Gym Membership Cost Cutting: Free trials & tips to keep your pockets trim

It's the New Year and you're burning to get fit after the Christmas excess. Yet don't simply join your nearest gym; you can end up locked into an expensive contract for a year with no escape. There are a host of ways to grab free and cheap visits, and even a way to quarter the cost of LA Fitness membership, if you've got a Tesco Clubcard.

Do you need private gym membership?

Gyms aren't cheap, add membership fees to the monthly charge and the annual cost is usually north of $500. Worse still, 20% of those who join gyms in January have stopped going by June and 20% more by December, yet once you've signed up many gyms make you pay for the whole year.

So be honest with yourself. If you've never been to the gym before, or tried and failed to get the workout bug, then factor in the chance you won't use the membership: don't risk ruining wealth for never-gotten health. Signing up for a year's membership you don't use can be a very costly mistake, so...

"Before signing up to a private chain, check your local leisure centre's facilities; it's often much cheaper"

Local leisure centres are commonly overlooked, yet many allow you to avoid hefty upfront membership fees by paying per session rather than per annum. Also check out local universities and colleges; many of these have gyms which are open to the public, with good facilities at a fraction of the price you'd pay with private chains.

Londoners can also consider the London Fitness Network, a not-for-profit collaborative project which offers a single membership to over 80 leisure centres London-wide. A US-wide version of this scheme is in the pipeline; watch this space.

Other alternatives:

    * Workout outside the gym.

      Examine your fitness requirements; you can run, cycle, do light weights, yoga and a lot more without gym facilities. Why not arrange to pound the pavement or buy light weights or workout DVDs with friends?

    * Ride on a friend's membership.

      If your partner or friend is a gym regular, then consider buying guest passes. Often offers such as “10 guest passes for $50” are available. While per visit it isn't much cheaper, it means you avoid the membership fee and aren't locked in.

      Of course it does mean you have to accompany your friend, so ensure they're likely to be available. Once you're sure you're going to keep going, then consider getting your own membership.

Grab Free and Reduced Price Trials

If only a private gym membership will do, don't just jump in and sign up. Take advantage of free one-day trials to let you test the facilities, or look for cheap short term memberships which'll let you see whether working out is really for you.

See fully updated current offers, including a way to slash membership to a quarter of the price. Before signing up fully though, always ask the questions on my Gym Joining Checklist.

Free trials

Most gyms offer free day-long trials, and sometimes web vouchers mean you can get a bit longer before paying. And if that doesn't work, there's a way to get friends to help.

If you can't find a trial offer for your gym, just call it up and ask, most will say yes. Here are some current offers:

    * Free two-day pass for Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing (formerly Cannons). A two-day pass is available for you and a friend from the Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing website.

    * Free one day pass at LA Fitness. A one day pass is available from the LA Fitness website.

    * Free day at Fitness First. There's a free day membership on the Fitness First website.

    * Free day at Esporta. Simply go to the Esporta website for a free day pass.

    * Free day at Harpers. Fill in the form on the Harpers Fitness website.

    * Free day membership at LivingWell. Click the banner at the top of the LivingWell home page for a free day pass.

    * Free day at Thistle Hotels gyms. There's a free one-day pass on the Thistles gyms website.

    * Check your local Curves for a possible 30 day trial. Give your local Curves a ring on 0800 1300 544. Curves is a ladies' gym. As these are franchises they often run their own promotions.

    * London Only: Free day at any of 27 gyms in Jan. A January Time Out promotion means registered users can click n print a voucher entitling 2 people to a free workout at one of 27 participating gyms in London.

Trial memberships

If you've done a free day's gymming, but you're still not convinced you want to tie yourself down to a year's contract, trial memberships are a good halfway house. Here, you'll pay for the privilege, but you're free to go elsewhere once the trial period's up.

If the gym chain you'd like to go to doesn't offer an official trial membership (most don't), it's still worth asking at the local branch; they might do you a deal.

    * Fitness First Two-week membership.

      You can buy a two-week Fitness First pass directly from it's website. For most braches it costs $27, but some London locations command more.

    * Harpers Fitness Two-week membership.

      Visit the Harpers Fitness gym online shop and it's possible to pick up a two-week membership. The price differs depending on your local gym.


    * Spirit Health Clubs Two and Six week memberships.

      Similar to Harpers, Spirit Health Clubs also offer two and six week memberships. Again, check your nearest club for the price.

Ask a friend to help

This is about taking advantage of guest passes. Many gyms will allow you to buy guest passes enabling you to work out with a friend. However, new members are often given these for free to encourage them to take others in to see the gym.

