01/07/2026
How to choose the right gym
It’s a new year, and with that a chance for a fresh start and an opportunity to reembark on those health and fitness goals. One of the first steps to success is creating consistent habits around going to the gym. But, first that means finding the right gym that will get you to show up and chip away at those goals. Before I give my opinion on what to look for, let's first examine the top three things most people look for in a gym when surveyed on the topic.
Most new gym goers prioritized the following categories when searching for a gym: Cost, Cleanliness, and Closeness. Times are tough, and often the thought of adding one more monthly expense is a tough pill to swallow, this leads a lot of people to choose a gym based on how cheap it will be to their monthly budget. These days there are a lot of budget friendly options including free. That is if you consider the fact that you can do some basic body weight movements at home, and add walking or maybe even running if your body is equipped to do it (most people are not). Other options like Crunch, Planet Fitness, 24 hour fitness, or even your local YMCA can often provide budget friendly options for under or around $20 a month. However, with budget friendly options you get what you pay for. For example you can expect significantly larger crowds which could mean that you have to wait to use the equipment you want. Nothing ruins plans for a workout like showing up and feeling like everything you need is in use and leading to the thought of going home instead. Other things to consider are the amenities, cheaper options are typically going to be lacking in more high end equipment or more well maintained equipment, and when things do break down, you can expect that ownership will not get to it anytime soon. Other higher end options might have more luxury/ comfort amenities such as steam rooms, saunas, recovery rooms, although these are becoming more common even in the budget friendly options. This might be enough of a treat post workout that you show up more often than otherwise. This does lead us to our next consideration however– Cleanliness.
Those that are naturally born to be gym rats, often picture the place as somewhere loaded with meatheads grunting and sweating and leaving the gym a filthy place. In today’s post covid world, there is a lot more attention being paid to cleanliness of public areas. The typical rule of thumb is that the more expensive the facility, the cleaner it's going to be. This has nothing to do with the type of people that go to these places, but instead the likelihood that higher end facilities will have a full house keeping team dedicated to cleaning hourly, and deep cleaning going on after hours. So going back to our example of the budget friendly gyms with the luxury amenities there's a good chance that those facilities are not getting cleaned daily by professionals and they most definitely are not getting cleaned hourly. This means locker room areas are probably going to be pretty gross, and imagine the types of germs or mold that might be in a sauna or steam room. From personal experience I managed a large health club out of college that had steam rooms, saunas, and hot tubs in each locker room. HOURLY, I would have to make adjustments of chlorine levels because they are that affected by high use. These are areas that can be avoided, but also consider that things such as paper towels and cleaning spray tend to run out very quickly because of high use and when they need to be refilled, good luck finding someone who is making minimum wage to get around to it promptly.
The final “C” that most people consider is closeness. Having a gym that is in a convenient location is one of the top priorities people list when asked what they are looking for in a gym. This could be somewhere close to home that you go to before work, or maybe one close to work that you go to after you’re done for the day. I'll admit, this might be the most important “C” discussed as we know that one of the key indicators of success is consistency. Having a gym that might not have all the bells and whistles that you want but your able to get to more often is typically going to get better long term results than a “better” gym that you hardly ever get to.
The takeaway? Find a place that is within your budget that you will be able to consistently go into, ie 2-3 times a week for starters. Beyond the 3 “C’s” discussed here list what is most important to you. This might be that you have friends at a gym that is a little farther away than you would have initially wanted, but we know that having accountability is one of the best ways to create a habit or there might be a more expensive monthly gym membership but maybe it comes with small group classes that you can see yourself doing or perhaps you recognize the opportunity for a more social environment or what I like to call the 4th “C” Community.
