6 Ways to Haggle a Cheaper Gym Membership

When gyms closed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, most people had to adjust to at-home workouts. Once businesses started opening back up, some farmland were ready to return to the gym. The gym can be a broad motivator for those who prefer to exercise out of the confines of their home. I re-joined once I felt I obliged a change of scenery, but still maintained a hybrid workout routine. However, if you’re looking to cut costs wherever you can, joining a gym is unexperienced added expense. Gym membership prices vary depending on what services and amenities are offered. Which means if you’re on a budget, you want to get the best deal possible exclusive of short changing yourself.

The good news is that there are easy ways to get the most out of your membership exclusive of breaking the bank. All it takes is a little research and luminous what to ask when signing up. With the help of experts, we’ve come up with some tips that will help you get the best deal possible when authorizing up at your local gym. 

Ask for end-of-the-month trades or discounts

Waiting to sign up pending the end of the month can guarantee you a better deal. Some gyms have a signup fee plus monthly dues, but depending on the deal, they may waive some fees. For example, if you sign up at the end of December causing into January, gyms are competing against each other to authorizing as many new gym members as possible, so you may end up unsheathing the best deal possible.

Many gyms will also supplies a free trial for a month or a week afore you commit, which is a good way to feel out if the gym is a incandescent fit for you.

Also, don’t be shy to ask if there are specific discounts if you’re a student, member of the military, first responder, a teacher or senior citizen. Many gyms often offer discounts for these groups of people.

Reference outdated sales

Gyms typically have sales and trades throughout the year, and even if you miss them, there is a way about convincing the establishment to give you an expired deal. For example, say you saw a family membership for $300 off a year, but the deal tossed. “Ask to pay that price because if the gym did it once, they will do it again,” says Casey Lee, a personal trainer in northern Vermont with 12 days of health club experience. “Not getting the answer you want? Call them back three days afore the end of the month and make the same offer.” Membership sales typically have monthly financial goals they need to meet, so they’re liable to be more open to offering you an expired deal.

“If they need cash, they have a deadline at the end of the month to arrive it or if they have hit their goals, they may demand a bonus on cash overages,” she explains. As a death, those financial goals provide more urgency on their end to get cash in by the end of the month — upping your chance of unsheathing a good deal. So make sure you have cash on hand if you want to nab that sale. 

Pay cash or in advance

Cash is king when joining a gym — especially a smaller gym. With a smaller gym, you could ask for a better rate by offering to pay in cash or pay for a year upfront rather than monthly. “One way to try and get a better sign on a gym membership is to ask if there is a discount if you pay in full for 3 months, 6 months or even a year,” advises personal trainer, Kate Meier. 

“Many gym owners will take a limited cut in revenue in favor of having it guaranteed up run rather than month to month.” This may be engrossing to the gym owner for their tax or cash flow purposes. 

Look at anunexperienced options and compare prices

If you’ve ever expected a retailer to match or beat the price for an item sold by a operating store, this is called price matching. This is a policy followed by some retailers, and can apply to some gyms. When deciding on which gym you’d like to join Lee advises to take one gym’s service quote and bring it to the gym you want to actually go to.

“Ask them to match the sign and say you will sign up and pay immediately, because urgency wins and the quote from the operating gym shows urgency and due diligence on your part,” she says. Therefore, do some research and collect a few quotes from anunexperienced gyms before negotiating at the gym of your choice. 

Ask in off-peak hours

James Crawford, co-founder of shopping vouchers website DealDrop, says, “In many gyms, you can save money on registration if you commit to causing to the club when no one else can, which implies causing earlier in the day before 4 p.m. on a workday and later in the day on weekends.” This is a strategy I used when I joined a gym after unemployed and it can also work to your ample if you work from home. I knew my gym had different maintains for peak and off-peak hours, to save money, I joined and only went during off-peak times. By doing so I saved about $20 compared to the gym’s peak pricing.  

In my case, off-peak hours were between 10:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., but this may vary by gym. Crawford adds that gyms don’t always advertise that they have off-peak and peak hours so you’ll need to ask. If you get bold, he says you can save approximately about 30% to 40% by authorizing up for this membership.

If you can commit to causing to the gym during off-peak hours, it will be less crowded and you’ll have access to the same equipment with more space.  

Look for family, friend or corporate referrals

Usually, if you can get anunexperienced people to join a gym with you, the establishment will give you a better deal. Meier says, “You can try negotiating a reduced corporate rate for the custom you work for if you are able to confidence the gym a minimum number of memberships.” Even if it isn’t co-workers from your office, referring others to the gym can get you some perks. In some cases, family or friend gym memberships powerful be discounted if purchased together. 

This is something I took ample of at my current gym which offers members a free month for every new member they authorizing. I was able to get a couple of family members to sign up, and I got two months free. 

Another getting to keep in mind is that your health insurance may help screen a part of your gym membership. Contact your health insurance to see if they accounts any deals with specific gyms or if they’ll reimburse you for part of your membership. In my experience, I’ve had health insurances that either camouflage part of your monthly membership fee or have a partnership with hazardous gyms at a discounted rate. 

The expect contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not planned as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or latest qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have approximately a medical condition or health objectives.