Gym membership is a big expense and in this day and age we all need to be cutting back where we can. If you’re finding that you don’t work out as often as you intend to and you’re paying over the odds for your membership, now’s the time to do something about it. Here are our 12 top tips to finding cheaper fitness fees.

• Save hundreds of pounds a year with discounted gym membership
• Check out local leisure centres, universities and more.
• Cheap gyms in LondonLimited offer fitness bargain – £140 fitness pass for just £12!

1. Local leisure centres

The least pricey gyms are the kind that you find in your local leisure centre. They’re cheaper because they’re partly funded by a local authority or run on a non-profit basis. Although not all have the latest equipment and machines, some leisure centres are in the same league as private health clubs.

In most leisure centres, you have the option of either taking out a monthly subscription or the opportunity to pay as you go, costing only a few pounds per session. If you’re unsure as to whether or not the gym is your cup of tea, try paying for the first few visits and if you decide to carry on then take up the monthly membership.

People on benefits usually receive great discounts and some county councils offer cards which give you money off on leisure activities and other activities in your city. Contact your local council for more information, or give your local leisure centre a ring for their membership prices.

2. Free trials

Before you commit yourself to a 12-month membership it’s a good idea to check out the facilities and see if it’s really something that you want or need. Fitness First offer s free one-day trial (or see their great Fitness Pass offer above) whilst at LA Fitness you can get three days for free – just sign up on their websites to get your voucher through the post.

If a free trial isn’t advertised, ask for one. It’s important that the atmosphere and facilities of the gym suits you.

3. Off-peak memberships

The vast majority of gyms offer a cheaper membership on the condition that you only go for sessions during off-peak times – usually before 4-5pm on weekdays and after 4-5pm on weekends. Bear in mind that the times vary from club to club, even those from the same chain – so it’s best to contact your local club for more info. Here are some clubs that offer off-peak memberships:

Fitness First’s off-peak membership gives you unlimited gym use during off-peak hours.

Virgin Active is gradually phasing out its off-peak memberships so they aren’t available at all clubs, but if you contact your local centre they’ll be able to tell you more.

David Lloyd offers a range of off-peak memberships to suit your needs. Contact your local club for details.

Cannons health clubs have off-peak memberships which suit people who work shifts or evenings.

DW Sports lets you save about a tenner a month by choosing their off-peak option (it varies through different centres).

4. Live in London? Knock up to 60% off your gym costs

If you live in London, payasUgym.com could be the new love of your fitness life – and not just because it knocks up to 60% off normal gym prices.

It’s one of those ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ type ideas: pay as you go gyms.

Like a pay-as-you-go phone, you only pay for what you use. So there are NO expensive monthly fees to get locked into, and NO joining or induction charges.

Plus you’re not limited to only one gym – payasUgym.com lets you use hundreds of fitness centres across London (so you can use one close to work during the week and one near home at weekends).

Want to get fit for less? Register for free here.

5. Join a gym when they’re desperate for members

Gyms are often open to negotiating the prices of contracts – but they’re more likely to cut you a deal at times when they aren’t selling so many memberships.

Most gyms have sales targets to meet: so if you approach them near the end of the month (and they haven’t met their target yet) you may get a discount. Likewise it can pay to shop around during the summer or towards the end of the year, when less people are joining gyms.

6. Play gyms off against each other

Shop around and make a shortlist of your favourite three or four gyms near you (you can search fitness centres that are near you at the Active Places website). Get a membership quote from each one and play them off against each other.

For example, say you’re tempted to sign up but you’ve been offered a cheaper deal or better extras elsewhere. Or that you really like their gym, but it will cost you more to travel to it than your nearest fitness centre – but you would consider joining if they waived the joining fee or offered some guest passes.

Gyms are usually open to haggling if you make them think you’re very close to signing up with them.

7. See if you can get a group discount

Do you know people at work who might also be interested in joining a gym? If there’s a few of you, it’s worth talking to the gym to see if you can secure a 10-20% discount on fees in return for a group of you all signing up. Speak to the individual responsible for memberships at the gym, especially (as mentioned in the point above) when fitness centres are desperate to meet their membership goals.

8. Ask your company

If you work for a large company, you might be entitled to free or discounted gym memberships. Lots of big businesses offer this to their employees as an incentive to work well and stick with them; Powergen, for example, is just one company that offers this with its careers.

If you’re not sure if your employer offers these benefits then ask your manager. If not, then why not try asking the director of the company to set up a scheme? There’s no harm in asking!

9. Go to a University

If you’re a student, or you work in a university, you can get fantastic deals at your uni’s gym. Not only this but lots of universities open up their services to the general public.

The cost for these is usually much lower than that of a normal gym and they’re likely to have reasonably good quality equipment. Prices and facilities will vary dramatically between sites but you can hunt down your nearest uni on the UK’s University directory.

10. Do fitness classes in your lounge!

We’ve found a brilliant new website, Virtual Gym TV, which lets you exercise just as you would in a gym, but in the comfort of your own home. It’s a relatively new concept: the site is basically an online database of health and fitness sessions conducted by professionals. It launched at the beginning of last year and we think it’s a great idea.

There are as many as 40 new classes each week, and the site has a facility called a ‘Virtual Personal Trainer’ which recommends a course of classes tailored to your individual needs. You can watch the videos live, or you can download them, burn them onto a blank DVD and play them on your TV – genius!

The best thing about Virtual Gym TV is the price. To try it out costs just £1 for the first month, or you can just pay as you go for classes from 60p to £1 per class.  You pay £5 for a month after the initial trial, and signing up for the year costs £45. There are also options for quarterly and half-yearly memberships.

Once you’ve registered you can also try out two sessions of your choice absolutely free before you commit to anything.

If you like the sound of Virtual Gym TV then you can sign up here, and as a Moneymagpie reader, you’ll get 20% off the normal subscription rates. Just enter the code ‘moneymagpie’ at Stage 1 of the sign up process to claim your discount.

11. Transfer fees

If you know someone who has a gym membership which they don’t use (maybe an unwanted gift or a well-intentioned impulse buy) – then get them to take a look at the conditions of transferring their membership.

The fees for transferring are often less than those of a membership fee so you could cut your costs if the monthly fee isn’t too bad. This doesn’t apply to all gyms though so make sure you check with whichever your friend or family member belongs to.

12. Don’t go to a gym!

If you’re really serious about cutting down on your gym costs then there’s a simple solution – don’t join one. There are plenty of ways you can work out, lose weight and keep your heart steadily pumping without going to a gym. You can buy your own equipment from somewhere like  Fitness Options, cutting out membership fees, or you can work out without equipment. Take a look at our article on fun ways to exercise that won’t cost you the earth.

Useful Links

• Local council directory
• University directory
• Virtual Gym TV