Equipment ..........................................................................................
You may not consider yourself qualified to judge the equipment at a gym, but
even a novice can make some important assessments. If you wouldn’t know a
hamstring machine even if you were sitting on one, ask your tour guide
specifically about the following factors:
Variety:Do you want three varieties of bikes, or will you settle for one?
Some clubs have 10-, 15-, and 20-pound dumbbells; at other clubs, you’ll
also find 12-pounders, 17^1 ⁄ 2 -pounders, and 22^1 ⁄ 2 -pounders. Some gyms
have a single hamstring machine; others have four, so you can work
these muscles standing, sitting, leaning forward, or lying facedown.Quantity: Is there enough equipment to support the membership? You
don’t want your wait for the treadmill to be like the line at the Department
of Motor Vehicles. Take a tour at the same time of day you plan to work
out, and notice whether the machines are overbooked. Many gyms
enforce a rush-hour policy that limits you to 20 minutes on the cardio
equipment if others are waiting. This restriction can be frustrating if
you’ve planned a longer workout that day.
Quality and upkeep:Is the place in a state of disrepair? Is the stuffing
coming out of the weight benches? Lots of duct tape is not a good sign.
Get on a couple of weight machines and see how smoothly the weight
stacks work. Pick up a few free weights and see whether the ends are
loose. Listen to the cardiovascular equipment: Are the treadmills loud
and whiny? That noise means that the motors need a tune-up. Don’t be
afraid to test-drive a good portion of the equipment — or to ask other
members whether they feel the machinery is well-maintained.Equipment turnover: Is the equipment older than the anchors of 60
Minutes?Or does the club have a new fleet of stationary bikes with built-in
heart-rate monitors? Most gyms can’t afford to replace all their equipment
every year, but at least 10 to 30 percent of the machines should be new.
However, you can still break a decent sweat on equipment that’s not
state-of-the-art. Sooner Fitness in Norman, Oklahoma, bought the
world’s oldest Lifecycle at an auction in 1978, and the machine has been
in daily use ever since.Classes ................................................................................................
Make sure that the club offers what you want, whether it’s the latest and great-
est, like Pilates, circuit training, Woga (yoga in the water), or triathlon training,
or more-basic strength-training and aerobics classes. (Some no-frills clubs don’t
offer any classes.) See whether the classes meet at convenient times. To assess
whether classes are any good, ask if you can sample a few before joining.
Also, ask other members for their opinions. For more on qualities to look for
in specific classes, and to read about trends in fitness classes, see Chapter 19.
Chapter 18: Health-Club Primer: Getting the Most Out of Your Gym 273