How do people usually choose which fitness club to buy a membership to? They look at the price, whether it’s convenient to get there, and the appearance – based on a photo or a personal visit for a couple of minutes.
And as a result, then unpleasant “surprises” begin, for example:
- The price of the subscription does not include group classes, or they are included, but there are very few of them, and most are paid;
- the club was watched on a weekend or during the day, and in the evening on weekdays, just when you go, it turns out to be terribly crowded;
- in the hall itself everything is fine, but the locker room and shower, which we didn’t bother to look at, are very old and cramped.
And so on, just read any dissatisfied reviews about fitness clubs. Clubs do not deteriorate sharply; the service and number of services in them are always approximately the same from the opening. It’s just that when buying a subscription, for some reason many people seem to have their eyes closed.
This is what the fitness club looks like from the photo on its website
Therefore, below we will outline more different points that are worth considering when purchasing a subscription. Much is obvious, but often forgotten. And at the end, we will provide a short checklist of the main points that you should not forget to ask the sales managers at the fitness club.
Fitness Goals
Determine your priorities and goals. For example: - tone yourself up; - lose weight; - gain muscle mass, pump up; — master or improve skills in some direction (for example, boxing, crossfit or tennis); — play for fun: volleyball, football, basketball, water polo, etc.; - just swim, etc.
An important question: will you work out in a fitness club on your own, in individual classes with a trainer, or in specific group classes? Most often, people combine things, but one thing stands out.
It’s worth taking all this into account when choosing a club. Some fitness club memberships are all-inclusive, while at others you'll pay extra for all or certain group classes.
Perhaps a fitness club is completely unnecessary: if you want to “tighten up” your shape a little and sometimes run for health, working out at home and running on the street are quite suitable for you. Or not an annual subscription, but less or instead of unlimited - for a certain number of classes per year.
Price
An important factor is the cost of a gym or fitness center membership. Fortunately, due to the high competition in this service market, currently the prices for subscriptions are not exorbitant, and it is quite possible to choose an option for any wallet size. Depending on the amenities included in the price, time of visit, scope of services provided, etc. the price may change, various benefits and club promotions are possible. Such points must be found out in the sales department of this club or by phone.
Convenient location of the fitness club
Most people go to a gym near home, work, or on the way in between. Spending extra time on the road is rarely justified, because there are probably clubs near you with a similar level of service and price.
Therefore, pay attention to transport accessibility when choosing a fitness center or sports club. If you are by car – travel time, whether the entrances are convenient, whether there is parking. If by public transport - distance from the metro or stops. Even if on foot - how many minutes to walk and are you really ready to walk this route all the time? . The location itself where the club is located may also have a slight influence. It is much more pleasant to go there if it is in a good area than in an industrial area.
The building itself also has an impact. If the club is located in a shopping complex, this is rather a small plus. After training, you can eat, buy groceries for home, and relax. Although there may be a minus if the transparent glazing overlooks, for example, a food court.
Which side of the window would you like to be on?
Criterion 6. Sports for children
Often, parents want to instill a craving for a healthy lifestyle not only in themselves, but also in their children. Therefore, a variety of family fitness clubs, as well as specialized children's fitness centers, are very popular.
The advantages of the first are the opportunity to come with children and work out in parallel with them, leaving the kids with children's trainers and working on pumping up their own body.
Special fitness centers for children offer exclusively classes for children, also offering rooms of various functions - there can be dancing, yoga, a swimming pool, and many other physical training options.
Responsible parents should also first of all pay attention to the equipment - all equipment must be new, firmly fixed, as well as to the professional suitability of the trainers.
Don’t be lazy to ask managers for teacher education diplomas to avoid unpleasant situations, because the health of your children is at stake.
So, if you decide to change your usual rhythm of life and add a little sports to it, spend a little time searching for the ideal fitness club for you.
After all, in the case when you attend each of your workouts under pressure, you will receive minimal benefits from the exercises.
Your main task is not just to lose a couple of extra pounds, but also to enjoy the process of working your own muscles and leading a healthy lifestyle.
