Gym membership cost cutting

jyonda

Bupa are offering a years free gym membership when you take out their health insurance. Sounds similar to the 6 months offer from pru but, er..... double. Not sure how competitive their insurance is though.

http://www.bupa.co.uk/promotions/0137/

povall

I've just done a trial with LA Fitness for a month, through this discount company i get stuff from every month, after the trial i can join for free saving £75. Could be worth a look
https://www.discountclub.co.uk

manofthemoment

Geebsie wrote: »

Council gym in Edinburgh is £40 a month or £6.60 a visit - a scandal!

The Centre for Sport and Exercise (Edinburgh Uni) at the Pleasance is absolutely unbeatable value, much much cheaper than the council with better instructors, classes and equipment. For students and community members (no, I don't work there, I just use it!).

PM

I joined fitness first as its outside my house! I dont have a contract as I signed for 3 months but they charge me £40 which is a ripoff. Just phoned Bupa and I could get my cover (select 3) for £40 which would mean i get 2 for price of 1.

Anyone know a cheaper way of going fitness first. I am a student but all they want is me to sign 12 month contract which I dont want!

rodman

i have been member at fitness first for 2 years and still pay £40 per month

PM

rodman wrote: »

i have been member at fitness first for 2 years and still pay £40 per month

if you sign a 12 month contract that should go down to £30. I would threatern to leave and then they start offering good deal. even after you have left they send you offers to come back without any joining fee.

johnlangley

I have just been looking into joining fitness first gyms as a student. I live in Chiswick, London but go to the University of Leeds so wanted to be able to use the Hammersmith branch and the one in Kirkstall, Leeds. I phoned the Hammersmith branch and was quoted the 12 month contract student deal which allowed me to use all fitness first gyms for £39.95 a month with a joining fee of £45. I phoned the Leeds branch, asked for exactly the same deal and was quoted £26.95 a month and there was no mention of a joining fee. So joining a branch outside of London seems to be cheaper and you are still entitled to use all of the London gyms, after all, its in the contract!. I may well phone round to try and find the cheapest one and join through that one, you can do it all over the phone anyway. I imagine this price discrimination is applicable to non student deals as well, as far as I can see it is the London effect that increases the price.

xenomatt

I did quite a bit of research before picking a gym, both online and face to face. Chain prices are not uniform accross the country, nor are they uniform accross London (where I live).

Nor are prices written in stone, Fitness First, Cannon and Virgin will negotiate for example. I got a bad vibe from FF however, felt like they were trying to slip a cost past me, one month the banner ad outside the gym read 'no joining fee' but on enquiry there was a massive admin fee, next month the banner would read 'no admin fee' but an equal joining fee had appeared! They wouldn't dispense with the fee, when I asked what it was for all I got was 'a charge for entering you into the system' - that's one expensive swipe card and minute of data entry! They also chase you with sales calls after your visit - eventually I didnt feel bad giving a fake number (apparently essential when you visit for price info) to avoid this!

Council gyms are the business, in London at least they come in area groups, so if you join one you can usaully use a few in the area. I live in Shepherds Bush for example - one location has a poor gym but a pool, one has an awesome gym and squash courts etc, both included in my membership.

From experience, go pay-as-you-go (very efficient if you buy a £30 semi-member card thing) until a good offer crops up. Each gym trip cost me £4.00 (peak) I think under this. Last September I jumped onto an offer for peak membership for £190 upfront for the year. Averages to £16 a month, I get no hassle to upgrade anything from a council gym and free yoga / spinning etc classes if you are into that!

Final point, the chain is a Social Enterprise, not for profit, doing charitable work and reinvesting any surplas back into the gym.

Can I post links? here's an attempt:
http://www.gll.org/about.asp

Sarahsaver

ANyone know any cheaper routes for fitness First for Women gyms? I go to one because it is the most convenient location for me, and I save money because it is walking distance, local authority ones are a way off by bus:(
Don't forget to use the gym to iron your clothes, blow dry your hair, have a coffee (we get free drinks) get a newspaper and use the free dvd rentals, also the sauna
DOes any insurance co. include these gyms? They share the Fitness First name but otherwise anrn't the same, there's a mixed FF gym in town over the other side but FF For women members can't use their cards there.
I pay £32 pcm and use the gym about 3 times a week.

RosWright

My company has a Bupa scheme and the Bupa site has a Fitness First offer - 'Reduced rate membership'. Unfortunately in Manchester - this means a grand reduction of 32 to 29 for full membership - not what I would call amazing.

I didn't join FF - There was a notice on the turnstiles that members forgetting their passes must pay £1, which seemd unfriendly as a first impression, the sales guy I talked to first didn't know about the BUPA offer and said they would ring me in the evening - they didn't - I rang them after 9pm and they still knew nothing about it. The following day I spoke to another sales guy who found out about the £29 price. By then they had left me with such a bad impression that I couldn't wait to get to a friendly gym.

Martins article has been updated for Virgin Active/ Cannons/ LA Fitness with Pruhealth http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/gym-discounts