If you are serious about getting the best results you can when it comes to improving your physical fitness, then joining a quality health club is probably going to be important for you. The number of people who successfully reach their fitness goals by utilizing a health club is far greater than those who are successful on their own.
This isn't to say that you can't do it on your own, but be pre-warned that going it on your own is a lot more difficult than you may think. If you want to get physically fit without joining a club, as a minimum, you should plan on hiring a personal trainer, at least to get you started. Also, you will need to invest in some home exercise equipment. The cost of a trainer and quality home equipment can require an investment that would allow you to join a good health club for several years.
Believe me when I tell that I'm not trying to convince you not to do your own thing. I have all my own equipment. But keep in mind that I also have an advanced degree in exercise physiology and many years experience coaching others on what needs to be done and how to do it. And, to be honest, if there was a good health club close by, I would join it in a flash. For me, the closest good health club is about 60 miles away. My investment in good quality equipment cost me about $5000. That would pay for quite a few years of health club membership.
So, chances a good that you should consider joining a good health club to help you meet your fitness goals. If this is the case, here are some of the most important things you need to consider when evaluating a health club before you join.
1.Health Screenings ? Find out if the club performs a health screening before you begin your membership. Ideally, a certified fitness professional should give you a submax fitness test to determine your current cardiovascular fitness. They should also ask you questions about your medical history and conduct tests for flexibility. Getting this information will help the staff evaluate your capabilities and design a safe and effective exercise routine that will help you achieve your desired results.
2.Qualified, certified fitness instructors ? The instructors should be certified through a national exercise organization such as ACE or ACSM. Some of the organizations have certifications for special needs groups like seniors or people with arthritis. If you fit into a special group, check to see if any of the staff at the club you're interested in has the certifications that will be most beneficial to you. And check their credentials. There are a lot of certificate mills out there that give out certifications for a few dollars and don't require any testing to insure the applicants are knowledgeable or have practical experience.
There should be certified staff members available to answer questions and show you how to use any of the equipment. They should also be available to help you set up your initial exercise program and guide you in any modifications you need to make as you progress.
3.Service Oriented ? When you first go to a club to check it out, see what kind of feeling you get from the staff. Do they seem interested in you and your exercise goals or are they just trying to sign you up for the most expensive package they can talk you in to? Staff members should be willing and able to answer any questions you have about various programs, etc. And they should encourage you to use the facility, not just try to get you to sign up.
4.Try before you buy ? The facility should allow you a try out period before committing to a membership. Look for a club that allows you to try out the facility for at least 2 weeks (there may be a fee for this). At the very least, they should offer you a free day pass so you can see how you feel using the facility.
5.Members of the facility ? Check out the kind of people who are using the facility. Ask yourself if these are the kind of people you want to be exercising next to. If you are a baby boomer and most of the people you see in the facility are 20 something, you may not be comfortable working out with them as your peers. If you like everything else about the facility but you're not sure the other members fit your comfort profile, make a point of visiting the facility when you are most likely to use it. You will probably find that the demographics of many clubs change depending on when you go there.
6.Close to home or work ? If a club isn't convenient for you to get to, you aren't going to use it regularly. If you don't exercise regularly, you will be defeating your purpose. The club I joined when I was living in Chicago was a national chain. One of the big reasons I joined this particular club was that they had multiple facilities within 5 minutes of both my home and my office. It was very convenient for me to go to either club, so I used the facilities all the time. That was a very good thing at the time, because I was training for triathlons which require a lot of training.
7.Types of Equipment ? Similar to location, if a facility doesn't have the kind of weight training and cardiovascular equipment you want to use, it's not going to be a good fit for you. When I was training for triathlons I needed a pool. Another selling point for the club I joined was that each of the facilities that were close for me also had a pool and an indoor running track that helped with winter training. Make sure that you know what kind of equipment you need to use and are comfortable with it. A club that has predominantly free weights isn't going to do you much good if you want to use machines.
8. Condition of Equipment ? Check to make sure all the equipment is clean and maintained. It won't do you much good to belong to a club where half the machines have signs saying they are out of service. And working out on dirty, smelly equipment can really put a damper on your training.
9. Aerobics Room ? If there is any chance you might want to take some kind of aerobics class (dance, step, spin, etc.) you will want to be sure that the aerobics room has good ventilation and a shock absorbing floor. If you have never had shin splints let me tell you that a shock absorbing floor can make a big difference. And a room with poor ventilation cam really get stuffy when your breathing in everyone else's used up air.
10. Facility Temperature and Air Flow ? When you go for your initial visit to try out the facility, pay attention to the temperature and humidity in the facility. They should be at a comfortable level for you to work out. One of the problems with some facilities that have pools is that they don't have good separation between the pool area and the rest of the facility. This can cause some pretty high humidity, which can make working out very uncomfortable.
In a similar fashion, poor air flow within the facility can cause problems. You don't want to be working out in an area that smells like a men's locker room (sorry guys but I don't know what a women's locker room smells like so I have to use what I'm familiar with).
This may seem like a lot of things to find out about, but keep in mind that you are going to be paying a decent amount of money for the use of a good, quality facility. And, you will be spending a fair amount of time there if you are really serious about your fitness and health. It makes sense to make sure you will be happy and comfortable with this investment of time and money.
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Online fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site fitness-after-50.com. He has a master's degree in exercise physiology and over 20 years of practical exercise experience.
This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. Learn more by going to fitness-after-50.com