My New Gym: Revealed

I promised you that I would reveal the name of the gym that I joined recently. I promised I would reveal the name by the end of this month. So far, I've been keeping my promises, and I intend to continue to do so in the name of fitness.

BUT before I name names first I should explain some of my findings during my journey to finding my new gym.

As you know, I investigated several local gyms over the past two months. These included past versions of Premier Fitness, GoodLife Fitness, Phoenix Fitness in Stoney Creek and Phoenix Fitness in Ancaster, Century Fitness Upper James and Century Fitness Upper Wentworth. I did not visit Curves for Women. I start my investigations by checking out the company online and Curves did not appeal to what I was looking for in a gym. Not to say that they likely do appeal to some women who are looking for a gym.

Overall, I found most of the gyms offered pretty much the same sort of programs and equipment. All of them had the standard gym equipment; treadmills, ellipticals etc. All of them had a studio space which offered group classes. All of them had shower facilities (although some of the facilities were more modern and high-end looking than others). All of them had a service desk at the front door where you were greeted by customer service staff.

My choice ultimately came down to the things I wanted most in my gym:

(see my post from March 26th for the full article)

1) CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN facilities

2) Fully operational equipment and changeroom facilities

3) Open early or 24 hours

4) Nice, clean, quiet boxing studio

5) Quiet area with padded floor for cool-down stretching

6) Staff available in the main gym to assist with questions about equipment, exercises etc

7) Comfortable facility temperature and ventilation system

One very very important item that I failed to list is EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE. I need to mention this because ultimately that was the key element that convinced me to sign up for the gym I am at now.

The gym I am at now offers all of the things listed in my list at two locations in the Hamilton area. I can choose to go to either gym anytime I wish. One of the gyms offers the boxing studio area along with group and individual classes. This same location is open 24 hrs. The gym I signed with has excellent customer service and is located a bit closer to my home.

Thank you Century Fitness.

I am quite happy with my choice so far. And I'm glad that this establishment survived the corporate troubles of Premier. From what I have seen, the members are quite happy at this gym and are very supportive and loyal. The staff are excellent which for me makes all the difference.

until next time; don't sweat the small stuff

Todays Workout and Other Musings

Over the holiday weekend I managed to get to the gym everyday except Friday. I had planned to be there Friday, but things didn't pan out exactly as "planned". I was successful however, at avoiding the Easter Bunny and the basket-full of sweets and chocolate. Yes, I like chocolate, not as much as other things, but I do like chocolate.

My recovery from my personal training session on Thursday lasted until Saturday. Yesterday I was back with my trainer. This time I wasn't as sore afterwards and today I did a cardio session on the elliptical and felt fine. I did notice some muscle on my butt and upper legs that I didn't notice before. Its great when you see progress. That's why I wanted to start personal training sessions again, for the extra push and the expertise that a trainer can give to your workout. It is pricey, but its worth the extra $$. Besides, I'm saving $90-120 per month since I quit smoking, so spending a little bit on a personal trainer is a much better way to spend my money and  my time. 

I have to admit though, my timing is not the best. Deciding to burn my belly fat and then two weeks later deciding to quit smoking.........well, they both sort of cancel each other out. What I mean is, its a well known fact that when you quit smoking, your metabolism slows and takes time to recover and re-learn to burn fat and sugar on its own (without the drug assistance of nicotine) So, when I quit smoking, I made my belly fat challenge nearly impossible to achieve in the time-frame I had originally given myself. However, being determined, single-minded and deadly-focused on the goal(s); I am still looking to the goal of losing my belly-fat. It may take me a few weeks longer than originally anticipated, but now with the extra help of a personal trainer, it is once again an achievable goal.

If my BF is reading this, he will likely agree that I tend to take on everything all at once. Its got to be annoying for those who know me. LOL The annoying part comes in when I become overtired and over-stressed and those around me are left to manage the fall-out. I don't know that I can just focus on one thing at a time. Seems a bit dull to me. LOL

Anyway; I committed to achieving the belly fat burn and to quitting smoking; so I'm sticking with both. And thus far, I have not "cheated" in my smoking. I have not used any nicotine products whatsoever for almost 4 weeks now. I still can't believe I did it. I have to say again, it has NOT been easy. I STILL get cravings!! I had a MAJOR craving episode just last week. I think it was precipitated by a stress event. However, I have noticed an improvement in being an ex-smoker. The times when I think about cigarettes and smoking are much less and far between now. I have gone full days without a single thought about smoking. That would be progress!

