Thank you for using MVP Gym to locate your gym.  Our health clubs & gyms directory was launched in January of 2009 with the purpose of becoming the largest health club locater in the United States.  We plan to do this by offering gyms an opportunity to be included in our community that they cannot pass up.  However, if you are using this website for a directory only, you are missing out on the other great benefits we have to offer.

A 24 Hour Online Community for Fitness Center Members:

What makes us more than a simple health club directory?  We host an online community for health clubs & gyms from all over.  The members of each of these participating health clubs can choose to just associate with members of their own local gym, or they can also communicate with our entire community of health club members.

Our health club specific forums are a great place to:

• Find a local gym partner - Find a lifting buddy who needs the exact same schedule, coordinate group activities, or just find someone to play racquetball with on the weekends.
• Make a weight loss buddy - Make a friend who can encourage you to get to the gym and stick to your diet.

The greatest benefit of being a part of our online society is that we can give you the motivation to get to the gym, stick with it, and have fun along the way.

Health Clubs Receive Multiple Benefits From Being listed on MVP Gym:

Each gym that is included in our centers directory receives a multiple page advertisement.  These advertisements include all of the basic information someone finding them on our website would need to get in touch with them.   It also has photos of the areas of your gym you wish to highlight.

The greatest benefit is your member's online community:

• A Members Forum - These community message boards where your members can socialize with other members of your gym.  This helps increase friendships at your facility, and in turn can help reduce membership turnover.
• Health Clubs Events calendar - A terrific place where your gym members can go to find out all the great classes and events your health club is offering.  This feature benefits centers around increasing awareness for an upcoming event so you do not have 1 person show up for the yoga class, or not enough people to play the racquetball tournament.
• A Organization newsletter - We email out for you, so you can stay in touch with your members and keep them off the couch.

Our focus centers around making your gym more profitable while developing our online community.  If you are an owner of a club and you would like to take advantage of our incredible marketing opportunity,  just visit the advertisers section of this website. Advertise your fitness center now.

Here are some useful tips to use when shopping gyms:

Find something close.

If you are like most Americans, you are always rushing from place to place.  If you locate a health club that is to far from home or work, you will just be making excuses on why  you can't go to the gym.

Do the gyms hours fit your lifestyle?

Since the 24 hour Wal-marts have changed the way business is done in America, now more and more people are working late night un-family friendly hours.  This also means more and more people cannot fit in a workout after work.  Make sure the business is open either early enough in the morning for you to exercise, or late enough in the evening to get your workout in.  Also consider a 24 hour gym.  More and more gyms are now open 24/7 for their members.

Join a gym with a friend.

If you have a friend that works out at a particular facility you might consider it first. This friend will probably even get a free month membership for referring you.  If you like the people you work with, you may want to invite them to work out with you.  Almost all people who love to go to the gym go for social reasons.  There is nothing wrong with making making friends at the gym, but taking one with you is even better.  If you can get enough people from work to join with you, most health clubs have extremely aggressive corporate membership packages.

Make sure they have enough exercise equipment.

Check the facility out during best workout times.  This is usually around six 6am in the morning, or around 6pm in the early evening.  If you get to the club and have to wait in line for a particular exercise machine, then you will not be able to work out as long as you planned.

Do you need daycare?  Do you have teenagers?

Lots of gyms have daycare now, but there is not always an employee to run the daycare.  If you can find a health club with a daycare that is properly staffed, this can be one of the best procrastination defeaters for a parent.  Also if you have older children you should make sure you locate a family center.  The typical facility usually offers activities for tweens and teenagers that can help them get excited about being healthy.

How knowledgeable is their staff?

Most members find out in the first six months of exercising that a personal trainer is a huge benefit.  Find out if they have qualified employees to help you with the exercise equipment and make sure you are doing the exercises properly.  Many clubs have trainers that are on the floor to help you.  See if they offer free personal training.

What kind of classes do they offer?

If you are just starting to exercise, you may think that just a half hour on the treadmill is all you need.  Unfortunately, eventually the treadmill to no where gets boring after a while.  For this reason you should ask the health clubs sales representative to see a class schedule.  Check on group classes.  These can be an excellent way to keep your motivation for exercising.

Check out the other members.

Health clubs usually attract a certain type of member. If you are just wanting to do some walking everyday, you probably do not want to join a gym that has a bunch of muscle heads.  Likewise, if you are a muscle head you probably do not want to be surrounded by a bunch of members that think you are a muscle head.  Find a local gym that fits your personality.

Don't forget about the health clubs locker rooms.

Sadly, if you get ready at the health club you will probably spend at least 25% of your time in the locker room.  Make sure it offers enough privacy.  If you are uncomfortable taking showers with other people, you should make sure they have private showers.  Ask about overnight lockers.  If you don't want to lug a full gym bag around with you 24 hours a day, see if you are allowed to keep your stuff there overnight.

Last but not least, ask about a free trial membership!

You don't sign a contract for financing a car without test driving the car first.  Why would you sign a contract for a gym membership without testing it out first.  Most reputable fitness centers offer at least a 1 week trial membership.  Before you sign a health club contract you should work out for a week and see if the center meets your needs.  If it doesn't fit your needs, keep shopping.