Choosing a Gym

If you are considering joining some kind of fitness facility in the new year, here are things to think about:

Is the facility within 12 minutes of your home and/or work (and if it's near work, is it between work and your house or would you have to drive yet further away?) Gym marketers target people in a 12 minute radius from their facility because those are the ones who will most likely USE the gym. If you are further away, you are exponentially less likely to go.

Do you want all the bells and whistles (tracks, indoor pools, great cardio equipment, Pilates classes) so that you can sample, pick and choose? Or do you just want to hide and get your workout done with minimum fuss? Don't sign on at Curves if you want a spinning class option. Don't join Silverlake if you don't want to be seen in public in your sloppy T.

Try before you buy--preferably with a friend and don't let yourselves be separated. Do not sit at a desk with any kind of "associate" if you aren't comfortable. I've seen colleagues use every single hard sales tactic in the book, such as "Mrs. Jones, let's face it! You're fat and it's going to kill you! For $25 a month and a $115 initiation fee we can save your life!" Initiation fees are always negotiable, so ask. Most gyms are using an archaic, outdated sales model and it is changing slowly, but old (bad) habits die hard.

Don't pay for what you already have: If you own a good treadmill, don't go to a gym to use one (or sell your old one at Play it Again Sports and spend that money on a couple months' membership).

And remember, clutter is not only physical: If you have a gym membership now that you have not used since last year, then do not renew. Cancel the EFT contract. The psychic weight of guilt you are carrying for wasting that money does not burn a single calorie.