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(#1) Get a Membership in the Summer, Not the Winter
We all make the same New Year's resolution: go to the gym, eat right, lose weight. Well since that resolution usually lasts for about a month, it's easy for gym memberships to sell the most during the month of January, making it nearly impossible to score a deal. Get a membership in the summertime, however, when only 6% of new memberships come in, and you'll definitely get a membership at a major discount.
Source: Fitbie -
(#2) Bring Your Own Water Bottle Because the Fountains Are Disgusting
Staying hydrated is absolutely crucial before, during, and after workouts. However, stay as far away as possible from using the public water fountains at the gym because they're covered in germs. We urge you to bring your own water bottle and water to any workout. Don't believe us? A study done by Coverall Cleaning found more germs on water fountains than it did on toilets.
Source: Pop Sugar -
(#3) Check That Cancellation Policy
Breaking up is hard to do, but canceling a gym membership is damn near impossible. Of the thousands of complaints consumers file against health clubs every year, the biggest gripes are billing and collection issues. More often than not, your credit card will continue to be charged monthly, even if you have taken all the steps to cancel your membership. Most gyms will only let you out of a contract if you can give a sufficient reason that your membership can't be transferred to a different location, and most have sneaky fine print in their contracts that say you can only cancel in person or by certified mail.
Source: Fitbie -
(#4) Bring Your Own Exercise or Yoga Mat... Unless You Want Foot Fungus
And the gym just keeps getting grosser! Refrain from using the gym's mats if you want to save yourself from coming into contact with dangerous bacteria. The New York Times reported that cases of athlete's foot and plantar warts have skyrocketed since Pilates and yoga became popular.
Source: Spark People -
(#5) Don't Drink the Pool Water
While we're not pointing fingers, public swimming pools usually have some degree of poop in them. The CDC reported that "62% of pool-related diarrhea outbreaks are the result of the chlorine-resistant pathogen cryptosporidium, which is spread by fecal matter.” Ewwwwwwwwww.
Source: First to Know -
(#6) Get That Initiation Fee Waived Beause It's B.S. Anyways
One cardinal rule when joining a new gym: never, ever pay the initiation fee! It's only another avenue for the gym to make more money and almost every gym will waive it if you ask for it. Don't be a fool and save yourself hundreds of dollars because it's all B.S. anyways.
Source: Live Strong -
(#7) You Really Shouldn't Go to the Gym Everyday
Believe it or not, working out every day is not the most effective way to get the healthy body you want. Most studies have found that 90 minutes or more of continuous, moderate to high-intensity, exercise weakens the immune system, making you more prone to illness. This effect can last up to 72 hours. If you don’t give yourself proper time to recover after working out and put too much stress on your body while training, you could be doing more harm than good.
Source: Men's Fitness -
(#8) Your Super Hot Personal Trainer May Be Super Dumb
While you may love being screamed at by some ripped hottie in a tank top, you may wanna check their credentials before you decide to do that extra set of lunges. It's become so easy to become a personal trainer that practically anyone can do it; you can even get certified via an at-home, open-book test. Before you commit to signing up with a trainer, check in with the gym manager about their hiring criteria.
Source: Fitbie -
(#9) Their Insurance Companies Are the Ultimate in Shady
Hidden liability waivers are most gyms' saving grace, giving them a free pass against any injury claims. If you do attempt to sue, it's nearly impossible to get in contact with the gym's insurance company, or even know what the name of the company is. In most gym contracts, they have the legal right to withhold their insurance information, leaving you on your own to tend to your injuries.
Source: Injury Claim Coach -
(#10) While You're Trying to Catch Your Breath, You May Be Breathing in Toxic Pollutants
Breathe in those toxins, baby! A recent study by The New York Times found that gyms have high levels of air pollutants such as formaldehyde, airborne dust, and carbon dioxide, generally exceeding accepted standards for air quality.
