What an Ideal Fitness Gym Should be Like

Through my personal experience, I have come to know about five important qualities that all fitness gyms must have. I don't own a gym yet, but if ever I open my own, I'll make sure that it has all of the following things.:

1. A strategic location: It should be in a high traffic area that's near to my target market. In my case, most of my clients in LA are those that require home services or go to the gym after work/school. It's great if I can find a spot downtown where my clients can drop by for a quick aerobics or yoga session. Bonus points if my gym's gonna be upstairs a restaurant that sells delicious organic food, like Shojin Organic & Natural.

2. Quality gym equipment: My ideal gym would have the complete equipment--free weights, machines, and cardio. Personally, I plan to regularly test the equipment myself every couple of months, to make sure everything's working well and to find out which machines need upgrading or replacing.

3. Reasonable cost: It goes without saying that my services need to be affordable and within the budget of my clientele. To set my gym apart from the others , I'll allow gym members to keep their memberships on hold for a length of time if ever they are unable to go to the fitness center due to illness, family issues, etc. To get more people to sign up at my gym, I'll be running "specials" at the end of each season, where interested fitness buffs won't need to pay full price for a gym membership. I'll also be giving discounts to senior citizens, AARP, families, and large groups.

4. Highly-qualified fitness instructors and trainers: To ensure the overall wellness and safety of my clients, a good portion of my gym's personnel should be certified in CPR and first-aid. All the fitness instructors should also have a degree in Exercise Physiology or Kinesiology and/or have obtained certification from a well-recognized body, such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) or the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). 

5. Quality food shop: Many of my clients will be wanting healthy and delicious snacks and drinks after their workouts, so my ideal gym will of course provide that. I also plan to have my gym memberships include discounts or freebies at local health stores, restaurants, spas, and athletic shops.