Thursday this week, I will get my nutrition plan from my gym. What, you say?? I signed on to a gym??? Yes, I did. I cut short my investigations into gyms and I have a new gym. I am NOT going to reveal the gym, just yet. I will blog about my investigations into other gyms first. In the meantime, I will continue to post my workouts, PT session updates and other such goodies in addition to the information I received during my hunt for a new gym.

Until next time; don't sweat the small stuff!!

New Gym Challenge - Update

Today for my workout I went back to a familiar stomping ground. After writing and reading an re-reading my post from yesterday and the previous day, I decided that I just did not feel comfortable at Phoenix Fitness. Its hard to say why. Maybe its because I am used to a much larger facility. It could be that I was simply uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings. Or it could be the lack of experience with the older weight machines they provided.

Most likely its a combination of a few things. I was a bit taken back by the higher membership fees. While they did provide pricing right up front from the very start, it also seemed that there was no wiggle room, no negotiation on the fees and the services. I did express that I wanted some personal training sessions. I was told these were available for a range of $65-75 per session. I was not offered a membership price that included sessions. These were simply an add-on.

Another thing that caused me to question the club, happened on the weekend. One location told me that all three locations offered the same deals and that once you were a member you could access any location any time. Another location told me they were not aware of a weekly trial pass that the other location was offering and she did not want to honor the pass. She said, well I see that you will be upset if I don't honor the pass so I will let it go this time. Hmmmph!

For this one small reason, I implore my readers to be certain to always try out a gym for a week BEFORE signing anything!!!!! You cannot possibly make a decision based on one visit at one location. Take the time to check out all the locations included in your membership. ASK for what you WANT!!

If you want personal training sessions, ask for them. The gym should then offer you at least an introductory deal including personal training. That's the same for anything else you might want such as daycare, multiple locations, group classes, nutrition coaching, specialized training or workouts (boxing, MMA, Nia etc)

IF YOU DON'T ASK, YOU WON'T GET IT!!

Simple!

So bottom line now for me, I have crossed off Phoenix from my list of possible gyms.

I shall keep you posted on my next trial.

until then, don't sweat the small stuff!! 

This Months Quest is.......join a new gym!!

Yep, it's time. Time for me to find and join a new gym. My current membership is due in June, which technically is still a couple months away. The problem is my current membership is with a gym that no longer exists!!!! I have a ghost membership!!

I have been going to gyms here in Hamilton but lately they have been giving me a hard time at the door. Very frustrating AND disappointing since I've been a loyal member for 2 years. I think that rather than harassing members such as myself in the situation that I am in, perhaps offering to setup a time to sit down with a sales staff member and re-visit and renegotiate a new gym membership term would actually be a more pleasing and desireable solution to the situation. If this had been offered to me hassle-free from the start, I probably would not have even looked at other gyms. But it wasn't, so I am looking at two or more other gyms before I make my final decision.

There are a few articles and recent news items out there which highlight various gym members in similar situations; this one is about members who sought refunds from PF locations that closed

I also found this internet notice that is quite interesting:

"Dear Premier Fitness Member,

You may have received a letter from Premier Fitness informing you of the closure of the fitness club and suggesting that you seek a refund from “Physiomed”.

Premier Fitness was not sold to “Physiomed” and “Physiomed” did not walk away from the transaction. The entity that was to acquire certain assets from Premier Fitness intended to close the transaction but was not able to do so because Premier Fitness did not deliver on its obligations in connection with the proposed transaction.

After the transaction was entered into but before the intended closing, there was to be a transition period. During this transition period all funds received for membership or fitness services in the Premier Fitness Club were deposited in Premier’s bank accounts. Therefore, it is Premier and not “Physiomed” that received and benefited from these funds and thus it is Premier who should be approached for any refund. Furthermore, the clinics that are situated inside the Premier Fitness Clubs are “Physiomed Health Clinics” and were not parties to the proposed transaction. They were never intended to, nor did they ever, receive any of the membership dues or payments for fitness services from Premier Fitness. Again, these all went to Premier Fitness.

To contact Premier Fitness regarding a refund or any other matter, please call 905.602.9912.

Thank you!"

I also found this notice which has alot of detail regarding the change in ownership and subsequent closure of the Premier Fitness brand. I have a link to the posting but I have also copied it below in case the link becomes inactive in the near future:

"

Dear members of the former Premier Fitness

---

Setting the Record Straight – Securing your Fitness Future!