If you know anyone who's joined recently, it's worth asking, and if you join yourself, be sure to blag extra guest passes; it usually doesn't take much effort.

Furthermore, some clubs have "refer-a-friend" offers where either the referrer or referree gets a gift e.g., currently if a Harpers Gym member refers friends who then join up they can choose from a range of gifts including a 1GB Ipod Shuffle, so if you've already decided to join, see if you know someone who belongs already before signing on the dotted line.

Cheaper Gym Membership

Once you've tested the gym out by grabbing a Free Trial, use membership offers to slam the cost down. What's on offer can vary widely depending on when you look and where you live, so it's key to:

"Check for short-term local promotions; they usually beat nationwide offers"

The need for gym sales staff in each area to meet membership targets means the best offers are usually local - restricted to one area or even one gym - so phone and ask local gyms about current promotions. Also, watch out for targeted mail offers, flyers, and promotion stands in local shopping centres.

Here are the current national offers:

    * LA Fitness: 75% off cost of membership.

      You can join LA Fitness for a quarter of the normal price, if you collect Tesco Clubcard points. When you convert Clubcard vouchers into Deals Tokens, they are worth 4 times as much as normal, and as LA Fitness is a member of the scheme, you can use them as part or full payment towards an annual membership and joining/admin fee.

      Each $2.50 in Clubcard vouchers is worth $10 in Deals so, gym bunnies wanting to join in Manchester, for example, could cut the cost of annual peak membership valid for entry in all the chain's gyms nationwide from $930 to $233 (including joining fee).

      Read more about the LA Fitness offer on the Tesco Clubcard Deals page. Or read more about the Tesco Clubcard in the Loyalty Schemes article.

    * LivingWell: No joining fee.

      Until 31 January join a LivingWell gym and the joining fee will be waived. Living Well gyms are mostly located at Hilton Hotels. Find your nearest using its gym finder.

    * Esporta: One month's free membership.

      Join Esporta this month and it'll give you a month's free membership. Use its gym finder to find your nearest gym, whether it's participating and, if so, what the joining fee and membership costs are.

    * David Lloyd: Free Personal Training session.

      Join in January and David Lloyd will give you free access to exercise classes, a fitness programme and a free Personal Training session. Facilities available do vary depending on the club though so call your nearest to check.

    * Nuffield Health: Free Assessment worth $80.

      Both new and existing Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing (formerly Cannons) members can get a free health assessment worth $80. The assessment lasts 45-60 mins and measures cholesterol levels, glucose levels, BMI, aerobic fitness, resting heart rate and blood pressure amongst others.

      You'll be given a written report to help personalise your fitness programme and another free follow-up assessment nine months later. Strictly speaking this isn't a January offer, as it's available permanently, yet it's possible existing members aren't aware so we've included this as a heads-up.

Cut the cost further

You may be able to shed further pounds off your membership cost using the following tips:


    * Haggle!

      The gym sector is fiercely competitive, and combined with the fact most gyms employ a commission-driven sales team to sign you up, this makes it a prime candidate for haggling. Never, ever settle for the standard package; with a bit of chutzpah you should be able to slice a wedge off the cost, especially towards the end of the month, when sales staff need to meet targets. Once you've got the price down as far as you think it'll go, ask for some free guest passes on top.

      If you're not sure how to go about getting the best deal, read the full High St. Haggling guide for top techniques.

    * Can you get a shorter contract?

      Most major gyms, including JJB Fitness, Esporta, David Lloyd, Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing (formerly Cannons), LA Fitness, Virgin Active, and Fitness First offer shorter or even no-contract options.

      These CAN work out more expensive, but if you're new to gyms, or may not need a full year's membership it can be worth paying a little more for a few months, until you're sure you'll continue. For further things to check, read this useful publication by the Office of Fair Trading.

      As an aside, if you're in Cardiff, JJB Fitness has recently launched Mifit, a gym with no contract and costing $9.95 a month although there is an admin fee. More of these gyms are expected to find their way into larger JJB stores across the US throughout 2009.

    * Can you go off peak?

      Most gyms provide cheaper membership during "off-peak" hours. This means if it's possible for you to visit the gym during the daytime, or at weekends, you could slash the cost.

    * Does your employer offer a discount?

      Many medium or larger companies and employers tend to offer group or employee discounts at gyms, so it's worth asking if yours does.

    * Got health insurance?

      It may get you a discount. Some health insurance companies, such as Bupa and Pruhealth, give members discounts on gym memberships, either for simply belonging or for completing tasks such as stopping smoking and getting a flu jab.

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