Arm yourself with this checklist so that you make the best decision for you. And always visit a number of gyms or Reno Personal Trainer before making your final decision.
the location you need a gym that’s convenient to get to. If it takes too long to get to, you’re less likely to use it as often as you should. So consider one within walking distance (cuts out the problems of public transport delays or traffic jams), or if you’re driving there, check ease (and cost) of parking. One near home or work would be ideal, depending on the days and times you wish to transshipment key question you need to ask yourself is, “what are my goals?”. Then choose Gym whose equipment matches your goals. So if you’re after muscle growth, choose a gym with ample free weights (dumbbells and barbells, cable crossovers, benches with both flat and incline options, squat racks). And if yoga and stretching are your things, you need a gym with a yoga studio and plenty of space for stretching.
Check out the layout of the gym. Does it feel energizing to you? Is there space to move around? Is the balance of equipment right for you? Personally, I don’t like vast rows of treadmills as far as the eye can see, with little alternative cardio equipment (cross trainers, bikes, rowing machines). And I hate small cramped free-weights areas, I like my free-weights areas to be spacious and a good distance between weights benches to avoid bumping into the person next to you. I’ve been in some gyms in Reno where the free weights areas were awesome. Less so in the USA. Another thing to consider is the music in the gym. Do you want loud music, or do you prefer to work out in a quiet atmosphere? One gym I used had 2 floors with an open mezzanine, with loud rock music from the upper level clashing with the loud pop music downstairs, which was massively irritating to the ears.
Staff The first people you’ll probably see are the reception staff. Are they welcoming, friendly, knowledgeable? All these things count for a lot if you’re going to interact with them every time you come to the gym. Then consider the availability of gym instructors and Reno personal trainers. Are they available, attentive, and approachable? Talk to them and you’ll see. One thing that put me right off one gym I visited was reception staff eating doughnuts, painting their nails (and that was just the guys), and when I left, I saw one of the gym instructors standing outside smoking a cigarette. Ugh. In contrast, my current gym has a friendly, lively, chatty, and knowledgeable staff. It makes such a huge difference to your gym experience. All the personal trainers and gym instructors have their photos on the wall, with a brief biog about them. I chat with them about the latest workout trends, nutrition tips, and they’re all really knowledgeable. So when you visit a gym with a view to joining, try chatting to some of the staff and you’ll get an idea of how friendly and knowledgeable they are. Showers Changing Rooms This is where most Gymnastics Nevada south Reno let themselves down badly.
The changing rooms are often cramped, with small/narrow lockers which are a struggle to get all your stuff into. Once I took a sports bag to a new gym only to discover that the locker was too small for the bag to fit into. Always ask to see the changing area (and showers too, don’t be shy), and look out for broken lockers, cleanliness. One gym in Reno I checked out (and didn’t join!) had a changing area littered with sticking plasters, cotton buds, empty drinks cartons, chocolate wrappers. In contrast, when I spent a year in Reno, I joined a gym with the cleanest and most spacious changing area imaginable. The lockers were double-width to fit the largest of sports bags, and light even came on inside the locker when you opened it. And always ask for a free trial session, so you actually experience the changing area and showers rather than just a quick glance around. Try before you buy, this gives you a much better chance of spotting problems. One free trial I had was great until I used the showers at the end. One cubicle had only frozen water, another had only scalding water, and the third had no shower gel in the dispenser.
How busy is the Gymnastics Nevada south Reno? Always visit on a day and at a time you’re planning to use it regularly. If it’s too crowded, you’re not going to get a decent workout, you’ll be waiting around for equipment to become available. City gyms in a business district can get so crowded at lunchtime, you’ll even be standing in a long queue to get a shower. No thanks. And what are the members like? You want to be around the kind of people you like, or at least not feel uncomfortable among-st, right? So if you’re female and into gentle cardio, you might not want to be among huge sweaty noisy bodybuilders crashing weights about and eyeing you up. Likewise, if you’re a guy into heavy weight training, you might want similar people to train around for motivation and energy, rather than waif-like people on exercise bikes.
Again, you can only gauge what the other members are like by having a free trial session, so I strongly recommend you do this before signing on the dotted line. Cost and Contract Know what you’re signing up for, what’s included, and what costs extra (towels, sauna, etc). What’s the cancellation policy, can you freeze your membership if you’re ill, what’s the term of the contract (some are as much as 2 years), does your membership allow you to use other gyms in the chain, and what days/times can you use the gym? Additional Facilities Consider what else is important to you. Would you value a snack bar that offered healthy snacks, smoothies, protein shakes after your workout?
Do you want a swim after your workout? And conversely, if you don’t want to swim, it might be a waste of money joining a gym with a pool, as this bumps up the cost of membership considerably. Or you might find that the facilities you do value are so good that it’s worth paying the extra for things you might not use.