Source: Fox News -
(#11) If You Move Away from Your Local Corporate Gym, You Better Not Be within 25 Miles of Another Location
Like a crazy ex, no matter where you go, the gym will always find you. For most commercial gyms, in order to cancel you have to move exactly 25 miles away from the nearest corporate club you signed with. And when we say 25 miles, we mean EXACTLY 25 miles. If you manage to live within 24.8 miles, you'll be stuck paying for another year-long membership.
Source: East Bay Trainer
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(#12) You May Get Abs at the Gym, but You Also Might Get Gross Germs
Need another excuse not to go to the gym today? The place is literally crawling with disgusting germs, viruses, bacteria, and fungi. One study found that three-fourths of weight equipment was contaminated with cold-causing rhinoviruses, and even wiping surfaces down twice didn't completely nix germs. Even worse? MRSA and other types of staph infections can be contracted if a cut or scrape on your skin comes in contact with the bacteria. And don't even get us started on the locker rooms. Bacteria, fungi, and viruses flourish there.
Sources: Fitbie -
(#13) Nothing in Life Is Free, Even a Free Trial Membership
Gym membership contracts are more deceptive than Spanx. In order to gain new members, most gyms offer free trial memberships. Sounds great, right? Not so fast. Most gyms trick members who think they're signing up for a free trial into paying for a full membership. In fact, gyms will even go so far as to have small print in their contracts that stipulate that if the member didn’t attend the gym at least 12 times within their one month free trial period, then they would automatically be entered into a multi-year full membership.
Source: Yahoo -
(#14) Fancy Weight Machines Won't Do Much to Help You
Ever walked into your gym's weight room and been overwhelmed by all of the fancy weight machines? Fear not, you never have to embarrass yourself at one of these machines again because it turns out, they're not that great for you. Weight machines train individual muscles in isolation, while the rest of you sits completely inert. While that's all well and good for something like physical therapy, these machines don't create real-world strength.
Source: Men's Journal
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(#15) Weight Machines Are Nothing More Than Genius Marketing
In order to gain new members, gyms always have to have cutting-edge fitness equipment. It's too bad then that free weights are really what you should be using, however, it's better for business to have a gleaming $4,000 weight training machine that will be advertised as the next answer to weight loss. In actuality, the real reason your gym has so many strength machines is that anybody can figure out how to use them, and they make injury nearly impossible.
Source: Men's Journal -
(#16) Rethink That Monthly Membership
When acquiring a monthly gym membership, most people will be naive enough to believe that they'll go every day. More often than not, laziness overrules. If you only make it to the gym twice a week or so, you should rethink that monthly membership; you can end up paying 70% more than if you just bought one of those 10-visit passes. In a UC Berkeley study, it was found that the average gym member could save over $150 every six months with a pay-as-you-go system.
Source: Fitbie -
(#17) Those Awesome Promotion Rates Really Aren't That Awesome
Be sure to do a double take when your gym offers you a promotional membership because oftentimes, it's not the best deal. Customers can often be defaulted into a national or region-wide membership, but you should try to ask for a cheaper price if you only plan on visiting one location. If you don't double check, you can end up being overcharged.
Source: Money Sense -
(#18) You Can Get Seriously Injured Even In The Most Relaxed Classes
It's easy to get psyched about a new gym membership and want to join the most popular class you can find. However, pushing your body too farbefore it's ready could earn you a serious injury and halt your workout plans. Even classes that are not normally thought of as dangerous are now considered risky. For instance, yoga injuries have increased tenfold over the past couple of years, due to overcrowded classes and inexperienced instructors.
Source: Live Strong -
(#19) Gyms Aren't Required to Maintain Their Equipment
In addition to covering their asses when it comes to injury liabilities within their facilities, you'll be shocked to know that most gyms practically set you up for injury. Most health clubs are not legally required to maintain their equipment and safety standards, so there is a danger when operating most of the fancy weight equipment. Stay safe, people!
