Overweight/skinny personal trainers – If a trainer knows what they’re doing then it is my belief at least that they should practice what they preach. That should be part of the job spec right? It’s a good advertisement for the gym and it inspires confidence in those who already go there. I’ve been going to the gym myself for ten years and I’m in pretty good shape, and while I don’t like to consider myself a snob there’s something very annoying about being told what to do by a guy whose arms look like matchsticks. Sure he might know what he’s doing and maybe has a tonne of knowledge that I don’t – but I have no guarantee of that. And to be honest a lot of trainers don’t know what they’re talking about and there are a good selection of Mickey Mouse PT courses out there that means anyone can pass and make the grade. If you’re a beginner they could very likely steer you in the wrong direction and possibly even course you damage; and if you’re an advanced bodybuilder and powerlifter they won’t have anything of value to pass on to you. The annoying thing is the way they like to chat with the big guys and posture about the place because they have an official t-shirt and name badge. Besides that, even if they do know how to get strong it’s just annoying if they tell you to do it and obviously don’t care themselves. It’s kind of like a lie... A real pet hate. Look around until you find someone who can back up what they say with indisputable muscle.Small print in the contract – A lot of gym contracts (or ‘health spas’ really, these are the main culprits for most of these problems) try to make claims about how long you have to sign up for. They’ll tell you that you can’t quit the gym without giving them months of prior notice, or that you have to sign on for a year. To start with, if you have to sign on for a year then look elsewhere. The majority of gyms ask for no such commitment and you should at least be able to get away with a six month contract. While most do ask for a joining fee they shouldn’t be trying to rope you into more use than you might need and you never know if you’re going to get ill or need to move. You need to be asking yourself why they’d need to tie you in to such a lengthy contract in the first place if what they were offering was good quality. Surely you won’t want to quit? Do lots of their customers try to leave? Ask them this and put them on the spot. And if you don’t sign up for a year and they tell you you have to give them three months notice before leaving (*cough* LA Fitness *cough*) then you tell them where they can go – especially if they hadn’t warned about this little snag in the first instance. The thing is they can’t actually stop you and the law will be in your favour if you cancel a payment for a service you’re not using. It’s kind of despicable really that these big successful gyms try to milk you for every penny when they really don’t need the extra cash. Hopefully people will cotton on and they’ll lose out in the long run. And if they still tell you can’t cancel? Go straight to the source and end your direct debit. There’s nothing they can do about that (just make sure you really do want to leave).
Discounts and deals – You also need to be suspicious of gyms offering you large discounts for signing up. They might say that it’s a Christmas bonus and that you don’t need to pay your sign up fee, or that you can get your membership for half price if you drag some other poor sucker into the deal. It’s a method they use to try and pressurise you into making a quick decision when unbeknownst to you – and trust me on this one – there will almost always be some kind of deal on. The problem is again that this really isn’t that honest and stinks of trying to do anything for the money. Think of all the customers that paid full price a year ago – that’ll be you next week when an even better deal comes along. It also just goes to show that the full price is way too high if they can afford to keep cutting it, and that they’re going to try and cram the place as full as possible, or that people are leaving and they’re desperate. If you do decide you want to sign up anyway then don’t be pressured by the deal as it’ll still be there, or be better, in not long at all, and tell them you’re going to pay even less. What a lot of people don’t realise is that you can haggle in places like this and you might as well play them at their own game. Tell them you can get a cheaper membership elsewhere, you know the sign up fee is a joke, and you’re not going to pay it. LA Fitness charged £75 for there joining fee – it’s a complete joke! Don’t be conned.
Gyms that don’t offer you a free trial – Any gym you go to look around should offer you the chance to try out the equipment for a day after showing you around. This means you can test you like the machines, that they have everything you need, and that it’s better than the competition in the area. If they don’t offer this then you should be very suspicious indeed. You wouldn’t by a computer without knowing the exact specs or getting to see it would you? This is when you then look out for some of the other things I’ve listed here; overweight trainers and faulty machines etc. It’s crucial.
Lack of equipment – If the gym lacks the equipment you need to do your daily workout then you obviously need to look elsewhere. That doesn’t mean necessarily that the gym is no good or even lacking for other people, but you need one that’s tailored to you. Like using kettle bells? Then look around until you find somewhere that offers that.
MTV – All these health spas (you get the opinion by now I hope that I’m generally a bit suspicious of health spas) these days have TVs on every wall, and even sometimes little headsets that let you listen while you’re working out doing your chest presses or running on the treadmill. Great, that means you can watch Eastenders or the Footy while you get fit right? Wrong – when you’re training you should be concentrating on the work out. Just focussing on the movement of the muscles and the technique you go through can make the workout more intense and lead to more growth in the area. While you can still probably ignore the TVs though you need to think about how much of your money is going into that Sky subscription and all those screens. At the same time you need to think about the general atmosphere of the place, the kind of clientele it’ll be attracting (those who don’t really want to train) and furthermore whether you think you have the mental drive and will power to stay focussed when Beyonce starts shaking her shapely behind on MTV...
Hidden costs – When you get that contract read it thoroughly and look out for ‘cancelation fees’ or fees to do the induction. They say the latter is for health and safety but when you’re clearly made of pure lean muscle you shouldn’t have to pay £15 to be shown around by a guy you could break in half with your little finger. It’s covering their asses sure I get that, but you shouldn’t have to pay for the privilege and you shouldn’t trust someone who doesn’t state all this up-front.
Classes – Classes are great if you want to take up a new hobby and maybe make some new acquaintances in a new city, but if you don’t, make sure you aren’t paying for them. If it says they’re free, that means you’re paying for them in the price of your membership. There should be specific bands depending on how many of the facilities you wish to use.
Long queues – If there are long queues to get on every station then go somewhere else. They might tell you this is only during peak time but there’s two problems with that: a) do you really want to train in the middle of the night or during your lunch break? And b) why are they trying to bully you into signing up when they can’t provide for their current clientele? And there’s nothing more annoying, trust me, than having a great workout ruined by having to wait around for the machine you want to use. You’ll lose any pump you’d achieved, miss the window for your protein consumption, and you may as well be training at home. Naughty gym owners! *Cough* LA Fitness *Cough*
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