Journey Updates
How I Choose a Gym
January 23, 2010 @ 01:00 pm
I first tried losing weight in college, where I had free access to a weight room and cardio equipment ... and never ever went. I was scared. I hated the idea of being in a space where I was the fattest in the room. I thought I would feel like I looked the desperate blob haplessly struggling against the weight, like a cartoon or a joke. I sabotaged myself before I even started. So instead I tried to run laps around a darkened parking lot after the sun went down (it was California ... never got cold).Fast forward to New York and I found myself ridiculous. I had to bite the bullet and sign up with a real gym. So I weighed my options and ended up at an Equinox near my office. Ultimately, though, The Beau and I moved into a nice apartment building that had it's own very-well-equipped fitness center and I didn't have to go to a public gym anymore. But then we moved again and it was time to sign up for a new place to work out.
Finding a place to work out is a tricky thing for someone like me. For starters, the gym still makes me nervous. I feel exposed, I feel vulnerable, and there are a lot of fit people about while I'm waddling from the locker room to an elliptical (I dont' really waddle, but I feel like it sometimes). So here's the kinds of things I look for when I join a gym.
Variety of Cardio Equipment
Treadmills are about the most boring piece of equipment on the planet. Plus they're hard on the knees and shins. I actually don't use them very often so I prefer to see what other equipment the gym has. Having plenty of elliptical machines is key, plus other stranger equipment that works the body in other ways. I haven't explored all the options at my gym, but I will.Weight-Floors vs. Assisted Strength Training Machines
There are two basic kinds of strength training set-ups. One is the kind of equipment that involves weight-plates and a lot of clanging and banging and muscleheads change around the equipment. These things are usually all grouped together on a weight-floor and populated by fitter people than I. They make me self conscious, but I need strength training. So I look for a gym that has a complement of assisted strength training machines preferably somewhere else in the gym. These machines are the ones where the weights are built into the machine and you can change the resistance by moving a pin. My gym has two sets of these away from the main weight-floor, which makes it a little more comfortable for me to strength train.Crazy Amounts of Mirrors
If I ever meet someone who designs gym interiors (yeah, that's a gay-guy's way of saying it) ... I'm going to smack them in the head. And I'm going to do it in front of a mirror. Because they freaking love mirrors. It's one thing to have a mirror where one strength trains supposedly to check for good form while weight-lifting (and pure vanity, don't kid yourselves). But there is no reason to line every square inch of a gym with a mirror. No 300+lb obese person wants to watch themselves waddle on a treadmill when they already know what they look like. Mirrors like those are superfluous. So I try to find a gym that doesn't have too many mirrors. My current one totally fails this, by the way. They even have mirrors on the stairwell. What the hell? Cardio Distractions
Because there are so many damn mirrors I need a good distraction while I'm working out on the cardio machines. So I look for a gym with televisions and head-phone jacks on the machines. And not just those TV's that hang above everyone so you have to watch Days of Our Lives, or whatever. Now a lot of gyms have individual "CardioTheatre" setups where each machine gets it's own little TV and tuner. Perfect! And a must-have.Locker Room Layout
So as if being out on the gym equipment didn't make me feel vulnerable enough, the locker room cinches the deal. So I look for a gym who's locker room at least offers the illusion of privacy while I'm changing with nooks and crannies to hide in. And private shower stalls. And a decently-sized steam room (which has nothing to do with privacy but at least is something nice to have).Price
You'll have a budget of some sort, probably, but be aware you get what you pay for. When I was a member of Equinox one of the things that sold me on the chain was that each specific club tries to cap the number of members they have, to keep it from getting crazy-crowded and unpleasant. That, of course, meant a higher price. On the other side of things the discount gyms that you see on TV most often make money in the volume of members, and they're equipment might not be as good or might be old. So I went with a medium-grade gym this time, and have been happy with it so far.Others' Reviews
This is the Internet-era where everyone comments about everything online. So don't pick a gym without seeing what other people have to say about it. There are reviews on Google Maps or Yelp - or just search for the name and location of your gym with the words "reviews." When I moved to Manhattan I had the options of about 4 gyms. The closest had terrible reviews online so I skipped it. Another was a very nice gym, but the reviews made it sound like a trainers' gym - or one that die hard fitness pro's went to - and said it had small locker rooms, so I skipped it. The gym I chose - NY Sports Clubs - is a chain, but when I searched for my specific location the reviews were great, saying its one of the best NYSC in the city. Bingo.So those are some the various things that I think about when I go gym-shopping as a self-conscious, private worker-outter. I'd love to hear what you look for, or what kinds of things you've found when you're trying out a new place to get fit.