Should I go to gym? Let’s face it, there are a thousand of different gyms out there and all of them are offering different packages to their clients. Even in large shopping mall they exist. Perhaps, people are getting more aware of their health and want to live a healthy lifestyle.

Gymnasium

Exercise is essential for optimum health, maintaining weight and relieving tension. Doing exercise has so many benefits that it’s hard to ignore its importance. Making the time to get healthy is a wise decision that you won’t regret later on.

When you think about starting to exercise, there are two options. You can either join some sort of fitness institution, like a gym or sports club or you can do it on your own by doing things like outdoor activities or home workouts.

Regular exercise is associated with a lot of health benefits. Some physical activities are better than none. For substantial health benefits, people should engage at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity of aerobic activities.

Some of the health benefits obtained through regular exercise:

• Control and help lose weight
• Lower risk of heart disease
• Lower risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
• Lower risk of some cancer
• Strengthen bone and muscle
• Improve mental health
• Increase self esteem
• Increase your life span

There is a lot more health benefits that need not to be mentioned here. Various scientific studies have proven it. Aerobic activities such as jogging, running and cycling make you breathe harder and cause your heart to beat faster. Resistance activities such as lifting weights and using resistance bands make your muscle stronger.

A happy life is a healthy one. Many people think that by joining a gym can assist them becoming fit and healthy in shorter time. Some think that joining a gym are only for those who have spare time and money. There are many components to consider before engaging yourself in any gym.

Before are examples of questions to ask when choosing a gym:

• What are the operational hours?
• How much does the membership cost? Are there any special packages offered?
• What are the billing cycles and can you pay it upfront?
• What do you have to do to cancel?
• Is the staff certified and trained to handle emergency situation?
• Is the gym well equipped and have various machines?
• Is the equipment well maintained?
• Do they have medical screening before starting program?
• Are there any extra fees involved?
• Are the class sizes limited?
• Do they have any body composition testing?
• What equipment get used the most?
• How clean is the gym?

A trip to a gym has its advantages. The following are some advantages of going to a gym:

• Well-equipped facilities with advanced gym equipment such as treadmill, stationary cycling and multi-gym weight machine.
• Certain gym have access to various facilities such as swimming pool, dance studio and sauna. This will give you variety of activities during your gym sessions to avoid boredom.

Sauna image from en.wikipedia.org

Swimming pool image from www.dailymail.co.uk

• Gym also provides personal trainers, instructors or other gym members that you can ask for help or advice. Certain gym also provides nutritionist, physical therapist, yoga instructors and aerobic teachers
• Joining a gym is better than to have your own personal equipment at home. Equipments for a gym are too costly and will cost you a great deal of money.
• Gym is also a good place to know other gym members and to share experiences regarding exercise, for socializing and meeting new friends.
• Bad weather can be an excuse of not doing exercise outdoors. Luckily enough for you, the gym is inside and eliminates this problem.
• Environment in the gym also motivates you to exercise as others also come there for one ultimate goals and that is to exercise and stay healthy.

Aerobic session

However, there are some drawbacks of joining a gym:

• The greatest disadvantage of joining a gym is the high cost. Apart from membership fee, there is also a regular fee. If you hire a personal trainer, there would be extra charges. Some gym also charges for lockers and parking lots especially if it’s located in shopping mall or offices block.

Lockers image from www.localfitness.com.au

• Another trouble is regarding time and location. A spare time to travel to the gym also requires a lot of effort.
  • Some people need some privacy during their workout.
  • There is also a question on availability of gym equipment especially during peak hours when people are rushing to use the same equipment at the same time.

If you’re considering to join a gym, here are some tips to guide you:

• Find a gym that is accessible to you where you don’t have to travel very far and you wouldn’t mind driving to.
• Make sure the operational hours suits you so that you can comfortably get in a workout and not be pushed by time. If not, you will be wasting money by not being able to fully utilize the facility. The best choice is the one that opens 24 hours a day.
• Cost should be at the top of your list. How much money will it costs you? And will you get your money’s worth? You want to make sure that the money you pay is well spent. Make sure you are paying for exactly what you want for that price. You need to find out what extra features come with the membership and what you have to pay extra for.
• Make sure you try the free trial they offer if any. Then decide wisely.

Free trial coupon from crullfitness.com

• Another thing to watch out for are gym that make you sign in your membership with long term agreement. Say down the road you don’t like the gym or something happen which you turns off. You have no way getting out of it. Now you’ll get stuck paying the gym without using it.
• Make sure the gym have adequate spaces and a lot of equipment. During peak hours, people would come and you don’t want to queue up waiting for an equipment you want to use.

Adequate space and gym equipments from www.brookdalecc.edu

• Are there any staff who is cleaning the gym and wiping the equipment? If the place looks like a mess, you need to evaluate if that is something you can put up with everyday visiting the gym. For most people, a trashy gym is a huge turnoff.
• The equipment that you used, must be in a good working condition. Look around to see how the members are handling the equipment. Are they dropping the dumbbells on the floor? Are they slamming the machine weights down when they are complete with their sets? If you see any of these things, be wary about the gym and equipment.
• What type of people are working out at the gym? Make sure you feel comfortable working around the people you see in the gym. Do you see many men? Do you see mainly women? Is there a good split between them?
• Find a gym with a good atmosphere such as bright and energizes you. Find a gym that is inspirational that motivates you to workout.

Before signing up a gym membership, make sure you consider what have been mentioned above. When you are there, don’t be afraid to ask questions. When it comes down to decide and act, a gym membership is an investment – an investment towards better health.

References:

1. http://healthyliving.azcentral.com
2. http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/155288/10-Reasons-We-Should-Go-To-The-Gym
3. http://healthfinder.gov