Choosing The Right Type Of Gym For You.

 

What Type Of Gym Is Best For Me?

 

Are you thinking, ‘I want to find a good gym near me’?

Obviously, the first thing you should do is search our site for a gym near you!

And after that.. consider these points.

 

Closest Gym To Me

How far are you willing to travel? Are you looking for a 10-15 minute walk/run/drive or a 2-3 hour trip to train at a specialised gym that leads the way in their respective field of sport?

If you want to benefit from the skills, experience and atmosphere of elite athletes and their coaches, then you’ll likely be spending more time on the road as these tend to be located in the bigger cities.

On the contrary, if you’re happy with the basics like a treadmill, rower, resistance machines and some dumbbells (all of which, by the way, can be purchased for your home gym on their respective Amazon links), then they’ll likely be a gym very near you for you to train at. If you’re struggling to find any commercial gyms, then consider smaller hotel or independent gyms. Most academic organisations also tend to have the basics that are available to the public. Just select ‘Health Clubs’, ‘Independent Gyms’ or ‘Academic Gyms’ on our listings page to find one near you.

Whichever way you go, make sure you will be willing to repeat this journey multiple times a week to ensure consistency!

 

Type Of Gym

This is very closely linked to your goals. If you’re wanting to shed a few pounds before summer, keep them off forever or smash some extra calories out following a bit of a binge during the festive period, then a general ‘Health Clubs’ search will likely find something to fit your needs!

If you’re wanting to get into a more specific fitness type, then it may be worth your while checking out where the nearest gym that specialises in a specific area of fitness is. Luckily for you, you can achieve this via a quick search on Find Gyms UK.

 

Gym Opening Times

This one’s a biggy! If you need to be walking in the door at work at 07:59hrs, then a gym that opens their doors at 07:00hrs will not allow you enough time to train, shower, eat/drink and get to work (unless your work is right next door, are smashing out a short 20 minute session of high intensity training and you inhale your food down the pipe quicker than, well.. a really quick thing).

Look for one’s that open earlier (some tend to accommodate 8-4 work timings by opening at 06:00hrs), if not you should consider a 24-hour gym. Simply select our ‘24 hour gyms’ filter in the listings.

 

Gym Facilities

If you’re a powerlifting specialist, then you’re probably going to be disappointed with what the small, local YMCA gym offers in terms of weights. On the other hand, if you’re looking to simply find a decent rower, treadmill or sports hall, the YMCA could be great option!

If you’re interested in more sport specific equipment like specialist barbells, GHD’s, plyo boxes, Olympic bumper plates and gymnastic rings, then you may have to do some digging into exactly which pieces of gym kit a gym has. *quick plug again.. if you want to sack off the gym entirely and would love to own this equipment, you can find it all on their respective links at Amazon.

You can find the exact equipment that a gym near you has by navigating to the respective gyms’ website via their listing page. Most gyms advertise their inventory online. If you’re still struggling to find their kit, consider doing it the old fashioned way and give them a bell!

 

Do You Really Need a Gym?

Yes, this may sound like a strange suggesting coming from a website that promotes gyms! However, quite often people want to get fit, but no matter what they try, they just can’t commit to regularly attending a gym due to their own mental or physical barriers.

If this sounds like you, consider looking for community groups such as running groups, yoga groups, or even martial arts or rock-climbing clubs. You can find many of these ‘sport specific’ groups running out of local universities or council led facilities.

Because remember… calories don’t discriminate and they aren’t just burnt in the gym!