Your Health Is Your Wealth

24/Savvy Fitness: New York, NY

Considering joining that hip and trendy Gym can be very exciting during the tour of the facility but become stressful once you hear the rates. Before you give your plastic to that sales person who acts as if you need them more than they need you, here are a couple of tips to give you the upper hand and more bang for your buck.

Most fitness clubs offer two methods of payments, a paid-in-full yearly membership or a slightly higher initiation fee followed by a monthly rate. With a twelve-month membership, you're in a contract and they throw in one complimentary training session/evaluation with an inexperienced, newly hired trainer.

Here's the scoop—no matter how busy or written up they are, they need your business and are willing to make adjustments for you. Every club has a monthly goal for the sales and training departments and all sales people and some trainers work on commission. So whether you're a new member or renewing your expired membership, everything is negotiable. The last five days of every month (especially August and December) is the best time to go in and discuss purchasing a membership. The sales team is scrambling to reach their monthly goals and even if they have reached them, they make more by surpassing it.

Fitness clubs will rarely adjust their rate but they will throw in extras if you're Savvy. So, while you're in the office contain your excitement and be sure to mention that you will also be visiting that other gym down the street before you make any decisions. (Be sure to know the other club's name.) Once the awkward silence passes, ask the salesperson what he/she can do to sweeten your deal. Then ask for an extra two months on your membership and three complimentary training sessions with a trainer who has at least three years experience with that club. It cost the club nothing to add two months to a membership and trainers always do complimentary sessions when asked by the sales department. Remember, you know your body and budget better than anyone.