On December 12th, 2011 an agreement was made to sell the Premier Fitness clubs to Physiomed. Physiomed Fitness and Physiomed Health is an organization of chiropractors who run clinics throughout Ontario and over the past 18 years have been tenants within many Premier Fitness club facilities. DSM Leasing, the main lender to Premier Fitness, was required to transfer the business assets to Physiomed and entered into an agreement that simultaneously gave possession and control to Physiomed pending the completion of the documentation to implement the sale. Physiomed, as confirmed by court records, thereafter operated the facilities for its own account and undertook to pay all expenses from December 12, 2011 onward.
Physiomed had done 7 months of due diligence and negotiations CLICK HERE TO VIEW before taking over Premier Fitness.
On December 12, 2011 they took over all Premier Fitness bank accounts and all signing authorities. From December 12th onward membership fees, personal training payments etc were 100% in the sole control of and for the benefit of Physiomed Fitness CLICK HERE TO VIEW SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS. Premier Fitness as a business no longer operated after December 12th, 2011. As part of the purchase price, Physiomed assumed Premier's debt obligations to their main lender DSM Leasing and CRA which included significant disputed amounts which were under appeal. Therefore the DSM Leasing debt became the obligation of Physiomed CEO Dr. Scott Wilson, DC, his holding company - Physiomed Health Holdings Inc. (as evidenced by a General Security Agreement signed by Dr. Wilson and the registration by DSM Leasing against Dr. Wilson and his holding company Physiomed Health Holdings Inc. for $33 million dollars) and the individual chiropractors who became the owners of each former Premier Fitness location. Furthermore, each Physiomed Chiropractor signed their closing documents which were delivered by Physiomed to DSM's office in early January to complete the transaction. These documents were all part of the court submissions supporting the opposition to the receivership.
On December 21st and 22nd, 2011 over a 1000 former Premier Fitness staff attended a Phyisomed Fitness introduction/launch presentation conference at a Mississauga movie theatre where the CEO of Physiomed, Dr. Scott Wilson, DC, unveiled the plans for the new company. Shortly thereafter all staff were given new Physiomed employment contracts and Physiomed uniforms. CLICK HERE TO VIEW
As a member you will recall that, on or about December 23rd, 2011 a letter from Dr. Scott Wilson, DC was distributed to members at all clubs informing them of the acquisition of your club by Physiomed Fitness. CLICK HERE TO VIEW
Between December 24, 2011 and January 1st, 2012 all Premier Fitness signs came down and all clubs were rebranded by Physiomed with Physiomed Fitness signs across Ontario.CLICK HERE TO VIEW EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR PICTURES Physiomed spent over $300,000 for the replacing of Premier signs with Physiomed signs and another $50,000 to replace all interior club signs to Physiomed.
In the latter part of December the Premier Fitness website was taken down by Physiomed and redirected to the new Physiomed Fitness website which listed all the club locations as Physiomed Fitness locations. As part of their January promotion Physiomed launched their "30 Free" campaign CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PROMO and sold all memberships on Physiomed Fitness membership contracts CLICK HERE TO VIEW. All sales, memberships, personal training, nutrition, guest fees, etc went into either Physiomed Health accounts CLICK HERE TO VIEW or the former Premier Fitness account now controlled solely by Physiomed for their benefit and which it was using on an interim basis while setting up its own new banking arrangements.
From the information received from the club managers, the Physiomed January advertising promotion was extremely weak in part due to the flyer not listing locations and containing a marketing call centre phone number that often went unanswered or to voicemail. The sales resulting from the Physiomed Fitness campaign in January were approximately 50% less than any other January in each of the clubs histories. From the start of January until mid February Physiomed, held 1pm daily conference calls with all Physiomed Fitness club managers for the purpose of reviewing sales results . All Physiomed Fitness clubs were totally under the management and control of Physiomed's Head Office at 80 Bloor Street West, Suite 1300, Toronto. CLICK HERE
Physiomed's lack of sales placed pressure on their ability to cover operating overhead, the cost of which they were fully aware of prior to the purchase of the business. Their reduced cash flow prompted Physiomed to approach the secured lender DSM Leasing for the purpose of borrowing additional funds to pay their bills. DSM Leasing refused to grant Physiomed any further financing.
Physiomed and DSM then decided that they could solve their problems by changing the original deal that they had made with each other and with Premier. To do this they took the position that the "Physiomed Fitness transaction had never closed" and decided that the former guarantees from the Premier Fitness operating companies could be called upon, thereafter allowing DSM Leasing to put most of the former Premier companies into receivership. This was done for the following purposes:

1. Once DSM had a court appointed receiver they could shut down less profitable locations without consequences.
2. By putting Premier Fitness in receivership DSM and Physiomed would blame the failure on Premier and thus preserve the Physiomed name allowing Physiomed to continue to operate the remaining locations.
3. They could potentially avoid paying terminated employees from any closed down locations their earned vacation pays and severance pays.
4. They could renege on the deal made with the former owners for future obligations owed to them with respect to the sale of the business to Physiomed.

