I'm considering to join a gym to gain some weight. I've never been to a gym before, so I googled around and found two popular ones near my working place, Fitness First Bond Street and Anytime Fitness Circular Quay. I plan to attend in the morning at around 8:00. Can anyone has experience please give me some advice on the crowdedness at ~8:00-9:00 am, beginner friendliness, etc.
Thnaks.
Fitness First Bond Street or Anytime Fitness Circular Quay, Which One Should I Chose?
Harrison on 22/03/2017 - 12:22
Comments
Fitness first offers a 1 day free trial you claim online, so you could definitely go for that. I think Anytime fitness lets you attend any other anytime fitness gym but Fitness first do not unless you go for the higher price membership.
Should also take into consideration if either one has a branch near your house. There might be times during the weekends or during the holiday that you might want to use the gym.
Yes, this.. I always prefer one closer to home.
Also, it could end up cheaper if you join a suburban one. I assume the CBD gyms are more expensive.
Anytime Fitness say they transfer your membership to the one you use more often (there is a calculation they use, cannot remember what it was, maybe the one you go most on 3 month average), but that is not a hard n fast rule. Many people's membership isnt transferred. And if you use your home gym twice a week they probably wouldn't even track it.
Used to be a member of Fitness First - it was a bit like Hotel California - you can check out anytime but you can never leave. It was difficult to get them to stop taking money out of my account when I wanted to leave and they made me go to an interview to discuss why I was exiting. I would find out exactly what are the full conditions, including stopping, before you decide on a gym. Have fun with the work out.
I've been a member of Anytime for a few years now. I travel from time to time so, for me, I like the convenience of having access to a gym wherever I go. There are plenty of Anytimes around Australia and some overseas, depending on the country. I don't mind paying a slight premium for this convenience but it's horses for courses.
Any gym chain is going to be more (and often quite a bit more) expensive than a local, single location gym. If you don't need access to multiple locations, it might be an idea to look into a local one instead. In looking for a gym, the best thing to do is probably just to go inside and chat to the staff. Say you're looking to join a gym and most of them will be happy to show you around. As has already been mentioned, Anytime also offers 7-day free trials so you can always try it out before you commit. When I signed my contract it was for a year and could be broken if a doctor certified there was some medical reason for you being unable to use the gym anymore.
Another thing to note about gym chains is that, given a lot of them are franchised, the individual gyms can vary significantly especially when it comes to equipment and space.
When it comes to timing, all gyms are generally quite busy before work (6-7am), around lunchtime (12:30-2pm, especially near large offices) and after work (6-8pm).
Finally, given that you're planning to bulk up, if you're reasonably new to the gym, please don't rush out and splash heaps of money on liftin' gear (belts, straps, wraps etc.), proteins, shakers and BCAAs just so you look the part. It's a waste of money and makes you look like a bit of a tool. They have their uses but not when you're just starting out.
Good luck.
Thanks mate, very informative. Will go and have a look tomorrow. Appreciate.
No worries.
might be a bit late on this one for you, but I found this thread very insightful and helpful for working out how to handle the sales people at major gyms….. it's from 2013, but a great thread none the less
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/108400Gym can be a lonely place.
Both gyms are good. But make sure in which gyms your friends or someone you know are going! So your time is spent not just with weights and machines but, with friends as well.
Why not just go down to Maccas and they will help you gain some weight :D
Why not go in and talk with them? You could go around the time that you would likely be going, get a walk around of the gym and im sure that they would have a trial that you could buy for not very much. This would let you see which you prefer: equipment, size, location, busy-ness..