Gym membership cost cutting

iwanttosave_2

I use my council gym and apart from an hour at around 6pm I have never had any problem getting on equipment or getting help from an instructor. Its costs £28 a month and for that I can use the gym as much as I like, swim, do the studio classes (don't even have to pay extra for spinning class) the squash/badmintion/football courts, sun beds, sauna ect.

Saves me a fortune, esp when I take the little one, 60p for 90 mins entertainment, can't be that.

stevee.c

I have joined the banana fitness club , with the corporate rate scheme ,which many firms have joined it costs £280 a year. Nothing stopping you asking your boss to sign up to the scheme , 50 to 60 pieces of equipment. I have found that they are mainly in leisure centers. this is great because they have the sauna and steam room and of course a decent size pool included in the price. Maybe not as fancy as some of these very expensive clubs , but be honest your there to work out, not look at pretty walls and the like.On top of that they are all over the country and you can use any banana fitness center you can find, great if you get about alot, as far as i am aware that is.You only need to ask if this is right. Happy beastings everyone.:rotfl:

thriftynotmean

Virgin gym fees can be paid using Tesco vouchers.
I use a Tesco credit card as it gives me cashback in the form of vouchers. I then use them to pay my gym bill.
I joined Virgin in April, got the remainder of the month and May for free, and then paid for June, July and August using £53 of vouchers.
Seemed like a good deal to me, and the gym is really nice with lots of facilities, classes etc and it's clean (unlike the local council-run gyms).
I opted for the more expensive type of membership which means that I can leave with 14 days notice if my initial enthusiasm isn't maintained. If you go for a 12 month contract, it is a bit cheaper each month. Also, you can use a mixture of vouchers and cash to pay. :j

*sandymogs*

I have just joined a gym/health club at a local hotel for a special offer of £100 for the year. They had 50 places available and I was lucky to get one. There were no catches, I get to use the gym, the pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. The only thing I would have to pay for extra if I wanted it, is the solarium and beauty treatments.

hypnotina

For cheap workouts check out this online gym. £5 a month and you can take part in a number of classes with new classes added every week. Breakdance, aerobics etc
https://www.wobics.com

$am1965

thriftynotmean wrote: »

Virgin gym fees can be paid using Tesco vouchers.
I use a Tesco credit card as it gives me cashback in the form of vouchers. I then use them to pay my gym bill.
I joined Virgin in April, got the remainder of the month and May for free, and then paid for June, July and August using £53 of vouchers.
Seemed like a good deal to me, and the gym is really nice with lots of facilities, classes etc and it's clean (unlike the local council-run gyms).
I opted for the more expensive type of membership which means that I can leave with 14 days notice if my initial enthusiasm isn't maintained. If you go for a 12 month contract, it is a bit cheaper each month. Also, you can use a mixture of vouchers and cash to pay. :j

You need to check on the link fron the Tesco Clubcard Deals website, there is a lsit of gyms EXCLUDED, mine, Northampton is one of them

Kyss

I notice that exercise on referral has already been mentioned, but I thought I'd add a little more. It seems that if you have certain medical conditions, in my area there is a scheme whereby you can get a prescription from a GP, and not only will that allow the gym to take you on (they can be reluctant to take people with certain conditions), but you pay a special rate for twelve weeks - only paying a small amount for the sessions you attend. Not only that, but you're given what is essentially a 'personal trainer' who assesses you throughout the twelve weeks - quite different to the usual induction and then get on with it. Not only that, but it seems you then qualify for reduced gym membership at the end of the course.

Of course, I'm not suggesting everybody floods their GPs with requests for prescriptions. These schemes seem to be locally run, and not all GPs are signed up to it. It seems to be mainly for things like coronary heart disease, diabetes, depression, etc. One scheme mentioned that it was suitable for anyone who might benefit from exercise - so that's 99.9% of us! Personally, I'd say it's particularly good for
- people who have medical problems which affect how they should exercise, because I think it must be safer working one to one with a trainer, with a tailored programme, than doing it on your own.
- people who are unfit and have a condition which is known to improve with exercise - you might want something tailored to your condition.
- people with medical problems on uncertain incomes, etc.

Financially, I think it's good to be able to pay as you go - most gyms seem to want you to sign up for a year, and it's a lot to commit to. In my case, a session will be cheaper than a session in my local swimming pool, but for that money I'll have my trainer as well as the use of swimming pool and gym. There's also the flexibility of not having to pay during holidays, sickness, etc.

On the downside, financially, it's not necesarily cheaper than joining a gym. In my case if I go to at least two sessions a week, as a I plan to, I'll be paying as much as if I'd joined my cheapest local gym. (However, joining the cheapest gym isn't an option as they won't have me due to my medical conditions!). I think it's important to continue the exercise after the programme finishes, but I'm going to be struggling with that - even the reduced membership is substantially more than the cheapest gym.

For me, though, what's particularly important is that I'm getting a tailored programme and supervision which takes into account my medical conditions - and I'm sure it would cost a lot more to pay privately for those sessions with a personal trainer. Just thought I'd make sure people who qualify are aware of this.

I think there is a lot of local variation in these schemes - Boudicca mentioned an induction and a £7.50 fee which is different, and I think in some areas it may even be free. In my case, I'm going to a private gym rather than a council-run gym - the council-run one is pretty expensive anyway.

hgbels

Hi,

I have also got an exercise referal from my GP - just for being fat. I'm not sure what he exact weight criteria is, but my GP was very happy to sign me up (she also signed me up to a weight loss course as well!!:eek: ).

But my deal does not sound as good as others, basically I get the local gym membership for £20 not £35 - a good saving for me, but no personal training etc

Were we are it seems to be a local authority thing, and is advertised on the council web site.

hels

abbyj

$am1965 wrote: »

You need to check on the link fron the Tesco Clubcard Deals website, there is a lsit of gyms EXCLUDED, mine, Northampton is one of them

My local Virgin Gym is also on the excluded list but is there anything stopping me from joining another one and using my local one as a guest? The package I pay for now means I get access to all clubs. Has anybody tried it? Sounds too good to be true - could save me £1000.

nuclearjames

Hi Everyone,

I am a member of Bannatynes gym in Manchester. I pay for a couples membership and my girlfriend has lost her card. They want her to pay a £10 replacement fee even though I am paying a substantial amount every month for our membership :mad: .

Are they allowed to charge you to replace these cards? I want to cancel but they told me I need to give them a months notice before from the next payment date 1st January. So suddenly my months notice is one and a half months notice.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is there anything I can do?

Cheers