If you're burning to get fit, don't simply turn up at your local gym and join; you can end up locked into an expensive contract for a year with no way out. Instead, there are a host of ways to cut the cost, grab free visits, and even a loophole to slash £400 off prestige gym costs, so its time to dump the junk in more ways than one.
Also read the Virgin Active / Cannons / LA Fitness £400-off gym loophole specific article
Do you really need gym membership?
Gyms aren't cheap, add membership fees to the monthly cost and the annual cost is usually north of £500. Worse still, 20% of those who join gyms in January have stopped going by June and 20% more by December, yet once you've signed up most gyms make you pay for the whole year.
So be honest with yourself. If you've never been to the gym before, or tried and failed to get the workout bug, then factor in the chance you won't use the membership; and don't risk ruining wealth for never-gotten health.Alternatives to gym membership
There are many other cheap options for working out:- 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 buy light weights or workout DVDs with friends.
- Leisure centre or local university facilities. Local leisure centres are commonly overlooked, yet many of these allow you to avoid hefty upfront membership fees, or pay as you use. Also check out local universities and colleges, many of these have gyms which are open to public, with good facilities at a fraction of the price of the chains.
- Ride on a friend's membership. If your partner or friend is a gym regular, then consider buying guest passes. Often offers such as “10 guest passes for £50” are available. While per visit it isn't much cheaper, it means you avoid the membership fee and aren't locked in. Of course it does mean you have to accompany your friend, so ensure they're likely to be available. Then once you're sure you're going to keep going to the gym, consider your own membership.
Try the gym for free
Before joining any gym it's always worth trying it out for atmosphere and facilities. Luckily many offer free day long trials, or sometimes there are web vouchers allowing you to do it for longer. And if that doesn't work, there's a way to get friends to help.Free trials
Most gyms offer at least a one day free trial if you go to their websites, but it's possible to get them for much longer, especially at the start of the year, by cannily using special vouchers offered on the web or in magazines. If you can't find a trial offer for your gym, just call it up and ask, most will say yes. The following are some of the currently available offers.
- Free month at LA Fitness / Dragons Health. Readers of Grazia magazine can get a free month's trial at LA Fitness. A Free day pass is available from the gym's own website.
- Free week at Fitness First. There's a free day pass on the Fitness First website.
- Free day at Esporta. Simply go to the gyms own website for a free day pass.
- Free day at Thistle Hotels gyms. On the gyms own website is a free day pass.
- Free day pass at Cannons gym. Again on the gym's own website there's a free day pass, this time including a free health check too.
This is about taking advantage of guest passes. Many gyms will allow you to buy guest passes enabling you to workout with a friend. However, new members are often given these for free to encourage them to take others in to see the gym. If you know anyone who's joined recently, it's worth asking.
Cutting the cost of Gym Membership
At this point I'm assuming you've tested the gym out and have decided to commit to joining up and getting fit.What to watch for when joining a gym
The major flaw when joining gyms is the contract length. Sign up and you're often expected to pay for the whole year, even if you stop going. This is much more expensive than it seems, for example a club with a £100 joining fee and then £45 a month is £640 over the year. And if you think you can just stop paying, think again, they often use debt collectors and impact your credit score. Ask these questions…- How long is the contract term? Is a shorter option available?
- Will I be able to postpone the contract for a period if I get injured?
- Can I shift the contract to another gym in your chain if I move house?
- Is there a cooling off period, in case I change my mind?
Of the major gyms, only Esporta has a 12 month minimum contract; shorter contracts are sometimes possible at David Lloyd, Cannons, LA Fitness, Virgin Active and Fitness First. The shorter contracts may be more expensive, but if you're new to gyms, it can be worth paying a little more for a few months, until you're sure you'll continue. For further things to check, read this useful publication by the Office of Fair Trading.
While nothing comes close to the loophole above, there are still ways to cut the costs for other gyms.
- Can you go off peak? If you can visit the gym during the day, or at weekends, many gyms offer a cheaper membership.
- Will you go often? If you regularly go to the gym at least twice a week, it's likely you could save a fair whack by taking advantage of Pruhealth's life cover gym loophole. Full info can be found in the dedicated Virgin Active / Cannons / LA Fitness £400-off gym loophole article.
- Haggle. Most gyms employ a commission driven sales team to sign you up, this means they have flexibility in what they can offer. Don't settle for the basic package, try and haggle to beat down the cost.
- Does your company offer a discount? Many medium or larger employers tend to be offered group discounts at gyms, so it's worth asking if yours does.
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Some other January offers. January is the peak time for joining gyms, so they're all desperately competing for business. Amongst the current offers, Cannons'll give you an iPod shuffle, a mountain bike or a month's free membership for joining; LA Fitness will give you BOGOF membership (either 2 years for the price of one or a year's membership for a friend), and Esporta will give you a month's free membership.
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