STEVE WOOD, CHERRY HILL, NEW JERSEY, COURIER-POST
Perhaps your closet is filled with reminders of healthier times and resolutions gone by the wayside.
Perhaps the last hole of your belt is hanging by a thread.
If you’re pledging once more to lose pounds this New Year, find a gym that fits you.
Choosing a gym could be the first step on the weight-loss journey – right after announcing your resolution.
People who make serious resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t, according to a 2014 study by the University of Scranton.
Don’t dawdle: Our desire to keep resolutions seems to wane with age, according to the study. Only 14 percent of people over 40 achieve their resolutions each year, compared with 39 percent of twenty-somethings.
Here’s how to make the most of your gym membership.
Endure the crowd
Your obliques won’t be the only thing cramping in the New Year.
The hardest part of working out is the beginning, when your conditioning is nonexistent and the gym is stuffed with newbies.
“It’s picking up a little bit, but we’ll be jam packed for a good two weeks,” says Dawn Doherty, general manager at Retro Fitness in Moorestown, New Jersey.
The crowd eventually thins out, she adds.
“People realize what times work better.”
Get the personal touch
To learn the proper techniques and varied routines, consider starting with a personal trainer.
You don’t have to hire one for a year, says Nic deCaire, owner of Fusion Fitness in Newark. While some people do, others hire one to get started, to refresh their workout routines or to reach specific goals. A trainer’s ultimate goal is to educate people, he says.
“Personal trainers are going to be great for a couple of different reasons,” says deCaire. “If you don’t know what you’re doing, you need some guidance. You don’t want to start a fitness routine without knowing what you’re doing because there is a chance you might be injured. Another is boredom. If all you know to do is walk on a treadmill, that’s going to be boring. You won’t keep it up. A presonal trainer can help you develop a routine where it’s interesting every time and you’re not going to be bored and stop.
“And, if you’re going there for results, fitness changes all the time with the science we understand. You could have learned something 30 years ago in gym class and that’s all you know, but if you go in and start doing it, the science is all different from what you did 30 years ago.”
Trainers know people often can’t afford to hire them for a year.
“I want to make sure you know what you’re doing and can go out and repeat it without a trainer,” deCaire says. “If I didn’t do that, I didn’t do my job.”
Many gyms offer a personal training session with each membership. Some run specials through the year. And there are often specials offered on websites such as Groupon and LivingSocial.
Take advantage of trials
If you’re unsure of what gym is best, make sure you spend a little time and money trying it out. Many gyms will offer you a visit or two free, but there are other options and perks.
DeCaire’s Fusion Fitness ran a special in December offering one month for $19 so people could try it out. Retro Fitness on Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington is offering a $10 Amazon gift card if you sign up or refer a friend this month. Through Groupon or LivingSocial, Retro Fitness in New Jersey offers a one-month membership for $15 or a three-month membership for $30. As a whole, joining Retro Fitness means a monthly fee.
But there are other trials to consider once you’re in a gym: a series of nutrition, yoga or weight training classes are often offered at special prices in gyms to give people a taste of something different that might keep them interested in varying their routines.
“Trials are great,” DeCaire says. “Every facility is different. You can go in risk free and try places out and try to make sure it fits you and you like it without being afraid of being locked into a contract … We want you to come in and make sure it’s the right fit.”
The same applies for classes.
“We do a lot of personal training in big classes,” he says. “We offer trials that make sure it’s right for you. If you’re at a facility where they offer Zumba or Pilates, you might want to try it.”
Compare the costs
If the lack of bench presses at Planet Fitness doesn’t deliver the message, the signs surrounding the basic no-frills gym will: “No lunks allowed.”
With “no gym-timidation” and no judgment, Planet Fitness charges only $10 a month with a low sign-up fee that’s often waived. A basic membership grants access to only the gym where you signed, while the monthly $20 Black Membership allows you to work out at other locations.
Others have higher rates, but they often offer more in terms of classes, trainers and facilities.
After a $99 enrollment fee at UFC Gyms in New Jersey, a $79 monthly membership grants you access to both Turnersville and Cherry Hill locations, which include basic gym equipment and a fighting ring.
