How To Find The Right Gym For You

Question: How do I find the right gym for me?

Simple Answer: Make sure they have the right equipment for what you want to accomplish, in a safe/clean environment, that is easily accessible when you need it.

Complex Answer: Personally, I would much rather just have everything I need in the garage to lift. Sure buying all that equipment is expensive, but you only really need the essentials. If you add up your monthly gym dues over the course of a couple years, you can justify your purchase to turn your garage into a bear cave gym. I will get into details on how to accomplish that in a future article.

So maybe you don't have a garage or spare room you can transform. And to you, having a squat rack as a headboard in your bedroom doesn't seem
appealing. You must go on a quest in search of a gym. A gym you can do exactly what you want to do. A gym that will open doors and let you be free to lift at your heart's desire. Believe it or not, this is a very difficult task.

A few questions to keep in mind:
Does it have a place where I can squat, dead lift, overhead press, bench press, and row?
Do they have a sled you can push, pull, drag? Weighted vests? Tires? Sledge hammers?
What kind of people go to the gym? What kind of people, and how many, go to the gym at the time you want to train? Do they allow chalk? Are there knowledgeable trainers around who actually have backgrounds and nationally accredited certifications? Do they have showers so you can get to work on time in the morning? Is it clean? Lockers? Many more... you get the idea.

When you walk in you should be looking for a squat rack, hopefully multiple. Not one of those dinky "L" shaped squat racks. I'm talking about a power rack. You can adjust the hooks, move the safety catch bars and actually do big squats safely. I am not talking about a "Smith" machine, a fixed bar that moves along a track. Those make me sick, as in nauseous sick. The squat is not a fixed motion. The great thing about a power rack is the ability to do so many different movements by simply moving the hooks and catch bars. You can squat, dead lift, bench press, overhead press, even row. Sounds familiar? The Basic Big Movements. Wait, what? You can do everything you need in the power rack? YES! Awesome right? So if the gym only has one power rack, and it's popular at the time you want to train, you might be in trouble. Or you many need to search around for other options.

Bumper plates are a huge plus. They're hard rubber that allow you to drop the bar. Most fitness facilities don't have these, or want to buy them when you ask them to. When you want to drop your dead lifts from the top you tend get some mean mugging faces when you shake the whole building. Bumper plates are made for this. Whether it's dead lifts or Olympic weightlifting. Some places have them but still don't allow their members to drop the weight, because it "scares" the other members. That one always makes me laugh. Usually there is an area for the use of the bumper plates. Most of the time it is a platform, which is great, perfect actually. I'll get into why at a different time. Other times the area will be in a designated room. I've seen some facilities turn one of their many racquetball courts into a room dedicated to this. That shows you that they know what they are for. They understand you want to lift the house. So instead of having you "scare" all the other members they give you your own room! Freaking sweet! That's customer service. That's a damn good sign that's the gym for you. If they have a power rack in that room, you may or may not be in heaven. Lifting heaven.

A sled is another piece of equipment to look for. This is by far the best conditioning tool. It's so simple, so effective, so versatile. There should be one in every home across the world. If they do have a sled, is it an indoor sled or outdoor sled? If it's indoor, where is the designated sled area? Most likely it's the main hallway. Hallways can get busy really quick. The last thing you want to do is weave around hallway traffic while dragging redwood trees behind you. Although that would add to your conditioning. More power to you. If it's an outdoor sled, and there is a blocked off area, you hit the jackpot again. How many sleds do they have? How popular is the sled at the time you want to train? Can you adjust?

There are many other things to consider when looking for a gym/fitness facility to join. Maybe one of your must haves is a pool, tennis courts, kids center, baby sitting.... I don't know, you choose one. You can come up with the reason why you can't find the right place and why fitness isn't part of your life yet. These guidelines above are just some things off the top of my head when people ask me what to look for. Please comment below, write me, or don't. I'm here to help you. Heck, you're reading this. You're half way there! Now go squat.

In Strength,

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