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It’s not always good to lose pounds at the gym. Never think “it's only £30 a month”. If it's a year contract, remember that's a £360 bill. This is a full list of the lastest free gym trials and bargain memberships.

Free no strings trials

Before you think about joining the gym, grab a free trial to test whether the new fitness regime's for you. Most gyms offer free day-long trials, and with hidden web deals you can push it to five days. These are also worth it if you don't want to join, but just want a few days in a fancy health club as a treat.

If you can't find a trial offer for your gym, call and ask. It's bound to say yes – or ask a friend if they've a guest pass. And while you're taking your free trial, ask some folks in the changing room if they're happy with the gym's contract or service (though it's probably best to wait till they're decent first!).

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Trial memberships – no lock-in

Gyms are packed in January, but a few months later, half the people disappear. Resolutions have gone, but they're locked into a contract, possibly paying £100s a year for nowt.

If it's your first time at a gym, you don't know whether you'll be more coach potato than gym bunny come March. So be very careful about signing a contract. Trial memberships are a good halfway house. You pay for the privilege, but are free to go elsewhere once the trial's up – or to stop paying if you no longer go.

If the gym chain you'd like to go to doesn't offer an official trial membership (most don't), it's still worth asking at the local branch. They might do you a deal. Here are some of the best of them.

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The best private gym offers

Gyms aren't cheap. Add membership administration fees to the monthly charge and the annual cost is usually north of £500. In the gym industry, there's a term called 'gym turkeys', meaning folks come in in January and never turn up again – even though they're locked into a year's contract.

So first reading private gym alternatives to see if you really need a posh gym at all and before you sign, read how to negotiate a gym deal. Most importantly, always read the contract!

If you do want to sign up, do check if your employer offers subsidised gym membership or has a relationship with a gym, which can be at silly prices.

Also check for short-term local promotions, which often beat nationwide offers. Here is a list of fully updated deals:

Here are some the top national offers, though always see if you can negotiate a better one:

• LA Fitness: 75% off cost of membership with Tesco

  You can join LA Fitness for a quarter of the normal price, if you collect Tesco Clubcard points. When you convert Clubcard vouchers into Tesco Rewards, they are worth four times as much as normal. LA Fitness is a member of the scheme, and you can use them as part or full payment towards an annual membership and joining/admin fee.

  Each £2.50 in Clubcard vouchers is worth £10 in Deals so, gym bunnies wanting to join in Manchester, for example, could cut the cost of annual peak membership, valid for entry in all the chain's gyms nationwide, from £930 to £233 (including joining fee). There's more on maximising Tesco Clubcard points in the Loyalty Schemes guide.

• LA Fitness: Pay for 12 months, get 6 or 3 months free

  This month LA Fitness is giving six months free membership when you pay for a year's membership before 31 Jan. In the London/M25 area it's three months free membership. So if you pay for 12 months, you'll get 18 or 15 for the same price. The typical cost of membership is £816, so this could mean savings of over £400. There may be a joining fee, depending on the club. Offer ends 31 Jan. To get the offer, call up to arrange an appointment at your nearest LA Fitness.

• British Military Fitness: Save £8 per month

  Sign up to the Times Health Club for free, and you can save £8 per month on British Military Fitness membership in London or get corporate rates in other regions. To grab the deal, just join the Times health club, then follow the instructions to sign up for a free trial class, selecting that you heard about BMF through the Times.
  
  After the 1-day trial, call to join and you'll get discounted membership. The discount rate lasts indefinitely and the minimum contract is 3 months. Do note that this cannot be combined with the MSE free two week trial offer, but if you know you defo want to join BMF, in the long term this could be the cheaper option. Offer ends 31 Jan. Find your nearest class.

• Virgin Active: Londoners get 12 months for the price of 10

  Metro readers who register at selected London clubs can get a 12-month membership and only pay for ten months. To grab the deal, first contact your nearest club, then register for a 3-day pass at Virgin Active. You'll then get a call to organise the trial.
  
  After the trial, you will be eligible to join and get 12 months for the price of 10. The offer ends 31 Jan and does not include Corporate, Off-Peak and Weekender membership options. See full terms and conditions.

• Save up to 50% on gym memberships on the Thegymwebsite.co.uk

  Gym membership broker Thegymwebsite sells gym membership, for Fitness First, Livingwell & many local gyms. Many are discounted, but how good it is depends on your local gym – just do a search in your area to find details. Always go to the gym and check what offers it's doing directly too.

  MoneySavers can get an extra 25% off the first month’s membership. Just enter the code discount25 Expires 22 Jan ’10.



