Chapter 18
Health-Club Primer: Getting the
Most Out of Your Gym
In This Chapter
Deciding whether to join a gym
Evaluating a health club
Going it alone in the gym
Asking Miss Manners: Health club etiquette
Being the best fitness-class student
W
hen it comes to health clubs, we’re biased: We like ’em. Liz likes them
so much that she’s a member of four different clubs. Suzanne likes
them so much that she brings weight-lifting gloves on vacation and always
hunts down the nearest gym, even if it’s in the basement of a crummy hotel
in Morocco.We like health clubs because there’s always someone around to give you help
and encouragement. You also can get a much wider variety of workout choices
than you would in your living room. Of course, to reap the benefits of a health
club, you have to actually show up. The reality is, most people don’t. If every
member of your gym worked out regularly, the place probably would look like
the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. About half the people who join a
club quit exercising within two months, and only 20 percent work out three
times a week.To boost your odds of becoming a regular, it’s important to choose a gym
that suits your schedule, your goals, and your personality. This chapter
covers the latest trends in health clubs and helps you choose the right club
for you. And to make sure you pay a fair price, we explain some of the sneaky
sales tactics and hidden costs you may encounter. Finally, we fill you in on
health-club etiquette and help you move to the head of the class when taking
advantage of the fitness classes offered at most health clubs.