5 things you must do before spending any money on joining a Gym in 2020

Before you spend ANY Money or sign a contract, read and complete the 5 things below. The Gym advertising you are seeing right now is to get people signed up! Don't sign up until you have followed these 5 basic things!

If you don't do this, you will be one of the 80% who quit going to a Gym within only 4 months! In fact it is estimated that over £400 Million a year is spent on unused UK gym memberships! There is a 40% increase in Google searches for Gyms in December and January and that is aligned to advertising spends by the industry. So follow these 5 steps, either save money or meet your goals...

So here is the TOP 5 things you must do BEFORE spending any money!

1, SET YOUR GOAL:

Your Goal can be anything but it should be:

Specific, your goals should be precise and stated in performance terms. For example, if you want to lose weight (I say Fat, not weight...) your specific goal might be "to lose 30 pounds of fat in the next 40 weeks."

Measurable, your goal is measurable when it is easy to determine if it has been accomplished. The Fat loss goal listed above is easily measured. 40 weeks from now you will either weigh 30 pounds less or not.

Attainable and Relevant, one of the biggest mistakes people make while setting goals is that they set unattainable goals.  Goals should be set high, a challenge, but they must also be relevant and realistic. A goal to lose 20 pounds in four weeks is both unrealistic and unhealthy. Make your goals challenging, but attainable.

Time bound, make sure each goal has a specific time frame for completion. This allows you to plan to achieve it and it is easy to see if it has been achieved. It also increases the likelihood that you will accomplish each goal since you know the clock is ticking. For example, the goal "I want to lose 30 pounds of fat in 40 weeks" has a time frame.

2, KNOW WHY YOU WANT TO MEET THE GOAL.

Now you have your S.M.A.R.T goals. You must really get to the bottom of WHY? I have written lots of articles about this (see my other blogs). You see, without really connecting to this reason(s) you may as well save your money. If you don't know why, you will stop, quit, or find a convenient excuse. Ask WHY? WHY? WHY? until you get the real answer.... imagine yourself achieving this. This is your motivation. This is what you (or I) pull out when you want to make an excuse, when things are getting tough....THIS IS VITAL TO SUCCEED.

3, RESEARCH GYMS, MAKE SURE THEY MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS:

All Gyms are the same right? Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Right now you are being pounded by adverts on Gym memberships, Exercise Classes, Sign up now get January Free etc etc etc. All designed to hook you into a contract. You owe it to yourself to research the gyms! Be clear what you want and at least get some free passes to try them out BEFORE committing...

Now your goal(s) are set, the emotional connection is understood. So do you know what to do to achieve them? What equipment to use, what exercises are the best...?

Most people are complete novices when going to a gym (I wasn't born knowing how to perform a correct squat, I needed to be shown). All gyms, "SHOULD" have qualified instructors who "should" know what exercises you should complete to achieve your goals. Putting their abilities aside.... The gym you choose, MUST have the equipment available to perform the exercises required for whatever you want to achieve.

The gym must have (at the very minimum):

• Squat Rack with Safety guards

• Barbell and Plates

• Full Range of Dumb bells

• Cable Machine

• Rowing Machine

• Assault Bike or Watt Bike

• Un Powered Tread mill

• Minimum of 25M long track

• Soft Matted Area

• Changing room with lockers

• Shower

If they don't have this equipment or facilities, then it is not a gym worth entering. Certainly not paying to use sub standard facilities!

The Gym must also be close to home or work or within a reasonable distance or you will make an excuse that it is too far out of the way!

It should be open and available when you want to train, when you have time or have made time. If you want to workout at 6am or 8pm the Gym must be open! If the gyms you find don't match, move on to the next and keep going until you find one that does!

4, RESEARCH PERSONAL TRAINERS:

Once you have narrowed your gym down to two or three. What Level 3 Personal Trainers are resident there? What skills do they have? Do they have suitable experience, insurance etc...I wrote a whole article on this... take a close read of this it explains how to select a Personal Trainer (see link below).

Ask them for referrals, ask past and existing clients about their methods. If they claim they are experts, ask for proof! Go and meet with them, talk, ask questions. Make sure you speak with at least 3. Then only if you feel comfortable with them, ask about charges.

Some Personal Trainers will (at a small additional cost), travel to another gym (if you prefer another Gym to their base). So don't just look at the house Personal Trainers! If you find one you trust and can work with but their Gym does not suit you, ask what can be done.

5, Set a budget.

What is your budget? Know what can you afford or how much are you prepared to invest to meet your goals. This MUST be achievable, every week, every month. It must be affordable....Now once you have that figure you can then make your decision.

The first two points are the most important things. Set your Goals and know why that is important to you. The Gym, Personal Trainers and support all depend upon your budget.

What I will say is help from A Personal Trainer (like me) with a program designed to meet your goals is a much better investment than the facilities you most probably won't use in any gym. If you hire a Personal Trainer, you will attend the gym. You will feel comfortable and you won't waste money on a gym membership by not going!

If it means no Sauna, Steam Room or nail bar on premises but a lower price great. If that allows you to receive professional guidance and support even better!

So there you have it. Do this before signing up for any gym or on-line offers you may see, you won't regret it. If you want to have a chat with me about this or anything else please feel free to contact me, (details below).

Danni X

How to chose a Personal Trainer: https://www.dannidobsonpt.com/post/empathy-experience-knowledge-and-integrity-why-all-professionals-must-have-all-four

Contact me by e-mail: dannidobsonpt@outlook.com

Call/Text 07811 888394

Facebook @Dannidobsonpt