Five Questions to Ask Before You Join Any Gym in Amersham

You've been meaning to sort this out since June. There are several options within a short drive, the websites all look similar, and you've read them all twice without getting closer to a decision.

Ask these five questions instead. You can get all five in a ten-minute phone call.

1. Who is coaching the session, and will they know my name? An hour with a coach who knows nothing about you is a class with a supervisor. Coaches should be able to identify new people before they come to class and be ready with how they'll adapt and scale.

2. What happens if I can't do the movement? The answer you want is specific: every session has a version for everyone, decided before the workout starts, and the coach brings it to you. You're welcome to ask — but at a good gym you shouldn't have to.

3. Will someone correct my reps? If the class coach is just high-fiving, screaming encouragement and telling you to go faster, you have a cheerleader. You should hear corrections, be held to a higher standard, and leave with something you got from that coach.

4. Has anyone asked about me? The first conversation you have with someone at the gym shouldn't be about what the gym has, it should be about what you want and need. How can anyone help you if they know nothing about you?

5. What happens after month three? This is the question nobody asks and the one that predicts whether you're still going in March. Ask how the programme adapts, how they measure whether you're getting fitter, and what the plan is once the beginner phase ends. If there isn't an answer, there isn't a plan.

Then use the answers. Two places will tell you the same thing about coaching and one of them will be able to describe what happens in your fourth month. Try that one first.

What about price? You can't compare it until you've asked the other five. A PureGym membership and a CrossFit membership are completely different products, and comparing them on cost alone tells you nothing. Ask what the commitment is, though — length of contract, notice period, what happens if you're injured or away.

For the record, our answers to all five: coaches who do this for a living and know every member by name; every session scaled and brought to you; conversations about you; five one-to-one hours in your first month alongside your classes; and a benchmark set we retest across the following twelve months.

Ring three places this week and test all five questions. Half an hour and you'll know.

Ask us all five and we'll answer them in fifteen minutes. Free, no obligation, no hard sell — Jeremy or Beth at crossfitchiltern.com.