Fitness club opening hours
Ideally, the fitness club is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. But this happens very rarely. And not many people need it. A good and most common option is from 7 to 23 hours on weekdays, from 9 to 22 hours on weekends and holidays. Sometimes it’s a little better - up to 24 hours on weekdays or on weekends the same operating hours as on weekdays. Sometimes it can be worse – let’s say, the option from 9 to 22 o’clock on weekdays is less convenient. But again, it all depends on your schedule. Some people only go to the gym during the day.
Call to the fitness club
If the fitness club's website doesn't list prices, you'll probably have to call them first. And 2/3 of the clubs in Moscow and 1/2 of the clubs in St. Petersburg do not write down their prices (but that’s why we have collected on our website FitnessTop.ru the cost of annual passes for all fitness clubs, with a convenient filter by price).
They do not specifically indicate prices in order to encourage customers to call. And there the manager will try to convince you to come to the club, where he will also persistently sell a subscription. Even if you ask a simple question about the price of classes on their social networks, in most cases they will ask you to leave a phone number or write your own. A strange and annoying sales technique, but it is used in all fitness clubs.
Moreover, you will feel the fullness of the clinginess after a while. Even after a simple call, they will usually call you back within a week to ask what you decided. And they will repeat it later, with less frequency. And sometimes - even if you immediately refuse them. The best tactic here would be to say that they violated the Federal Law “On Personal Data.” You did not sign permission to use them, and calling you based on the fact that they once had your number is a violation of the law. They may even face large fines if you take the time to write it all down and send it to the right authorities. Well, or just enter the number in the phone block, if there is such an option.
Instead of calls or in parallel with them, SMS spam may begin. Various promotions will be showered on your phone, and this can continue for years. You can, of course, write to them with a request to remove your number from the mailing list, but not everyone is lucky. It’s better to simply block receiving SMS from this fitness club. This is easy to do if the sender's number is visible. But even if there is a name instead of a number, you can block it through the operator in a few seconds, while simultaneously complaining to him about spam. Google short numbers on how to do this - each mobile operator has its own procedures (for example, MTS 6333 and 4424).
Therefore, resume - better not leave your phone number! :) Although this is not a guarantee, alas, if you called them yourself.
When talking with the manager, ask immediately what you need. Otherwise, they will take the initiative with questions like “what do you want to attend in the hall,” etc. And for a few minutes they will scatter advertising slogans in front of you and invite you to come to them, emphasizing “only now a unique promotion.” And they will definitely try to sign you up somewhere - it would be nice for a free guest visit to a fitness club, when you can work out, or even just to the managers.
An artificial excitement is created, a feeling that they are supposedly busy. In fact, at almost any time you can come and calmly inspect the club and conclude an agreement (except perhaps during peak hours in large clubs during promotional periods).
The goal of managers is not to help you, but to sell.
Visit to the fitness club
Viewing photos and reading reviews is only enough to decide whether this fitness club is worth considering for yourself. And the decision to purchase should be made only after a personal visit. Especially if you take an annual subscription, and it’s not the cheapest one. Half of the fitness clubs, even expensive ones, offer a free trial visit (look in the additional services filter on FitnessTop). Sometimes it can be negotiated individually, even if there is no such option.
This is what the fitness club looks like on your first visit
Total area and number of halls
The more square meters, halls and their visual separation, the more freely it will be to study later. Large clubs have several rooms. There may even be game rooms or tennis courts.
Of course, everyone has their own idea of what a fitness club should be. But even in small fitness clubs there should be a standard in any case: a gym with a separate cardio zone and at least one, and preferably two rooms for group classes. As well as men's and women's locker rooms with showers and preferably a sauna.
Quality and quantity of equipment
It’s worth walking through the hall and looking at what you need: strength training equipment (weight block, lever, cable, electronically controlled), cardio equipment, free weights, additional equipment for aerobics and other activities (mats, step platforms, body bars, jump ropes, weights, fitballs , rubber bands).
When making sales, the manager will talk about equipment from “well-known brands.” But the brand does not always mean the best, only the minimum guarantee. And even if it is really famous, it is worth assessing the condition of the simulators. And even more important is the quantity, so as not to stand in line for the simulator later.
