How to get the most from your gym membership

702 and CapeTalk's Africa Melane speaks to Tim Carter of Planet Fitness.

Listen below:

Maximizing your gym membership is all about consistency, setting clear goals, and making full use of available resources.

Whether it's personal training, group classes, or community support, there's so much more to your membership than just access to equipment.

One way to stay in the gym is by having realistic goals and reframing exercise.

"It's almost like the word exercise is the elephant in the room because it's hard work and so the way to do it is potentially to reframe this by saying, 'I'm on a training journey.' We're all training for something... don't just go into it saying, 'You've got to exercise'. Understand why you're there and understand your goals, understand that it's a journey. People think if they start to exercise then immediately they'll see a change, but that's not a reality."

- Tim Carter, Planet Fitness

Going to the gym can also help with loneliness, especially if it's a space that cultivates community.

Some people go to the gym to train with like-minded people on the same training journey as you. 

At Planet Fitness, there is a 'buddy tag' which allows you to bring along a friend or companion whenever you train.

"To get the most value out of your membership is going into it with a mindset of 'I'm going on a training journey', meet the team, do a vibe check of the gym's sales team - as a potential member, do some listening - are the staff interested in you and your story and how they can help you, or are they aggressive?"

- Tim Carter, Planet Fitness

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the conversation.