Gym-Goers Opting for Classes Instead of Gym Memberships

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, high intensity interval training topped its annual list of fitness trends

With the New Year comes that new promise to drop weight and get fit, but this year not everybody is flocking to gyms to meet those goals.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, high intensity interval training topped its annual list of fitness trends. These workouts are alluring with the promise of up to a 900 calorie burn in an hour without the need to pay for a gym membership. You can sign up for high intensity interval training classes at places like Orange Theory and Revo Training Center in Doral.

Jorge Mendez is an instructor at Revo. “At a conventional gym you kind of go in and you don’t have any guidance,” Mendez says. He goes on to say that when you go to a Crossfit class, “you’ve got a couple of instructors to help you, you’ve got everyone in the class to help you and really, that’s the key to it.”

Felipe Congote has been going to Revo for a year. “I was invited to this program and I loved it; I loved the intensity; I love the coaching; I love the staff and I love that they push me to change my body,”Congote says.

These specialized classes cost anywhere from $10 to $40 a class. Like studios that offer Pilates, yoga and Zumba, consumers can purchase one class or a package of classes, usually for slightly less.

But don’t write gyms off just yet. Facing competition from training centers, many gyms are now offering a monthly subscription rather than a yearly contract but there’s usually a premium to pay.

Gyms like LA Fitness, 24-Fitness and Gold’s Gym are offering monthly memberships without an annual contract, but they required an activation fee or a down payment. Other gyms like Crunch Fitness that offer only traditional memberships and rolling out a variety of traditional and trendy classes to keep their clients from going elsewhere.

“At Crunch we always do things super fun and we try to be innovative and have innovative workouts to kind of be a step ahead of the game,” says Crunch Fitness instructor Carole Steinhauser. “One of the things that sets us aside is that you can do a pole dancing class and a spinning class and maybe a yoga class all in the same day at the same place,” Steinhauser says.

If you choose a traditional gym with an annual contract make sure you get a copy and read that contract as well as its cancellation policy, understand upfront and monthly fees and ask if there are late payment penalties. Whether you choose a traditional gym or specialized classes, you can always try to negotiate a better price and search for online coupons that offer trial packages.

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