Evaluate the dumbbell row: ideally from 1 to 10 kg in 1 kg increments, and then in 2-2.5 kg increments up to at least 50 kg. How many barbells, what kind of bars? There are Olympic ones with a smooth glass with a diameter of 5 cm, there are amateur ones with a diameter of 3 cm and a screw-on nut.
Look how many pancakes there are in the hall. Are there many racks? Are there benches with adjustable angles? Is there a weightlifting platform (useful at least for deadlifts).
In old halls, the equipment is often welded by hand, riveted together from bolts and nuts. And prefabricated dumbbells. Of course, the main thing is that it works, but some people won’t like it, and the risks during the work are higher.
There should not be a high density of exercise equipment. Treadmills, exercise bikes, and ellipsoids should be at least an arm's length apart from each other.
Schedule of group classes
Find out about the types and number of group programs at the fitness club. See if their schedule works for you.
It often happens that not all such classes are included in the price of the subscription. And if there are many paid groups, managers will try to hide this point when purchasing a subscription. Therefore, it is better to immediately ask to familiarize yourself with the schedule of classes at the club and other conditions. For example, there may be limits on entries into groups.
Be sure to check the class schedule if you plan to attend group programs.
Criterion 4. Equipment
We smoothly move on to the topic of the technical equipment of the fitness club. After a long search, you have finally found a gym where training costs are quite low, and it is located in a neighboring house.
But upon arrival, an unpleasant sight awaits you: a treadmill, an exercise bike and a pair of dumbbells - that’s the entire range of sports equipment at the club.
Therefore, when purchasing a subscription, you should ask the manager to give you a short tour of the sports club. It would be in your best interest to find out what rooms the fitness center has so you know exactly what to expect in your preparation.
In addition, if the establishment has dance halls, yoga rooms, and a gym, then you have a wide range of choices.
Pay special attention to the fitness center with a swimming pool and its associated facilities - locker rooms and showers.
Sometimes the “behind the scenes” rooms can tell you much more than administrators and managers.
Condition of the main and additional premises
You will immediately notice the comfort of the gym and the quality of the renovation. But also immediately pay special attention to the ventilation systems, especially in summer. It is better if the ceilings are high - this is the only way to ensure high-quality ventilation of such a large and complex room as a fitness center.
It should be a little cool and fresh, especially in the cardio zone. Note whether the lighting is good. Too bright is tiring, but weak is worse and more dangerous.
Go to the locker room, look into the shower or sauna. Many reviews then complain about the lack of cleanliness there.
If the hall has a swimming pool, that’s a plus. The presence of hydromassage and Turkish hammam is also a plus. Although if you don’t need a pool, then this is rather a minus, since it is already included in the price. It is advisable that the pool be 25 m long - the minimum acceptable length for professional swimming pools. Very often there are only 3-4 lanes, not 6. Many reviews complain about the pool being full. If it is important to you, check immediately at the time you need how many people are there.
Key factors when choosing a gym
There are many factors that influence the choice of the gym in which you will train, but the most important are:
1) Subscription price. Probably the most important factor that everyone considers when choosing a gym. Many people are often on a limited budget and cannot afford to purchase a membership to an expensive fitness club, so they have to look for cheaper options.
2)Location. The first thing you should do is look for a gym near where you live. If your gym is located far from home, then the grueling journey will negatively affect the effectiveness of your training. Most likely, you will arrive at them lethargic and tired, especially if it is after a working day. After a workout, it is necessary to replenish the body with nutrients, and after spending more than an hour on the way home, the catabolism process neutralizes the entire effect of the workout. Therefore, the gym should be nearby and the journey to it should ideally take no more than 20-30 minutes.
3) Room area. Very often, gyms open in premises that are not intended for this purpose. Due to this, there is very little space for movement in the gym itself. Exercise machines and equipment are located close to each other and during the exercise, people passing by can interfere with you due to the crowded space. This situation causes not only discomfort but also the risk of injury due to negligence. Therefore, pay attention to the area of the gym, whether it is free to move there, how close the exercise equipment is to each other.
4) Floor covering and ventilation. The floor covering in the gym plays an important role. This is primarily due to the fact that during the exercises you need to stand confidently on your feet, it is important that your feet do not slip. Also, the room should be well ventilated. During training, it is very important to receive the required amount of oxygen, which is involved in many processes.
