I’ve decided to check out new gyms around me and possibly make a change. I’m not sure if this is a good decision or not but wanted to see what’s out there. Maybe this is a “grass is always greener” scenario, I’m not sure.
I put my regular membership at my gym on hold for a couple of months to give me time to check out other places. I’ve gone a cost-cutting phase and thought perhaps I could spend less on my gym. Plus, it seemed like a good idea to check out new places. I’ve belonged to this current gym for a long time so I’ve become very comfortable there.
I’ve been to a couple of gyms so far. Here’s what I’ve discovered.
The first gym I went to has lots of classes and plenty of machines. I’m finding it a bit intimidating to go to new classes but I suppose that I just need to do it. I think it would be a good way to figure out if I like this gym or not.
I wandered in to use the strength equipment. The benches were all taken and there weren’t any dumbbells between 5 and 30 pounds available. Since that’s what I needed, it crossed off any free weights for the day. So I wandered over to the machines and checked them out. I was a bit overwhelmed by trying to figure out which machines I wanted to use and what the settings should be. It really shouldn’t have been that difficult but I think I was just being a bit anxious about the whole thing.
I should remember what I wrote about a few years ago about starting at a gym. One thing I said was be sure to check out the classes.
I then went to a small chain gym near me. It was very small. It had some cardio equipment and some strength equipment but there were two people working out in there and it did not seem to have room for a third. Also, the manager met with me and was really pushing me to sign up for a weight loss program which isn’t why I wanted to be there. Everything “extra” that they offered was going to cost more. I’ve taken that gym off the list.
There are a few more places I want to check out. There are a few Planet Fitness locations in the area but none of them are convenient to get there. There’s a YMCA and a couple of community rec centers but again, none are particularly close to me. I may also check out a women’s only gym that offers personal training as part of the price.
I like the idea of having my gym close to me. It makes it more likely that I’ll go.
We’ll see how these new gyms work out. I may be glad I froze my gym membership because I may end up just going back to the place.
I went to the women’s only gym. I think it’d be a great place if you were just getting started. Lots of cardio machines and strength machines. Their dumbbells though only went up to 10 pounds and they had no benches or barbells. I’m not going to join this one.
Hi, Jill –
I have a longstanding membership with Anytime Fitness. I know that all of their facilities are different, and so some are better than others. I regularly go to the Sagamore Hills facility, on Rt. 82, and I love it: it’s big, clean, plenty of free weights, plenty of space to do plyos, etc. I mostly use the free weights and squat rack (they have a Smith machine, which I have learned to use for doing squats), and I rarely have to wait to use any piece of equipment. If I get there anytime (pun not intended) besides typical after-work hours, I find I have the place mostly to myself. And the cost is very reasonable.