How to Select a Gym to Match Your Goals : Showers & Changing Rooms

Showers & Changing Rooms :

This is where most gyms let themselves down badly. The changing rooms are often cramped, with small/narrow lockers which are a struggle to get all your stuff into. Once I took a sports bag to a new gym only to discover that locker was too small for the bag to fit into.

Always ask to see the changing area (and showers too, don't be shy), and look out for broken lockers, cleanliness. One gym in East London I checked out (and didn't join!) had a changing area littered with sticking plasters, cotton buds, empty drinks cartons, chocolate wrappers.

In contrast, when I spent a year in Australia, I joined a gym with the cleanest and most spaceous changing area imaginable. The lockers were double width to fit the largest of sports bags, and a light even came on inside the locker when you opened it.

And always ask for a free trial session, so you actually experience the changing area and showers rather than just a quick glance around. Try before you buy, this gives you a much better chance of spotting problems. One free trial I had was great, until I used the showers at the end. One cubicle had only freezing water, another had only scalding water, and the third had no shower gel in the dispenser.

 

👉 Introduction : How to Select a Gym to Match Your Goals
👉 Location
👉 Equipment
👉 Staff
👉 Showers & Changing Rooms
👉 Other Members
👉 Cost and Contract
👉 Additional Facilities