Beaches, to Parramatta, back to the office and then finished up in Blacktown. Then I went to the gym on the way home.

[Hard_yards]

Hi Mel,

Having been on the lookout for a new gym, here's my take on this.

Which Gym:

I looked for a convenient location - for me this means close to home, or on the way home from work.

A timetable that works for me - this means the classes I want to do, at times I can do them. In turn this means after work - anything before 6.30pm isn't going to happen. (I posted a while ago about early morning classes - that was all too hard, so I'm back to evenings). Also, I'd like some early morning options on Saturday, which I've already requested at my new gym.


Why a Gym (or indeed group fitness):

I prefer group exercise to treadmill / bikes / free weights because I can just switch my mind off, and do what the instructor tells me; and if I do that properly I'll get a good workout - whereas left to my own devices I probably wouldn't ride the bike as hard as I do in RPM (for example).

I choose to go to a gym because I don't think I'd be sufficiently disciplined about exercise if I just went for a run or a ride or a swim or did one hundred crunches watching tv - it's funny because years ago that wouldn't have been an issue, now, I could barely be bothered.

I also like the social engagement a gym brings - it's nice to see familar faces at the classes you do; and certainly at my previous gym we had a very social approach to exercise.

[Taylorer]

As i realized I realized the pounds that had been steadily creeping up on me weren’t going to disappear on their own. I needed to get serious about my health before I started following in my mother’s footsteps with osteoporosis, high blood pressure and pre-diabetes. It was time to get to the gym.
i think this was reason enough for me to hit a gym...!

[SillyFencer]

I chose my gym carefully, yet it still came down to luck. lol... let me explain.

When I joined the gym, I used the following criteria:

Location
Price
Swimming Pool
Cleanliness
How busy it was likely to be.

No where in my list was group classes - because it was not a thought at the time. Now, it would be the absolutely critical factor, with the above being added benefits.

I had no intentions of doing any classes when I joined my gym, but as I had gotten bored of machines within three weeks I started going to the classes. As it turned out, I would have still chosen my gym as it has the best timetable, studios and instructors in town. Lucky! lol

This post has been edited by SillyFencer: 11 January 2012 - 10:38 AM

[Manuel]

Hello guys,
for me these are the reasons to choose a gym in that order ;
Exercise is one of the best things you can do to maintain your health and prevent disease, but how and where you choose to exercise is an individual decision.