• Esporta: 6 weeks free membership & no joining fee

  Join Esporta before Jan 31 ‘10, and there’s no joining free, plus you get the rest of January and the whole of February free. There is a minimum 12 months contract for this deal.
  
  To set up membership, call your nearest club and quote the 'Pay nothing until March' offer. Find your nearest club.

• David Lloyd: Free Personal Training session.

  Join in January and David Lloyd will give you 12 weeks’ access to its online support programme free, worth £30. You'll also get a free personal training session.

• Nuffield Health: Free Body MOT worth £80.

  Both new and existing Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing (formerly Cannons) members can get a free health MOT worth £80. The assessment lasts 45-60 mins and measures cholesterol levels, glucose levels, BMI, aerobic fitness, resting heart rate and blood pressure amongst others.

  You'll be given a written report to help personalise your fitness programme and another free follow-up assessment nine months later. They are also offering 4 months free when people sign up to a 24 month contract and 1 month free when they sign up to a 12 month contract. Strictly speaking these aren't January offers, as they are available throughout 2010, yet we've included this as a heads-up.

• Curves: Pay for 11 months, get 1 month free.

  Sign up to a 12-month contract with ladies gym Curves and you'll get one month free, ie, 12 months for the price of 11. You will also get 50% off your joining fee. Offer ends 28 Feb.

Seen a better free gym trial/joining offer or got feedback?
Please post in the
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Do you really need to join a private gym?

Be honest with yourself. If you've never been to the gym or tried and failed to get the workout bug, then factor in that you won't use the membership. Don't risk ruining wealth for never-gotten health. Signing up for a year's membership you don't use can be a very costly mistake, so...

• Workout outside the gym

  Examine your fitness requirements. You can run, cycle, do light weights, yoga and a lot more without gym facilities. Why not arrange to pound the pavement or do workout DVDs with friends?

• Local leisure centres

  These are oft overlooked. Many let you paying per session, avoiding hefty upfront membership fees. Also check out local universities and colleges, which have gyms open to all, with good facilities at a fraction private-chain prices.

• Parks!

  Why not run in a the fresh air rather than paying for the privilege of being sandwiched between two sweaty men while listening to dodgy house music?

• Cheap London gym memberships.

  Londoners can also consider the London Fitness Network, a not-for-profit collaborative project which offers a single membership to over 80 leisure centres London-wide. A UK-wide version of this scheme is in the pipeline – watch this space.

How to negotiate a gym contract

You may be able to shed further pounds off your membership cost using the following tips:

• Haggle!

  Gyms want you to think their prices are fixed. They're not. The gym sector is fiercely competitive, and combined with the fact most gyms employ a commission-driven sales team to sign you up, this makes it a prime candidate for haggling.
  
  Never, ever settle for the standard package, with a bit of chutzpah you should be able to slice a wedge off the cost, especially towards the end of the month, when sales staff need to meet targets.

  Read current gym offers above and use them as a negotiating tool. Once you've got the price down as far as you think it'll go, ask for some free guest passes on top. If you're not sure how to go about getting the best deal, read the full High St. Haggling guide for top techniques.

• Consider a shorter contract

  Most major gyms, including JJB Fitness, Esporta, David Lloyd, Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing (formerly Cannons), LA Fitness, Virgin Active, and Fitness First offer shorter or even no-contract options.

  These CAN work out more expensive, but if you're new to gyms, or may not need a full year's membership it can be worth paying a little more for a few months, until you're sure you'll continue.

  As an aside, DW Sports Fitness has launched Mifit, a gym with no contract and costing £14.95 a month although there is an admin fee.

• ALWAYS read the contract!

  This is one contract that you really must read. Check how much notice you need to cancel. Also check that they don't renew it automatically. What happens if you lose your job or move away from the area? Don't just ask the sales assistant – make sure it's in the contract. For further things to check, read this useful publication by the Office of Fair Trading.

• Get a mate to refer you

  Some clubs have 'refer-a-friend' offers where either the referrer or referree gets a gift eg, currently if a Harpers Gym member refers friends who then join up, they can choose from a range of gifts including a 1GB iPod Shuffle. So if you've already decided to join, see if you know someone who belongs already before signing on the dotted line.

• Go off peak

  Most gyms provide cheaper membership during 'off-peak' hours. This means if it's possible for you to visit the gym during the daytime, work lunchtimes or at weekends, you could slash the cost.

Seen a better free gym trial/joining offer or got feedback?
Please post in the
Cheap Gyms discussion

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