Source: Consumerism Commentary -
(#20) Gyms Are Designed to Keep You Away
Believe it or not, commercial gyms actually do not give a flying f*** if you come into their facilities. In fact, they would prefer that you didn't. In order to stay afloat financially, gyms need about 10 times as many members as their facilities can handle. Ever been turned off by a gym because whenever you go, it's overcrowded? It's all part of the plan to get you to sign up, work out a few times, and then spend money and time trying to cancel.
Source: Men's Journal
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(#21) Buddy Up for Those Personal Training Sessions
Trying to get the right gym buddy is about as serious as a proposal. If you find "the one" be sure to buddy up for personal training sessions. Most gyms offer a deal if you partner up, and you can usually save about $20 per hour.
Source: Money Sense -
(#22) They're Not Liable for ANYTHING
Instead of actually maintaining faulty gym equipment, most gyms now attempt to cut corners by hiding liability waivers in their extensive contracts. If you manage to injure yourself at the gym (perhaps due to an inexperienced trainer or defective equipment), good luck trying to file legal action against the gym.
Source: Injury Claim Coach -
(#23) Those Fitness Magazines in the Lobby Are All Part of a Bigger Marketing Scheme
Have you ever been in a supermarket checkout line and wondered, "Who the hell buys these fitness magazines?" Gyms do, that's who. This way, while you wait in the gym's lobby, you can be inundated with useless (as well as dangerous) dietary supplement ads and articles on "Seven Steps to Great Abs."
Source: Men's Journal
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(#24) Milk That Membership
For the same reason that summer is the best time to snap up a new gym membership, it's also the perfect time to milk the s*** out of an existing one. The majority of gyms are required to meet monthly quotas and keep cancellations down to a minimum, so they'll do practically anything to keep you. Want to get your money's worth? Do a little research and find a cheaper club; show your current gym all of their perks and rates and it's pretty much guaranteed that your gym will match it.
Source: Fitbie -
(#25) Another Reason Not to Exercise: Your Gym Might Kill You
While sudden cardiac arrest during exercise is rare, it can happen and the minutes after make all the difference. If an automated external defibrillator (AED) is used right away, your chance of survival is more than 90 percent. Sounds pretty good, right? However, fewer than a dozen states require gyms to have one on the premises, and even if your gym does have a device, there may not be anyone on staff trained to use it. Before committing to a pricey membership, check if your gym has an AED and if the staff is required to have CPR and AED certifications.
Source: Fitbie -
(#26) Don't Get Too Used to That One Cute Personal Trainer
Want to make sure that your cute trainer sticks around? Then be prepared to fork over some $$$. The reason most trainers lose their jobs is because oftentimes they're unable to get members to buy training packages from them. Like most big business, corporate gyms are driven by revenue and in order to sustain that cash flow, most trainers are required to have steep monthly quotas that they need to meet in order to keep their jobs. More often than not, these trainers fail to maintain their quotas and are swiftly replaced.
Source: East Bay Trainer
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(#27) Exercise, By Itself, Is Not the Get Thin Quick Solution You Think it Is
If any gym or personal trainer tells you that you can eat as much crap as you want and burn it off solely through exercise, burn those calories off by running far, far away. In order to lose weight and keep it off, there's no cutting corners: you have to pair exercise with a diet plan. In fact, exercise alone leads to only a very modest decrease in total body weight (less than three percent).
Source: Best Health
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(#28) Rock Those Shower Shoes Literally Everywhere
Most people know that you should wear flip-flops in public showers, but for those who don't, listen up! Bacteria lurks on almost all floor areas of the gym's locker room floor, so unless you want athlete's foot, foot fungus, or human papillomavirus, keep those sandals taped to your feet.