5) Equipped with all necessary elements. When choosing a gym, you should pay special attention to the number of exercise equipment and equipment that you need to achieve your goal. In a good gym, there are a variety of areas. For example, this is a free weights area where there are racks and barbells. Cardio zone, a place where cardio equipment, treadmills, exercise bikes, and step machines are installed. Exercise equipment area and functional training area.
6) Good coaching staff. Particular attention must be paid to this point. A coach is like the first teacher at school; it is very important that he is a qualified professional who will teach you everything you need. At the initial stages, the trainer must give you the correct technique for performing the exercises, schedule a training program that will take into account your physiological characteristics, think through and draw up a nutrition plan. Of course, you can train yourself, but as practice shows, training with a trainer will allow you to achieve the desired result much faster.
7)Additional services. If you need to visit a sauna or swimming pool after the gym, then you should pay attention to gyms that provide such services. Also now in many gyms there are rings, soft wrestling rooms, which can be effectively used to diversify the training process.
The above are the main factors that often influence the choice of a gym. Please note that you will need to work out in the gym, so take into account these recommendations, but rely on your own feelings, the atmosphere of the gym, etc. Your workouts should be comfortable and you should like the place where you train.
Additional services
Individual lessons are available everywhere, the question is the quality of the trainers and the price. If you are definitely not ready to study on your own, look in advance at what kind of trainers work here and their qualifications. Do you have medical or sports education, certificates, or work experience?
Some people need a fitness bar, solarium or massage. Not all fitness clubs have this all. But usually clubs from middle level and above already have them. Expensive clubs may also have a doctor or nutritionist and test clients.
Parents will find it useful to have a working children's room. There are paid ones and with limited operating hours.
It is very convenient when the fitness center provides free towels and there are coolers with water and cups.
Some clubs give clients several free guest visits for their friends, which can be convenient.
It will be an additional advantage if the fitness club has a convenient website or application. All well-known online clubs have their own applications. There you can view the schedule of group programs, sign up for classes, and freeze your subscription.
You can download the application and check its operation and schedule without a subscription.
Even something as seemingly trivial as whether music is playing in the hall can be important. It’s better if it plays, but in the background – quietly, unobtrusively and actively. And under no circumstances is it radio.
You can try to evaluate the politeness of the staff. There are many reviews on the Internet that are negative about this. However, for now you only communicate with sales managers, and they will definitely be as courteous as possible before the purchase. :)
And this is what the fitness club looks like a month after starting there
Subscription cost
There is a conditional division of fitness clubs into economy, business, premium and luxury. But it is not always true. Often a club says one thing in advertising, but in reality everything is different. It’s easier to look at the price and compare it with the quality and volume of services.
An annual subscription to cheap fitness clubs costs up to 10 thousand rubles. in St. Petersburg and up to 15 thousand rubles. in Moscow. This will be a standard rocking chair, several cardio machines, plus several group classes a day. Usually this is aerobics, yoga, stretching, Pilates, and sometimes boxing. The total area of the club is often in the region of 500-2000 m2.
In such fitness clubs there is almost never free water and towels, a children's room, or massage services. There is not always a sauna, solarium and fitness bar.
Often in such clubs, some of the classes are not included in the price of the subscription and are paid separately. If you go to such a paid group (3-4 thousand rubles per month), then it is logical that it is more profitable to immediately buy a subscription to a more expensive fitness club, where all classes are included in the price.
Average price category – 20-30 thousand rubles. in a year. There is a larger area (usually from 1500 to 4000 m2, although sometimes more), better equipment and service. There is almost always a sauna, solarium and fitness bar.
Half of the clubs will have a swimming pool, usually even a sports pool of 25 meters, usually with 3-4 lanes. There are also more group classes – both in quantity and in areas. Although some of them may also be paid.
Unlimited yearly passes to expensive fitness clubs cost 40-50 thousand rubles. in St. Petersburg and 50-100 thousand rubles. in Moscow. In general, in Moscow the price tag for fitness is higher, this is especially noticeable in expensive segments, where the difference can be 3-4 times for a club of the same level in the same chain.
In such clubs there are 15-20 types of fitness areas and the same number of workouts per day. Usually everything is included in the price. In addition to many additional services, such a fitness center often has a beauty salon or body care service.
