In January there is a boom of activities, clubs etc being advertised and promoted, drawing all of us into our new fitness, lifestyle, weight loss or weight gain goals. This creates a fantastic opportunity to everyone and hopefully will appeal to any purse strings, whether you are an indoors/outdoors person, a fierce boot camper, a dancer or a gym body. There really is a solution for anyone’s needs.

If you are considering joining a health club, it may be sensible not to sign up to an annual membership straight away. You could try pay as you go for the first couple of months to see if you can adhere to the new regime. There are also many clubs from the boutique gyms to the local authority leisure centre. Although price is important to all of us it is also important to ensure you will use the facilities. There could be a cheaper gym but you have to travel a further 10 miles to get to it as opposed to the smaller more exclusive gym just round the corner. At first glance if both facilities were offering the same services the less expensive option may appeal to more people. However, having the extra miles is just an added barrier to get you into the gym. With the local more expensive option you are more likely to attend your classes more frequently making the cost of each session actually less than the cheaper facility you visit fewer times.

It is also worth looking in your local area. You will always be able to find a selection of class such as Zumba, Insanity, or a Pilates class. Some classes are taught by the same instructor where they offer a class pass, here you can pay up front but attend any class they teach which will give you more flexibility and often a class for free!

The actually minority of people are the hard, fast Gym goers that will be there rain sleet or snow. For the majority walking in to a busy gym in January can be extremely daunting. If you have no experience again, do your research. The all singing and dancing gym may offer you everything but the level of instruction could vary. If you feel like you need extra attention, extra motivation then you may be suited to a smaller club where hopefully the staff to member ratio is a lot better and personal than the bigger gyms. Finally It is important to understand what you think you will enjoy taking part in as well. If you are a lover of Yoga, most, mainstream gyms only offer Hatha Yoga. By joining a more specialised Yoga centre you will have a lot more styles to try from. The same a Cross Fit. Today you can find cross fit Gym’s and if this is the main type of workout you would use in the big gym then joining a specialised Cross Fit Centre may be a better match for your needs!

The clear message is we can all find a way to get moving, we just need to choose the best way!