fitness first membership

poppy_the_saving_cat

Hi there, i just wondered if anyone had any advice for me, i am going for an appointment to view my local fitness first gym later today as i really need to get fit!!!
I wondered if anybody had any advice on trying to get as much value out of my membership as possible and whether anyone had any experience of asking for extras, i.e free guest passes etc thrown in and if so how they managed it. I am a little shy and and am not very good at getting the best deals sometimes but am determined to try and be abit cheeky this time! lol x
Any help would be really appreciated in how yo accomplish this

thankyou

poppy the saving cat xxxx

Pyewacket338

I was with Fitness First for 3 years, they tend to charge extra for everything and use quite strong sales tactics to get people to sign up.
I didn't use the equipment much but took full advantage of the classes, Fitness First gyms don't usually have a swimming pool, but that suited me.
I chose FF because you can use any of their gyms throughout the country, they have gyms abroad too but I never attempted to use those, I'd imagine flashing your pass there would get you in if the staff are in a good mood.
When you go for your appointment, that's the time to be blagging whatever you can, but January is the busiest sign up time and chances are the person signing you up has reached this months target already so may not be as desperate for members as later in the year.
Getting free guest passes is difficult, they don't like to give anything for free, I became friends with the staff on the desk and they let me take someone in unofficially a few times, otherwise they'd pay £6 per session.
The personal trainers are all self-employed, they wear red and will be keen to get you on their books, if you haven't been to a gym before, getting a fitness program set up could be a good idea, I just wanted to shape up and get fit, so it was body pump twice a week and spinning 4 times a week for me.
By all means, be cheeky with the staff, I found all the people there really friendly.

mrmoo_3

If its any help, when I was in Bath, I enquired about Fitness First only to see how much they were for students. Once I found out it was £40 quid a month I said to the guy "No thanks I've found a cheaper gym", I told him how much it was £30, and he said well I can give you a friends and family rate or £32, which was great as it was a better gym!

So it might be worth telling a little white lie and say that you've found a gym for about £30.

poppy_the_saving_cat

Thanks to pyewacket338 and mrmoo xxx

Just got back from fitness first and have joined for £31 a month full membership and i can use any club in the country, got a discount off normal rate of £34.95 because i work for asda and got 5 free guest passes, the membership services manager said they should be used for 5 different people but when i said i only really wanted them for my OH she said no problem and she would sort that. I also signed up for the "body first" package which was £35 and u get books on nutrition, a low fat recipe book, different exercises to do at home, etc, quite a thick package to read through!! and i get three 45 mins wiv a personal trainer and as long as i attend all these and visit the gym at least another 4 times in 4 weeks i can get my £35 back guaranteed, i asked if there was a catch to this as it seems to good to be true but she said no.

So all in all i am very happy with this, the gym looks beautiful, much bigger than i first thought, cant wait to get going now!!! lol xxxxxxxxx

woohoo_postingid

You should be able to get a reduction on the joining fee. They are very flexible on this.

As has been said, if you can wait until after January, they may be more desperate for members so will be willing to offer more.

poppy_the_saving_cat

I didnt have to pay a joining fee and the admin fee was half price during jan so only had to pay £15 x :j :beer: xxx

Pyewacket338

I was paying £30 per month and that was from 3 years ago, so you've done well with the price.
I was told that Fitness First had more exercise machines than any other gym, so there's less chance of having to wait.
I went to the classes, mainly because it gave a set time to be there and the classes lasted an hour on average, that gave me more motivation to go, I also met people to chat to and it became more of a social event, just going add-hock and hammering away on the machines with my mp3 blaring away in my ears became boring very quickly.

nav12c

:T
that's a very good rate. which one did you join? I joined a FF platinum gym in central London and pay £41/ month. Would love to lower this rate!

poppy_the_saving_cat wrote: »

Thanks to pyewacket338 and mrmoo xxx

Just got back from fitness first and have joined for £31 a month full membership and i can use any club in the country, ...

cadmus

poppy_the_saving_cat wrote: »

Thanks to pyewacket338 and mrmoo xxx

Just got back from fitness first and have joined for £31 a month full membership and i can use any club in the country, got a discount off normal rate of £34.95 because i work for asda and got 5 free guest passes, the membership services manager said they should be used for 5 different people but when i said i only really wanted them for my OH she said no problem and she would sort that. I also signed up for the "body first" package which was £35 and u get books on nutrition, a low fat recipe book, different exercises to do at home, etc, quite a thick package to read through!! and i get three 45 mins wiv a personal trainer and as long as i attend all these and visit the gym at least another 4 times in 4 weeks i can get my £35 back guaranteed, i asked if there was a catch to this as it seems to good to be true but she said no.

So all in all i am very happy with this, the gym looks beautiful, much bigger than i first thought, cant wait to get going now!!! lol xxxxxxxxx

your halfway there to your fitness goals because you have the motivation . . .better if you can train with a friend or and you will get to know many new friends from FF and train with them which you will then both motivate eachother and set little targets - like on the treadmills or row machines etc.theres just so many things there to keep you fit , your never get bored.
dont forget , eat regular meals and dont ever skip meals as thats when you store bodyfat . eating smaller frequent meals speeds up your metabolism, added with your new exercise regime - your burn fat and get fit in no time .
all the best to you .

poppy_the_saving_cat

hi nav12c, my gym is in brierley hill in the west midlands, i guess u pay more because its a london gym, but as someone mentioned on another thread i read u could sign up at a cheaper gym then just use the gym thats nearest you even though its may be more expensive as you can use any ff gym in the country x

dont forget i had it at discounted rate too for working at asda and asda is part of its corporate membership scheme x

poppy_the_saving_cat

thanks for your advice cadmus xxx