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What to look for in a Gym?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I'm thinking of joining a gym soon. There are many in my area and I want to know what sort of thing to look for. I'm mainly doing it to improve circulation, build stamina and muscle.
Post edited by JustV on
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Hope this helps.
Alistair
Fine female specimens getting all hot and sweaty.
Do you feel comfortable in that gym? Are there "meatheads" hogging the equipment and not being very nice to new people etc... very rare nowadays.
Will you look forward to going there? Nice environment, temperature, drinking water etc...
The membership rules - are you being tied into a whole year of payments? Fitness First allows you to freeze or cancel your membership if the situation arises where you may need to, i have been caught out in the past where I joined a gym, had to move out of the area for job reasons but that gym wouldnt let me cancel my membership till the 12 months was up... ouch.
Are you looking to do the gym after work/college? If so the location - I find that the closer to work the better as then you can add it to your daily routine, and routine is the important factor in exercise. I used to find if my gum is close to home then I am more inclined just to go home!
But the busy thing is V important too - there is nothing more irritating than not being able to do the exercise that you want to. That or the idiots with insanely bad form swinging & heaving massive amounts of weight (watch some of the people on the lat pull down machine and you will see what I mean...) Normally the busiest times are Monday/Wednesday/Friday between 6pm and 7:30/8:00 pm... if you can get in there even 30-45 minutes before that you will get much more out of it.
Basically, the chains of gyms like Fitness First are very good in that they have a quality of staff and range of exertise that is usefull, generally have a good range of equipment and facilities and allow you to use their gyms wherever they are in the Uk, infact in the world. So if you go to another city you can use the Fitness First there too. Also, council backed/subsidised gyms are good too - look at leisure centres - but these can get more crowded...
Have fun!
*drools*
Yeah, why bother with all this getting fit shite, when you can just sit there an ogle?
Do you think Fit exercise loving women are going to go for something unfit and leery? No not really...
If anything then its going to deter them from going, deter them from getting fit and therefore reducing the amount of fit females around the place...
How about you just get on with your exercise, be friendly to people and they will be friendly back and maybe, just maybe, they may see you as a fit young friendly bloke ... who knows what may happen after that??
If not then quit the gym, save you money and make the place less crowded for people who want to improve their quality of life...
NOTE to OpenUp - when choosing your gym, look for people that are exercising not leering - especially if you are a woman...
NOTE TO KINGPIN: Get a sense of humour :rolleyes:
Appreciated and understood. I actually joined a small gym for the very reason that it is friendly.
Also, I'm not surrounded by "beefcakes" who seem more interested in sculpting than just being fit. I just can't motivate myself to be like that...
yes, but breasts mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
as for improving circulation...make sure its got good cardio equipment (stairmasters, cycles, treadmills, ellipticals)...a pool is good too. maybe even get into playing racquetball or squash.
i once had a 25lb plate 'slip' out of my hand onto a fool's foot.
That is funny, the 25lb plate sounds a bit drastic!!! But hey - whatever worked...
Lizzafins - with your comment about the comments guys make, I once complimented a girl at the gym because she had been in there a lot and had made obvious improvments in her fitness and her physique, are things like that unwelcome?
Hmm I wouldn't go as far as actually doing something that leaves a mark they can use as evidence
That kind of compliment is ok...I just get rather irritated with crude remarks that don't really have anything to do with why I am in a gym in the first place. Unlike most women, I am there to build strength for my sport (at 5'7" and 10 stone, I'm the smallest on my team)...I don't really care what my body looks like. Ok, maybe I would care, but I'm thin, tan, and toned. What more could I ask for?
Yeah, 25lb was a little much. But it wasn't a random guy. I had had problems with him before. Both in and out of the gym.
There's a difference between noticing she's there and staring at them.... Most girls like to be noticed but not stared at. Myself when training I often get so in the zone that I recognise that other people are there in the room, but don't even notice them....
but im too shy to let them notice me noticing them and way too shy to say anything to someone i dont know.
Ah well I dont mind ...
So gym sterotypes are true then
I bet you don't even know the true sporting definition of "the Zone"
I do.
Its that moment when the pint glass reaches your lips
I pay £33 per month and thats the top member ship (they have off peak memberships available for cheaper too...) then there is the joining fee but ask if your company, especially if its a big corporation or something, has a deal with them as you can sometimes get the joining fee waived...
No more council faciities pour moi.
I don't understand how people can pull in the gym, there is one girl who goes to my gym in full make up, perfect hair and cute pink DKNY outfits. I don't get that. When I go I wear supportive clothes and get sweaty, not very attractive, well it's attractive in a healthy and glowing kind of way but not exactly sexy.
But yes, I like to look at the men, not in an overtly obvious way but with all those mirrors I can sneak a look at the (very few) nice ones. I go at cheap times which are mostly pensioners!
Thanks for the advice on what to look for in a gym, it will prove helpful I am sure. The one thing I find annoying is gyms that won't tell you the prices but insist on giving you a tour. Grrr.
hey sir cum, well its £28 a month and £50 joining fee and £20 admin its really nice in there to, its got a relaxation room with sunbeds, a sauna, a wet room and a steam room....... ahh brings back memories of the steam room incident.......;)