Guest Author Bio: Kalen Smith writes about health insurance and related topics for http://www.healthinsurancequotes.org/
Many people would love to lose weight but come up with every excuse possible not to work out. One of their most common excuses is that it costs too much to join a gym. Here are six tips to make joining a gym more affordable and give you one less excuse to get in shape:
1. Don’t go to an expensive gym. Fancy athletic clubs have a lot of extra facilities that will make your stay more fun but will not help you lose weight. Don’t spend money on extra incentives that won’t help you reach your fitness goals. Tanning booths won’t do anything for you except cause cancer. Whirl pools and steam rooms are equally useless for getting in shape. Remember, you are joining a gym, not a spa.
2. Experiment with free trials. Many gyms will let you join a month for free. Don’t feel guilty taking advantage of free trials. You are going to make a decision sooner or later and might as well be informed. Gym owners know not everyone is going to stay around after the first month. Remember, these are promotional incentives to get people hooked into coming back.
3. Join at the right time. More people look to join a gym in the colder months, so if you sign up in June or July you will probably be given a price break. Remember, they are looking for long-term members and will cut the price to bring members in year round. You can also try joining at the end of the month when sales people are desperate to meet their quotas.
4. Avoid contracts. When you sign a contract, you give up your right to negotiate. Gym memberships are more negotiable than you may think, particularly with reasonable managers. Don’t give up that power. You also won’t be able to change your mind if you don’t like the experience.
5. Look for gyms that let you freeze your membership. If you have to travel, many gyms will let you put your membership on hold. Just be sure that you do this ahead of time. Gym owners aren’t in the business of offering refunds to people who are too lazy to show up. If they were, they would probably be giving refunds to half their clients.
6. Take advantage of health insurance discounts. My health insurance company used to pay for my gym membership if I attended eight or more times a month. I don’t think they do this anymore. However, most insurers will still provide discounts to members who visit regularly.
Joining a gym doesn’t have to be expensive. There are a variety of ways to cut your membership costs, so that’s one less excuse you have to get in shape.
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And then read “Skip the Gym, Sweat at Home”!
My Dad and I moved my weight machine last night. Not an easy task as the floor joists are only 6.5″ from the ground. We did a lot of heavy tipping. We will likely buy his very nice and horribly underused exercise bike. Couple that with some good work out mats and free weights – we’re almost done our home gym!
@ SPF. Awesome. It doesn’t take much to get an effective home gym working. We really like our resistance bands. They are so compact and versatile. I used to have a Bowflex but it wouldn’t fit the low basement ceiling in our new house so we gave it to my Dad. Mind as well have someone else benefit right?!
I recently joined an all womens gym with no extra hoopla to get in the way. It’s a gym with machines and weights and a section for the classes and thats it. No fancy shmanzy mombo jumpo that others pay their ‘elite’ clubs like a juice bar, tanning salon and a steam room and whirlpool. I actually saved $128 by paying for the full year membership up front. Of course, they do not tell you that by paying for the full year you’re saving on money. They like having their promotions to seem like $20/month is a steal when in reality you’re over paying.
@ Betty. Ya, you have to watch those marketers. $128 for a full year is a great deal. We belong to our local university’s gym and they let you keep your student rate forever as long as you don’t let it expire. We don’t pay much different than you. It is a great deal compared to what we would have to pay if we didn’t get the student rate.
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