Corporate Gym vs. Locally Owned Small Gym

Choosing a gym is a far bigger choice than most realize. This choice will ultimately decide your fitness experience before you've wrapped your hand around a single weight. The institution you choose must have all the equipment you're looking for, the right price, and most of all the right environment. What are you looking to achieve?

You want muscle, you want to lose some fat, where should you go? If you have a driven dedicated mind focused on the goal at hand you can achieve this any where. Really anywhere, but if you tend to lose focus, converse, text between sets, take selfies, post about your really hard workout on Facebook, or generally figure out how to make things easier on yourself, you probably need and environment that motivates and drives you to push past failure. An ecosystem that makes you feel accountable to work hard. Where do you go? 

Corporate gyms are easily accessible and usually very conveniently located. They usually offer decent monthly rates, have on site corporate personal training services, and lots of pampering amenities. You'll find modern equipment that is usually well maintained, lots of cardio pieces with a straight line of sight to whatever T.V. channel you prefer...sports, finance, entertainment, news. Group training classes to fit your busy schedule, a clean facility with a juice bar and maybe an attached salon. Along with these perks you may find that there is a frowned upon style of lifting, or attire that isn't allowed, or maybe a soft playing top forty playlist set to help you sleep rather than go beast mode. Maybe you find a sign that says please don't drop weights, or please don't deadlift and for Pete's Sake please don't grunt. Now there are days I don't make a peep while lifting, and I place my weights down gently. There are also days I make some noise and throw down some plates. I need the ability to do both. 

Now, I've been in a corporate franchised gym and been asked not to "bend the bar" because I was deadlifting. The owner felt it was to loud and out of control when it touched the floor. Now in my defense, my wife was with me and even she was taken back by the owners request. I was under control and the weights were hardly touching the ground but it was 315 lbs and it made some noise. Metal plates clanking together makes noise. By the way, it was a short bar and impossible to bend. I explained my position a little later and it was ok. This was before I had even heard of the no deadlift rule that one "gym" prides itself on.

It saddens me to see that same corporate "gym" priding itself on being a judgement free zone, and yet it discriminates against anybody they feel is a "lunk" or has a look that's too much. It's fascinating to see a "gym" excluding the very look that most of their consumers wish to achieve because the "gym" stereotypes the perceived behavior to be intimidating. I'm not saying that knuckle heads don't exist at some gyms, but the fact is no local gym tells heavy out of shape people they have no business in their facility because of the way they look. I belong to four different gyms including Metroflex of Phoenix, a gym with a very hardcore reputation even among hardcore gyms. And I can tell you that there are lifters of all sorts of shapes and sizes and fitness levels in there everyday. And they are all welcome. 

One last thought on corporate gyms - they want you not to show up. The ultimate goal of a corporate gym is to get you to agree to pay what you see as a nominal monthly fee and not show up. They hope that you pay, and see that as your penance, and keep paying for the hope of getting in there soon when your life slows down a little. FYI life never slows down.  But your apathy saves wear and tear on their equipment. 

Now, local gyms usually don't have the state of the art equipment. Because it's local owned there is probably only one, possibly two locations. There probably isn't an onsite massage therapist. You probably can't get the kelp-kale-raspberry shake at the juice bar. It may not be the cleanest facility. If something breaks down it may be down for a while. It may be a little crowded in it's floor plan. But what you'll find more often than not, is a room with an electric buzz. A palpable pulse that picks you up. Loud, heavy, hard music that is interrupted with the occasional smash of large poundages hitting the floor, grunts, and perhaps some profanity. You will also usually find an onsite owner who knows your name and says hi as they themselves are lifting. You will find a group of lifters that are motivated to make changes in their physique and will push to get there. Not to say the social scene doesn't exist there as well, it's just different. 

So there are positive and negatives to either choice. But I feel the negatives to the corporate environment are more goal inhibiting, while the negatives to the local gym are more amenity based. So it comes down to personal preference. Would you rather be a little more comfortable and pampered but less likely to push and get to your goal. Or would you rather be a little more uncomfortable but more likely to press to your goals with more accountability from a tighter knit, like minded group.

- Ty