resistance training

Your choice of a gym will be an important part of your beginner bodybuilding program. Choose wisely as it could determine your success or failure. Here are some key considerations:

1) Equipment

It goes without say that the gym should have enough machines and free weights for all members especially during the peak times.

For instance, are there enough bench press stations? I’ve visited gyms where there was always a line to do bench presses. When I finally got my turn I’d always get interrupted by people asking me how many more sets I had left. You need to do each set with maximum intensity and rest as long as you need to between sets. The last thing you need is someone pressuring you to hurry and be done!

2) Cost

Your gym membership should not be too expensive. If you are strapped for cash don’t let this stop you. Explore membership at the so called ‘express’ gyms. They usually don’t have a swimming pool and all the other fittings and trimmings but the equipment they have is sufficient for your core workout program. Twenty dollars a month is fairly common for these types of gyms.

Also try to take advantage of any promotions they might have. Many have packages like refer-a-friend and get 30% off, or five week trial passes etc especially at the beginning of the month.

3) Hours

This goes without saying. Make sure they gym is open at the hours you would like to work out. Also be wary of very low monthly membership fees that restrict what hours you can work out. A popular ploy by some gyms is to charge as low as $15 a month but then have some fine print that says you can only use the gym between 11am and 3pm.

4) Location

Closer to home or the office is best. You will have fewer excuses to skip workouts and will avoid the wasting time on long drives back and forth.

5) Crowd

Don’t belabor this one but it is best to avoid gyms with too many of the following people

a. Lots of women. These gyms tend to focus on yoga and ‘cute’ exercises that are useless to you as a bodybuilder.

b. Muscle heads. These are the guys with 50 inch biceps and walk around like they own the gym. They can be intimidating and also tend to juice up on steroids. Avoid them like the plague.

6) Cleanliness

A clean well maintained gym will do much to motivate you to want to work out whereas a filthy one will gross you out. If at all possible pick the cleanest one after considering the other factors above.

All the best in your beginner bodybuilding journey!

By Don Demarco. Don has years of experience in body building and writes a fitness column read by thousands every week. Ever wondered how to get wash board abs? Visit Men’s Workout Rock Hard Six Pack Abs You may also sign up for a FREE Muscle Building Course