These prices are valid for Moscow and St. Petersburg. In cities with a population of over a million, prices will be slightly lower, and even more so in small cities. There, the best fitness club in the city can cost 15-20 thousand rubles. per year (and at the same time be of average quality compared to the capital).
In our opinion, more than excellent quality of services for sports can be found already at a price of 30 to 50 thousand rubles. Anything higher is, as a rule, an additional payment “for VIP”, and not the quantity and quality of fitness services. For involvement in the community of wealthy people, but not for fitness. Exercise equipment or renovations in the shower should be good and nothing more.
Gold toilets and a trendy, but often not the most useful exercise machine will not help you get in shape.
Criterion 1. Cost
It is not without reason that this criterion ranks first among the determining factors in choosing a gym. Everyone wants to be slim and fit, but few are willing to pay tens of thousands of rubles for a one-month subscription.
According to monitoring of several clubs, prices for visiting a fitness center at one time vary from 200 to 1000 rubles. And if the minimum fee is still within reasonable limits, then, you see, few people will agree to pay a large amount just for the first day, on which, as a rule, a general study of the situation and policies of the fitness club takes place.
In addition, this amount will not include a personal lesson with a trainer, which means that visitors will be forced to intuitively use the equipment, and, as a rule, a one-time visit does not benefit the body, but causes a noticeable blow to the wallet.
In this regard, introducing a season ticket system is a much more economical choice. An unlimited subscription to a fitness center for a month of visits to Moscow sports clubs costs from 1,500 to 9,500 rubles.
These are very small amounts, because, dividing them into a month, you will receive a fairly small amount of funds per day - from 50 to 300 rubles, and taking into account the fact that the administration most often makes concessions and offers an installment system, paying for your sports activities will not cost a significant hit to your wallet.
Types of subscriptions
The subscription can be:
- for a certain time: a year, several months (usually 3 and 6), a month;
- for a certain number of classes (for example, 100 classes during the year).
It's worth finding out what's included in the price. In inexpensive clubs, very often group classes, all or only some, are not included in the price and are paid separately. And then the price of a subscription is 5 thousand rubles. will turn out to be a beautiful enticement if you definitely want to attend yoga or boxing classes.
Therefore, find out this moment in advance and count. Perhaps yoga alone is worth going to a specialized yoga studio. And if several areas are important to you, buy a subscription to a more expensive fitness club. There, all this will be included in the price, and as a bonus you will receive a higher level of service.
Card types: full, day, family, corporate, youth, pension.
The subscription can be with or without freezing. The better the freezing conditions, the cheaper fitness will cost you. The conditions include not only the period of freezing (usually about a month), but also the ability to split the freezing (for example, 7 days at a time - and not just 30 days at once), and whether this can be done remotely or retroactively.
It is worth finding out in advance whether there will be discounts on renewal. Usually, the longer a client goes to the gym, the cheaper the subscription costs him (up to 15-20%).
Nobody pays attention to the conditions for terminating a contract with a fitness club. And then it turns out that they will return to you not the part that you did not pay (for example, 50% for six months), but much less, since the contract stipulates the withholding of a large part of your payment. This is probably contrary to the Consumer Protection Law, but how many people will then go to court with this?
Every whim for your money
When the question arises of how to choose a gym, the issue of price will be important.
Before we are ready to shell out our money for training, we need to find out what they are giving us in return for our money. Do not hesitate to ask the administrator by phone in detail about what is offered to you at the selected gym. Is it possible to pay for one training session, for a month or for a year at once? Is it possible to transfer unused workouts to the next month? What additional services are there? Are there discounts and special offers? What form of payment? Is there a trial lesson? Is the stay in the gym or the number of workouts limited by the proposed subscription? All this is important!
Regarding additional services, there is no need to be afraid of seeming like a greedy person; you need to find out what is included in the price, what you need to pay for separately, what and how much it costs. It often happens that the price of a subscription may include, for example, a sauna, swimming pool or solarium. If you don’t want to overpay, I advise you to ask if you can get a subscription without these services. Well, if for some reason there is no such opportunity, then it would be appropriate to cross this room off the list. Well, or fork out
