Year after year, the most popular new years resolution for most people has been to get in shape. Each year these people join a gym and are very motivated to lose that extra fat or gain some muscle. After a few months, something happens to a few of these people and they decide to stop going to the gym. One of the main reasons they gave up is because they lost their initial motivation to train and eat right, this can be linked to the gym they trained at.

So the same thing doesn't happen to you, you want to be able to choose a gym that makes you motivated to train at.

Here are the factors you need to take into consideration before choosing your gym:

Price - Different gym's have different prices, some may be cheap and good value for money whilst others may be expensive but they'll give you everything you need. Just remember not to judge a gym on price, not all expensive gyms are actually great.

Location - A gym closer to home is always better, it reduces the chance of you missing a workout because you don't have the time to travel all the way out to your far away gym. But if the gym near your home is crap, don't settle for second best.

Hours - This is very important if you can only train in the early morning before work or late at night after work. Choosing a gym thats open 24 hours a day gives you the freedom to know you'll never miss a workout because you were held back somewhere.

Number of members - If there are too many people working out and hogging all the equipment, you're not going to have a very efficient workout. Test out your gym by going to a free trial session at the time you would normally workout, then you can assess the number of people working out at the same time. If there's too many people using the equipment when you need it, obviously this isn't the gym for you.

Extras - Some large gym chains have pools, saunas, little bars and other nifty little extras. You need to ask yourself if you'll actually use these extras.

Equipment - Most state of the art equipment with computers and gadgets is usually crap,its just a way for you to lose focus. You want a gym with basic equipment thats of high quality. Doing the basic exercises is what you need to get good results, so try not to get excited with equipment thats fresh off the boat or is the latest fad on T.V.

Atmosphere - This is very important if you want to achieve your goals. You want a gym with an atmosphere that makes you want to train hard, not an atmosphere where people are trying to score or socialize.

In my life, I first started training at a cheap local gym, by the train station. It was wasn't large and didn't have state of the art equipment. It just had some basic free weights and machines needed to have a good workout. The people there were friendly and focused on training which helped increase my motivation to focus too. The personal trainers were knowledgeable and would always help you out, even for free. It was a great gym.

Then my friend started working out, he joined this super expensive gym in a trendy location. This gym was brand new, it had all the latest equipment, plasma screens, cafe, a massage chair, sauna and pool. It was spaced out well and there was more then enough equipment for everyone as lots of people went to this gym. This gym seems good on paper, but it's really pure crap.

There is so much useless equipment around the place, its as clean as a hospital which isn't a good thing (you want a gym thats hardcore), the people there are mostly snobs and the personal trainers don't care about you, they'll only show you how to fix your form in an exercise only if you pay them or are good friends with them. This gym didn't have a workout hard atmosphere, it had an atmosphere of socializing and not trying too hard or you might break a finger nail.

All in all, this gym was pure rubbish. If I had a choice of which gym to go to, I'd choose the first one any day of the week. So remember, take the factors from the list into account before signing up.