Joining a fitness center has been a topic of discussion here in our home over the past few months. After quite a bit of research we decided to take the plunge and join one.

I would like to share with you some of the questions I think you should ask and other things to think about when joining a fitness center because it can be quite a financial commitment and you want to be sure that it will fit your needs.

The two things most important to us were the location and hours and that they offered classes plus of course the class schedule. Once you find a fitness center that will fit your specifications you’ll want to visit and do a tour of the facility.

Here is a list of items we personally looked for and questions we asked.

1) Will the club hours and class schedule fit our schedule?
2) Is the fitness center clean?
3) Do they offer a free guest pass to try out the facility?
4) Do they have a good variety of fitness equipment?

Read over the terms and agreement carefully and be sure to find out

5) How many months are you locked into the initial agreement?
6) What happens to the agreement if you move?
7) Is there a grace period where they give you a chance to cancel without penalty after initially joining if you happen to change your mind?
8 ) Will the fitness center offer a complimentary personal training session after joining to review how to use the fitness equipment, learn about the classes offered, etc.?

If you go in prepared and armed with some knowledge of what to look for, you’ll be better off. Please don’t let anyone try to push you into signing up if you are not totally sold on joining. You are in control.

We found a fitness center that fit our needs and we are extremely happy with our choice to join.

Do you have a membership to a fitness center, gym or health club? If so, feel free to comment and share your top tips of what one should look for when joining.