Getting The Most From Your Gym Membership

Everyone who has a gym membership wishes that it were a little bit cheaper.

But thanks to those corporate fat cats (that’s you Bannatyne!) there’s more chance of an everlasting Kardashian wedding than your membership fee going down.

So how can you get the most out of your monthly dues?

Let gymtalkalk help you out…

Signing up

If you are signing up to a new gym always ask if they have any promotions on when you sign up.

Many gyms will give you free bags, bottles and towels when you hand over your dollars.

If you are already a paid up member and you have a friend who wants to join up, find out if they can give you a ‘refer a friend’ discount, be it a free month’s membership for both of you, money off your next bill, or a complimentary footjob.

Even if it’s not advertised, ask, and even if the answer is ‘no’, um-and-ah about it and chances are the management will find a workaround.

Finally, it’s worth asking if they can waive any joining fees they have.

Not likely that they will but you might as well ask!

In the gym

Again, find out if there are any promotions going on.

Many gyms will run a gym challenge and, in my experience, the prizes can be excellent, ranging from free personal training sessions to top of the range supplements.

The participation in these can be minimal – with just a little effort you can win the thing fairly easily.

Another way to improve your gym experience is to, well, complain.

If there is any bit of equipment you would like in your gym, or if certain machines are a bit past it, making sure a member of staff knows it is one way to get it sorted.

Obviously don’t go mental – just let them know.

Also, if there is any new gear (not heroin) you’d like available, most gyms have ‘tell us what you think’ cards.

Fill in one every time you visit and just write a different name!

You’re paying for the pleasure of using their facility, so make sure you have everything you need to build the body you want.

The staff

I know, I know, some gym staff are about as useful as a one-legged man in an arse kicking contest, but there will be someone there who is a passionate about health and fitness as you are, or else they wouldn’t be working there.

It’s always worth asking them a few questions you have about your training or nutrition and seeing if they have any pearls of wisdom or workout tips for you.

Some gyms will even offer free programmes for you which can be well worth looking into.

A savvy instructor will be able to identify any weaknesses in your current routine and hopefully tweak it to deliver better results.

Classes

Now, hear me out.

Everyone hates cardio so why not get it over and done with by taking a spinning class?

You’ll probably get more out of it than slaving away on a cross trainer.

How is your flexibility and joint strength?

If it’s terrible why not take a Yoga class?

It can end up being a pretty tough workout and, on the plus side, the male to female ratio is at least 1:9.

And who doesn’t love a bit of downward dog?

Optional extras

If you are lucky enough to have free use of things like saunas and steam rooms as part of your membership, you better be taking advantage of it!

Firstly it makes you feel like a complete baller, and, secondly, it costs the gym more money to run them than they get from your membership alone.

So you get the satisfaction of doing over Mr. Bannatyne.

Ultimately, make sure you are getting every penny’s worth out of you gym.

In this economy every one does count!

And remember that you are the customer, you wouldn’t pay for dinner and be happy than you only got the peas and potatoes when the steak didn’t arrive.

Get that steak!

With peppercorn sauce on the side!

What about you?

Let me know if you found this useful and let us know of any gyms out there taking your hard-earned cash for inferior service.

What are your nightmare stories?

And, as always, keep on lifting!