How to Choose a Gym

Copyright 2006 Dave Draper

It takes courage to seek out a gym and walk through the
front door expecting a throng of obnoxiously confident and
shapely bodies to evaluate your hips and biceps. Your nifty
home gym in the garage, basement or bedroom becomes most
attractive suddenly, limitations and all.

Gyms come in all shapes and sizes: squares, rectangles,
L-shaped, U-shaped, upper level, two stories. Go to the
cities and they're on penthouse floors; go to the suburbs
and they cover acres, with ball courts, pools, restaurants
and golf facilities. Each gym has its own personality
largely based on its ownership and operating team, the
neighborhood in which it resides and, subsequently, the
folks it attracts. Like a mate, there's a gym for everybody.

Here's a summary of determining factors to consider, and
how they might suit your expectations:

Price
A usual first consideration, but how much it costs to get
the most of what you want and need should not be at the top
of the list. Hopefully you'll recognize the imperative
nature and true value of your training activity and decide
that you'd easily pay more for a gym that inspires.

Location
The nearer to home, work or the center of your activities,
the better. The world has become complicated and excuses
fly when we're on the wrong side of town. Time is money.
Right? Truth is, there's no excuse to put your health and
well-being in second place to getting home or even going to
the bank. Convenience is golden. However, don't let it
dictate joining a gym you find unlikable just because it's
at your offramp.

Hours
Here's where 24-hour gyms shine. Just knowing you can go
anytime you want has a great appeal. Where do you fit in?
Try your best to set a time when your minutes in the gym
are honored, unrushed and efficaciously applied. Smile. Be
happy. Will you really train at 3a.m.?

Phone contact
Let your fingers do the walking for the first curious
steps. If you dial a likely gym and the gym employee snaps,
"What do you want?," you might put a little question mark
by that name and go on to the next facility on your list.
If you ask price and the answer becomes a secret, put a
check by that name and move on. Slick talk is not reserved
for carnivals and used-car dealerships. We have to be
sharp. Listen for honesty as you engage in conversation,
whether professionally conveyed or offered through
inexperienced youthfulness. Eventually you'll want your
answers made clear in a visit and a week's worth of
complimentary workouts.

Member volume
How crowded does your prospective gym get? This is a major
consideration and can be determined only by visiting the
facility at those hours when you'll normally train. Hop on
a stationary bike for a 15-minute cruise and assess your
surroundings. What if this was your home training ground? A
grand gym down the street with all the attractions and
equipment is of no use at all if you can't work out with
focus and efficiency because there are too many bodies on
the floor. In fact, the anxiety that ensues is a near
crisis to the serious trainer. You want to move smoothly
from exercise to exercise without mobs, glares or testy
attitudes. Hey, is there parking?

Amenities
Don't pay for a lap pool, giant sauna, lounge and aerobics
room if you're not going to use them. More is not
necessarily better, and it might be necessarily more
expensive. Larger gyms tend to be clubby. Is that what
you're looking for?

Equipment
The quality and condition of equipment and the choice of
the tools of the trade are central to the final decision.
Well-maintained, seasoned machinery-not fresh out of the
crate-can be more useful and fun than the recent trick
gadgetry turned out daily in this big-bucks industry by
tacky, techy entrepreneurs. Enough equipment is enough; too
much, poorly laid out, can be a setting for a factory and
not an appealing, functional gym.

Atmosphere
Are you standing in a muscle-building gym or a scene where
boy meets girl and they hang out like it was the mall? Do
the babes cheer the big guys as they spear their Olympic
bars across the floor and grunt? Do you think this is cool?
No? Go to the next merchant of fitness on your list.

Management attitude
Look for respect, politeness, honest and direct answers,
and an eagerness to show you around to discuss your needs
and the gym's attributes. Do you feel like a number, a
dollar sign or a fellow iron-and-steel aficionado? It
happens not infrequently that a good gym is the victim of
the bad rap that comes from the bottom-line sharks uptown
and several minutes of open conversation brings the dross
to the surface.

Clientele
Who's to your left, who's to your right and can you stand
them? Are they snobs; are they slobs? Do they yell, groan
and bang the weights around? I'm bad. Do they tiptoe,
wiggle and whimper? You want to feel comfortable, accepted,
appreciated and encouraged where ever you are. You want to
look forward to your time in the gym when you can focus,
learn and grow. A good gym should be a refuge where you can
lick your wounds, as well as a haven of energy for hard
work and physical expression.

Cleanliness
Cleanliness and neatness are two outstanding qualities that
define the ownership and membership. They are marks of
order, responsibility and respect. Perfect is not possible
where people by the hundreds work and play, but a unified
effort to keep the corners clean is admirable, to say
nothing of hygienic. Let's put our weights away and pick up
after ourselves, encouraged the merry ole muscle maker in a
jolly voice.

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Dave Draper, former Mr. Universe, writes a weekly email
newsletter -- sign up for free at his website,
http://www.davedraper.com , where you'll also find workout
routines and advice, an active discussion forum and, of
course, a hefty instructional blog.