“I always tell people, you can get a steak at Ruth’s Chris or you can get one at Sizzler. They’re both steaks, but they are not the same,” says DeCaire. “You get what you pay for at $10 a month. If you’re a person who needs guidance and support, that’s probably not the right club for you. If you’re a person who knows what they’re doing and you just want to use the equipment, that’s a good club for you.”
He believes the hands-on service at Fusion Fitness sets it apart.
“The higher ends like us and the others are service based,” he says. “You come to us because you have some kind of result you know you want to achieve, and our model is based on making sure you get the results you’re looking for.”
Catch a movie
Instead of enjoying a popular movie with your hand in a potato chip bag, watch it on a stationary bike, elliptical or treadmill in one of Retro Fitness’s signature movie theaters.
As you work on cardio, blockbusters from the ’80s to today play nonstop in each theater. But Doughtery says the classes are a bigger hit than the movies.
“We love our movie theater,” Dougherty says. “We’re about to swap rooms because our classes are more popular.”
It’s another example of making a wise choice to get the most from a gym membership. DeCaire’s not a big fan because he thinks workouts should be short and intense and send people on their way into the day.
“You shouldn’t be going in and watching a two-hour movie and walking, but where I personally don’t agree with it, if that’s what is going to get you moving – great, do it. I’m all about movement,” he says.
Get some class
Do you get bored easily? Better stick to a facility boasting many classes, since they’re usually the only things that change regularly at a gym.
Retro Fitness allows members to take any class, and, thanks to on-demand technology, mostly at any time.
“You can take any class,” offers Dougherty, referring to spinning, Zumba Step, kickboxing, P90X and other activities offered in class format, too. “There’s a computer right by the room; the projector drops down. It’s almost lifelike.”
Several gyms have classes focusing on TRX, a total body workout based on suspension and resistance training.
While new workout programs may sound just like leftovers reheated and renamed, they serve an important function, says Peter Pernice, who owns Vitality Fitness in Collingswood, New Jersey.
“You can say it’s gimmicky and it is, but everybody loves variety and that’s what keeps people going. If you do the same thing, you get bored. The body stops responding if you do the same thing every time,” he says. “You got to mix it up.”
Know your limits
Going from couch to Crossfit may bruise your muscles and motivation.
“That’s the mistake people make,” according to Pernice, who doesn’t cater to bodybuilding. “They either get hurt, it’s too hard and they don’t stick with it.”
Then again, people also underestimate their abilities, taking themselves out of such classes as boot camp.
“They get fearful of the word boot camp,” he notes.
But Pernice has seen people in their 60s or who weigh 350 to 400 pounds thrive in these courses, thanks partly to considerate instructors.
“They modify everything,” he explains. “People do well in the boot camps.”
This is an area that full-service gyms can make a difference in.
“If someone walks through the doors, the last thing I want to do is see them do a workout where they can’t move the next day,” DeCaire says. “A good trainer will make you better, not just tired. The club needs to let people know their limits, and that’s by doing assessments and talking to them about their fitness history. What have you done? Are you the kind of person who likes to get beat up and lay on the floor, or do you want to be pushed just a little? You need to know your client when you’re working with them.”
Dive right in
Gyms with pools are helpful to people dealing with sore muscles and weak bones. Most YMCAs and many other gyms offer a pool in addition to racquetball courts, gym equipment, an indoor track and a basketball court.
The pools give members another exercise option: swimming, and there’s usually a series of classes offered in the pool, too. Those classes can help people get ready for tougher work that’s more high impact, uses weights or uses the cardio or weight machines in the other part of the gym.
Pools are expensive to maintain and require a lot of space, so many gyms don’t have them, DeCaire says. But they can be great for the right clients.
“For someone who’s in rehab or maybe has really bad arthritis or joint pain, they can go in and exercise in the pool and probably be pain free,” he says.
The bottom line in getting the most from a gym membership, DeCaire says, is to take advantage of everything a gym offers.
“If they offer classes, try them. If they offer some complimentary personal training, take it. Nutrition? Take advantage of it,” he says. “The more tools you have in your tool box, the more chances you’re going to be successful at achieving the results you want.”
The News Journal’s Betsy Price contributed to this story.
Source: http://www.delawareonline.com/story/life/2015/01/02/make-gym-membership/21188405/