Where is all the gym heads at ... I need your help

Quick background:

I'm not by any means a hardcore gym rat, but I would hit the gym at least 4-5 days a week just for physical health and to keep my sanity. I've never been the one to really care if my bod is rock solid. Hell, I'm good with a little gut hanging out lol. I was a member of 24 hour fitness for 10 years but once my wife and I moved into an apartment, they had a fairly decent gym (enough to get by) so we both canceled our membership to save our money.

Now that we have boughten our home and are more settled in, we have been running around the neighborhood to get some kind of physical activity. Which is fine, we enjoy the outdoor air and sun shine but we are lacking the strength training ( I need weights damn it). So now we are looking to join a gym again.

The question:

We've been on a free membership trial with LA fitness but these assholes won't budge off the initiation fee . They've been playing hardball and we've walked away twice already. Does anyone have any insight to gym memberships? Can they or will they get rid of the 1 time initiation fees or is that mandatory? Any advice would be great.

 

Just try another LA fitness. The membership you will work at all of them...unless you get the one gym specific one. Or just tell them to pound sand. They are like car salesman. They will budge

 

That was my next step lol

Maybe @Sean266

 

We already walked on the salesmen and the manager. We are trying to stick to our guns but it's half a mile from our house. 24 hour is about 2 miles away but damn it gets packed after 5pm

 

look up for a local crossfit gym. You are wasting your time at LA Fitness IMO.

 

build your own in your garage...best decision i ever made

 

Yep. I finally started CrossFit and now I want my last 10 years of everything else back.

 

Honestly, every single LA fitness I've been to are full of douchebags. I have a nasty taste in my mouth with that gym.

Is there another smaller gym around you guys? Like a local non-franchise one? Those kind of gyms are the best IMO.

If all else fails, I would invest in my own home gym (power rack, barbell, some db's, etc) you'd pay it off in no time with what you save in gym memberships.

No traffic, no waiting on equipment, amazing convenience. That's my plan when the wife and I move into a house.

 

I worked for an LA fitness when I lived in Ca and a 24 here in Colorado. LA has a corporate policy to charge each new member an initiation fee, as do most gyms, but the manager or sales manager or whoever you're talking to can step in and over-ride ANY fee that you're being charged. I'd start there and if they're not willing to work with you go to a different location or find a different gym chain altogether.
Big box gyms have thousands of members man, they're not going to go out of business by waiving your 50$ start up fee. If LA won't work with you tell them straight up that you already talked to Gym X and they said they'd waive the fee so you'll just be going there instead. Managers hate to lose sales.

That's just my experience from working at those 2...

 

that's the truth... my wife and I did the same thing. we have a bonus room on the second floor and we turned it into a work out area. we have a tread mill, heavy bag, power block dumbbells, a plate rack, 2 flat and incline benches (one has a leg attachment and a bar rack), and about 800 pounds worth of plates. We also added a TV to the room that can stream our music channels. Being in the house also has the added bonus of air conditioning... and there are no excuses. When I come home from work, all I have to do is change my clothes and I am ready for a workout.

that's one of the best things that we added to the house.

 

The gym I go to is run by one of the local hospitals. They gave me a 7 day trial to see if I liked it. They also have no startup fees and I only have to give them 30 days written notice if I intend to cancel my membership

 

that's awesome! I'm probably going to build a shed next to the house (so I can utilize the A/C without any added cost (assuming there's enough BTU's to go around). Not to mention, you can get plenty of good deals off CL or from older gyms that are closing out/getting rid of equipment. if done right, you could get away with about 1k worth of equipment and be set!

 

yeah... AC is a must.... especially in the texas heat. that's why we made the workout room in the house and not in the garage.

+1 on getting used equipment. used plates and new plates work the same... its kinda hard to mess those up my wife just scored a deal on some used olympic plates. she got 250 pounds for $100 (new, they go for 1-2 dollars per pound).

 

I am in for under $500 for my home gym. I have a power rack, 2 barbells, 500+ lbs of Olympic plates, and a flat bench. Dumbbells get expensive but the interchangeable ones are good value (selectec, powerblock, etc..). My power rack was $150 used. I bought a new Cap OB-86 bar for about $100. I got a used package of stuff (flat bench, 300lbs weights, some standard weights and incline benches) for $100 and bought another 200 lbs of weight for about another $100.

Stuff I would like to come by for good deals is hard like a GHD and a rower.

 

Try smaller or local gyms. They will work with you on the fees. Gyms owned by corporate are hard to negotiate with unless you find that manager on the last day/week of the month who is willing to sign you up to meet the quota for the month.

 

Louisiana heat and humidity! no bueno! LOL

man, you can't beat that!!

 

You have a gym? I couldn't tell...

 

I've heard a lot of good things about crossfit. It's a little too much intensity for what I'm looking for. I'm definitely down for a workout but I'm not that hardcore. I just need a few mile run and a few sets on the weights and I'm good. Respect to the crossfit people out there, it ain't no joke

 

I agree with the the douchbag's part lol. Just with the the few days we have gone, I can already see the difference. As for the local spots, we have several but on the ghetto part of town. I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks but my wife isn't use to the crime and homeless. Gotta keep the wifey safe and happy

You and @zackbremer make a good point and the wife and I agree it pretty much would pay for itself in membership fees for a home gym. Here's the problem, I've got the tundra sleeping in the garage, and let's face it. I love my tundy I think we all do lol. I really don't want to lose that for a home gym maybe I should cast a vote and see what everyone thinks. Damn that's a tough decision gym or happy tundra

 

That's good advice. We are going to hit up another LA fitness and see if they budge. I told em I would go back to 24 hour cuz they will throw out the initiation fee but I really don't like 24 hour and trying to avoid going back if I don't have to.

 

I'm glad to know they can override that fee. If I mention you Sean will they give me a discount. You know everyone

 

I can see what you mean, that's exactly why I'm planning on building a shed just for my fit fix LOL

have you seen the power racks that fold up on the wall?? that could be an option for you


https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-...MIiL2X14Sg1gIV1FmGCh3YSw7DEAAYASAAEgJ_BvD_BwE

and look up PRx.

 

honestly just tailor the workout to your needs. Eventually you'll start increasing weight and cardio. Start slow/light but steady. Keep up on the schedule and soon enough your speed and weights will increase. There is usually a good friendly atmosphere at those crossfit gyms at that will push you to get more. There is a bit of a cult too but you dont have to drink the cool aid. Once you master the movements you can get your barbells and setup shop at your place. That's what we do with my buddy now.

 

We have a bonus room upstairs also, but we turning it more into a game room. I've got all my gaming systems set up. I'm kind of a nerd

 

I actually work at a hospital/university which has a free gym. But it's a bit of a drive for the wife after work. Definitely and option for worst case senario.

 

AC is something we need in making our decision as well

 

awesome! I have my man cave with computers and gaming stuff too

 

That sounds like a great deal. Now the hard part. Gym in the garage or Tundra in the garage