While the orchestration of the receivership was in fact a way for DSM Leasing and Physiomed to continue their control of the business and potentially avoid paying unsecured stake holders, landlords, suppliers, members and employees of closed clubs, the position taken in DSM's court material related to the receivership claimed the real reason for the receivership was simply to conclude the Physiomed deal as originally negotiated which they took the position had not technically closed.
The former owners fought the receivership and their lawyer argued that the receivership was, rather, a scheme to achieve the purposes set out above.
The Honourable Justice Spence appointed a receiver but severely limited its powers by in essence allowing the Receiver to preserve and protect the assets so that the deal could close as bargained. Specifically, no clubs could be closed or sold for 30 days, thus giving DSM the opportunity to close the deal with Physiomed. BDO was appointed by the court as Receiver.
During the week of February 13th BDO, the court appointed receiver, and DSM proposed to return to court immediately for the purpose of asking the court for permission to close down approximately 12 clubs. The former owners again fought this. At the same time DSM decide to refuse to fund the receivership any further which in turn forced the Receiver (BDO) to go back to court on February 17th, where they advised the court that after their review of the business and what they had learned over the 9 day receivership that the clubs should be returned to the former owners' control.
On February 17th, 2012 the court also ordered a 7 day Stay of Proceedings to facilitate for an orderly transition as the former owners took back control of the clubs.
What was learned was startling! Although Physiomed had been in total control of the business for almost two full months (prior to the appointment of the Receiver) in the best sales season and had had control of all the money coming in, there were nevertheless hundreds of thousands of dollars of unpaid obligations including payroll.
From February 17th at approximately 5pm onward the former owners took back control of the facilities and started paying all employees from that point going forward. They began the painful process of negotiating with landlords to get the unpaid rents settled. In some cases the landlords were terrific in working toward a positive outcome and others were unreasonable.
In many locations long time club managers stepped up and invested their personal fund and have taken ownership of their clubs.

Club Closures:

With some landlords being unwilling to negotiate a feasible repayment plan of Physiomed's past due rents there was no choice but to close some locations. In these cases the members memberships are being honoured at nearby locations or arrangements were made with other local clubs who agreed to honour the memberships. In the case of facilities where there was no other clubs near by to accommodate members the operators have had staff on site giving members refunds for fees they had paid for prepaid time after which the club would be closed.
The facility operators would like to thank the dedicated and loyal members and staff who have so patiently stood by them during this most unusual and difficult time. Their commitment to you has never changed and they will continue to serve you for many years to come.
Please visit your club for any questions regarding your membership.
For customer service for the following locations please email: customerservice@healthholdings.ca

• Highbury Road, London
• Bunting Road, St. Catharines
• Milton
• Meadowvale Town Centre, Mississauga
• Oshawa
• Kingston "

For my own personal decision on where I will be sending my money and spending my time, I have decided to try out Century Fitness, Phoenix Fitness, GoodLife Fitness and Curves for Women.

This week, I have a trial for Phoenix. I have been at the gym three times now for workout sessions. Two in Ancaster and one in Stoney Creek. I got my temp card on Saturday in Stoney Creek. Yesterday I went to Ancaster and got a run-around upon entry because they were unfamiliar with the trial card and its terms. I was told in Stoney Creek I could use the card at any of the three locations for a 7 day hassel-free period. I'm concerned that the policies seem to be different between locations. I would expect that policies, fees and other such things would be the same regardless of the location.

I was also a bit disappointed yesterday as the treadmill I choose in Ancaster was not operating correctly. The heart-rate monitor wasn't working. Phoenix gyms are much smaller than the "big box stores" of the gym world. I don't really mind this at all. I am disappointed in the selection of weight machines. Most of the equipment is free-weight benches great for bulking up. Not so good for us women who want to tone not bulk. I found only one ab machine. I've also noticed for the most part, only men are using the weight machines. Women come in, use the treadmills or elipticals, attend a class then leave. The guys seem to stay longer. The membership cost at this gym is considerably more than their competitors. I don't see any added value which justifies the cost difference. And I was sooooo hoping that this was going to be the gym for me.

While I have not made my final decision, Phoenix will have to offer me comparable pricing to their competitors for me to consider signing on with them as a full time member.