Depending who you are and what your goals are, what it takes to find a gym could be very different from other people.

Here are a few things that come to my mind when I am looking for a gym.

• How long does it take to get there?

• Is the gym clean and inviting?

• Does it have the equipment that I am interested in?

• Is there plenty of room to get a good workout in?

• Do they have child care?

• Are there other things available like classes, swimming, or tanning?

The first thing to do is do a search for all the gyms in your area, and pick out the top 5 or so that would be closest to you, or to your work.  After you have located all the gyms in your area, stop by and check them out.

Take a tour of the gym, and try to talk to members if you can.  Check out all the things on your list of importance, and see how they rate.

While you are taking your tour, check out the staff at the gym.  Are they interacting with the members?  Are they helping with workouts, and able to answer questions?  I will never forget one of the first weeks at my gym when I asked one of the trainers for a smaller stability ball.  He looked at me almost cross eyed, and I had to show him what a stability ball was!

During your tour, make sure you check out the locker room.  Is it clean, most of all!  Do they provide lockers, showers, changing rooms, etc?

After you have taken a tour, talk to one of the sales people about pricing.  Make sure you know ALL the strings attached, like contracts, annual membership fees, fees for child care, etc.  Also find out if there are gyms in other cities and states, and if you can also workout there.

Remember when talking to the sales people at the gym, that they are sales people.  They want you to join so they can get a commission!  Just remember to make your mind up for yourself, do not let the sales person have an influence on your decision.  You don’t want to end up being stuck at a gym that you don’t feel comfortable in.

Make sure that they send you home with all of the pricing information so that you can compare prices once you are home.  Before you leave the gym, make sure that you have seen everything you would like to see, and know everything you can know about pricing.

As soon as you can, make the good old fashioned pro’s vs. con’s list.  Do this for every gym that you visit.

Compare your lists of the different gyms that you have visited, and limit it to a top two or three.  Before a decision is made, visit the gym again!

Remember, this is a place that you are going to visit almost every day, right?  You want to make sure that you are happy with your decision.

These tips should help you find a gym that will meet your needs.  Good luck, not in just finding a gym, but in reaching your workout goals!

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