Source: Spark People -
(#29) Don't Plan on Bringing Any Valuables with You
Don't be this guy; you could risk getting your valuables stolen, and let's be real: you do not need to bring your laptop to the gym. Most gyms make it clear that they absolve themselves of any responsibility if you find your valuables missing from your locker after your spin class. Leave the laptop at home, but if you absolutely must bring it along, choose lockers in busy areas, not in secluded corners of the locker room where thieves can go undetected.
Source: Live Strong -
(#30) Snap Up a Membership at the End of the Month or on a Weekend
Can't wait till the summertime to snap up a cheap gym membership? Because corporate gym employees have monthly quotas, they need to meet their revenue goals before the end of the month if they want to get their bonuses. Because holidays are slow and the last weekend of the month is crucial, most of these sales reps are dying to make a sale on these days.
Source: East Bay Trainer
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(#31) Those Luxurious Perks Really Add Up
If you manage to get a fancy gym membership, you might be tempted to forgo the actual exercise and relax in the spa instead. Unfortunately, all those luxe perks really add up. Towel service, steam rooms, spa treatments and parking may sound amazing, but they’re built into the cost of your membership. Although your nail beds may suffer, your wallet will thank you if you consider a less flashy club.
Source: Money Sense -
(#32) Don't Discount the Hidden Discounts
We'll say it again: don't be afraid to milk that membership for all that it's worth! More importantly, don't be afraid to ask for the discounts that you deserve. Nearly 90 percent of health clubs offer discounts to families and couples, all you gotta do is ask!
Source: Live Strong -
(#33) Cardio Is Not the Be All End All You've Been Told
While it's never a bad thing to get your heart pumping, cardio is not the crucial exercise you've been conditioned to think it is. In fact, maintaining cardiovascular fitness doesn't really take much more than breathing uncomfortably hard for about 20 minutes, three times a week. And we all know that you don't need a pricey gym membership to do that.
Source: Men's Journal
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(#34) They'll Do Almost Anything to Get You to Join
Like with any good sales pitch, your gym will tell you anything you want to hear. "You'll magically have a six pack in a couple weeks, you'll live forever, you can eat as many donuts as you want as long as you work with one of our personal trainers!" While exercising at the gym can change your physique and health for the better, gyms are nothing more than big businesses trying to make as much $$$ as possible. Be careful before you sign the dotted line because you could end up regretting it.
Source: Live Strong
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(#35) The Orientation Is a Ploy to Get You to Sign Up with a Trainer
Like a college orientation, a gym orientation can be overwhelming and exciting. To capitalize on that enthusiasm, many gyms offer a free orientation session or two with one of their trainers when you sign up. To reel you back in, the trainer will take you through a complex routine, then refuse to take notes so that you think you need their training long-term.
Source: Live Strong -
(#36) The Music the Gym Plays Is Designed To Keep You Inert
Ever made it all the way to the gym, only to realize that you forgot your headphones? Sucks for you. Most gyms purposefully play schlocky elevator music in order to keep you feeling like a zombie. Instead of playing pump up music so you can have an intense workout, the monotonous tunes ensure that you'll have a lackluster workout.
Source: Activate Fitness -
(#37) A Pre-Work Out Stretch Is Not as Important as You Think
How many times have you been told by your trainer to start your workout with a little stretching? Stop the stretches, people! Multiple studies have shown that pre-workout stretching raises your likelihood of injury and lowers your subsequent performance. By pre-stretching, you're just firming up your resistance to a wider range of motions; it also creates a slackening effect on your muscles, reducing their stability and the amount of power and strength they'll generate.
Source: Men's Journal
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About This Tool
More and more people are keen to manage gym memberships to urge themselves to exercise regularly. But you know how the gym works? Why does a fitness coach promise that you will have a perfect body after a month of exercise? Why exercise is so expensive but you can’t see any obvious results? What information should you know if you Want to sign up for membership?
Even if you talk to your coaches, gym employees, and yoga coaches, they will not tell you secrets about their works. The random tool lists 37 secrets that your gym never initiatively informs you when you apply for membership.
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