I feel like I'm about to sign my life away

[LollipopViolet]

And in a way, I am. Basically, I'm 19 and bad lifestyle choices mean I'm, quite frankly, fat and grotesque. So, yesterday I tried the gym my friends all go to regularly, and enjoyed it, my mum wants to go, to use the sunbeds and has said to get a membership. And tomorrow, she's taking me to sort it out. So soon, I shall be able to look at photos of me and not feel ashamed. But....I dunno, I've always had pay per use gym membership, at a diff gym, and it never lasted...hopefully this will, especially if my friends go.

It's Fitness First if you're interested, any experiences/stories/workout tips for me? I loved the atmosphere and the staff were brilliant, but I so can't afford to keep buying day passes. I'm going for the £17.95 p/m Express membership. Hmmmm, with my mum coming too, I wonder if she's going to surprise me by paying... doubt it, but either way, I don't mind

I've been with Fitness First for years and I love it

Cheap and cheerful but very friendly. I don't know what Express membership gives you, but if you can get to studio classes, I'd highly recommend them I find I work much harder in group exercise classes, it is more fun, I've made friends and really really look forward to going

Express membership is just for my home club (which is a Fitness First Express) and I think it lets me use whatever I fancy, I just have to pay £1 a visit, much better than £10 for a day pass lol. Sauna here I come!

hang on, you pay monthly membership but still have to pay £1 a visit ? Sounds weird. Do they have a pool ?

I was a member of a pool-less gym for 3 years and would have gone much more frequently if there was a pool. I only joined that particular gym because there was a special offer on with full membership for £17pm rather than the full price of £35pm. If I was to join a gym again I'd only join one with a decent sized pool.

I know you pay more for those sorts of gyms as they tend to be Cannons/David Lloyd type places but I'd be prepared to pay that bit extra.

I'm not sure what the £1 is for.... will definately have it explained to me, chances are my mum will get us on the right plan lol. I work for Alton Towers and we get something free when we join so will take my staff ID, which should help.

Do you have a council leisure centre near you? They usually have good gyms at decent prices. Fitness First are ok tho, basic but all equipment usually ok.

I've got to say, our council leisure centre has a posh private health club, basic membership there, £29 a month! But, they have a council run pool, so if I feel the urge to swim, that's where I go.

But you are thinking of paying £17 a month and then £1 a visit on top of that for fitness first, so basically if you are going more than 12 times a month (which you should be) then the council posh one makes sense AND you probably get swimming included in the gym price.

I pay annually in advance for my Fitness First membership - Platinum club, home club only. I usually get a deal where if I buy 12 months, I get another 3 months "free", so the monthly cost works out as around £32

The £17 deal sounds like it is a saving, but only if you don't visit regularly - doesn't really encourage the right fitness behaviour

I go 4 - 5 times per week, so wouldn't save anything on that deal and might well lose out.

Yeah, I'm now erring towards the £23 a month plan, because that seems better value, but still very cheap. My mum went in today to try and get info and they just said I could join online or in person. So have arranged with 3 friends to go tomorrow at 10. Now, pay annually, or monthly, opinions please?

£23 is a bargain

I paid monthly for ages, then got offered a better deal if I paid annually. I love the gym - it is a huge part of my life and I couldn't imagine not going, so am happy to pay up front.

If you are unsure whether you would stick to it, decide what your motivators are - would paying for the annual one give you the motivation to keep going for a year rather than giving up and wasting the money ?

If you pay monthly, you would still have to pay a cancellation fee if you decided you didn't want to keep going, but at least you wouldn't lose the whole amount.

Decisions, decisions ! I think personally I'd pay monthly for a few months, then decide to go annual if I'm still enjoying it and feel comfortable that that is the gym for me.

Unfortunately, my membership wouldn't be £23, it'd be £27, my 2 friends joined together so got a deal. I've gone onto the lower plan for now, because the lady helping me navigate it all said I can go up a plan, but you can't go down, so I'm seeing how I go, especially once back at uni. Had a nice workout today:

10 mins bike
5 mins crosstrainer (I hate them and did it as a warmup, must try harder!)
20 mins treadmill
About 15 minutes doing various weight machine things.

Have had a deal where I've paid £35 this month, but if I do 3 sessions with a personal trainer, plus 7 on my own, in the month, I get the £35 back. My first session is 10.30 tomorrow, can't wait!

Weighed myself too, and now have a starting point