Joining a gym

Listen to the conversation about joining a gym to practise and improve your listening skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Transcript

Receptionist: Hello, welcome to Shake it Off Fitness. How can I help you?

Customer: Yes, thanks. I've been meaning to come in and find some information about here for some time. I was wondering if you could help me?

Receptionist: Sure, of course. What would you like to know?

Customer: I saw on the sign outside that you have the best budget membership in the city. Is that right?

Receptionist: You've got that right, yes. If you find a better rate, then we'll match it. Also, we don't have any sign-up fees or cancellation fees.

Customer: Sorry, what was that last bit?

Receptionist: Cancellation fees. Some gyms charge you money if you leave before a minimum number of months or something like that. We don't do that.

Customer: That's useful to know. Ummm, what times do you have?

Receptionist: We open at 5 a.m. and close at midnight.

Customer: Not 24 hours then, I see.

Receptionist: No. Almost, though! We tried doing the 24-hour thing, but there really weren't a lot of people who wanted to do exercise at 2 in the morning.

Customer: Makes sense. Another question: do you have trainers? Like, will you do a personalised evaluation of me?

Receptionist: Sure we do. As we say on our brochure, we can show you what to do, how to do it and why you're doing it. Have you worked with a personal trainer before?

Customer: Err, no. No, I haven't. No.

Receptionist: So, it's very easy. For your first visits we'll assign you one of our expert personal trainers. He or she will design an exercise plan that's just right for you and show you exactly what to do. We even include nutrition advice in the plan.

Customer: Let me get this straight. All of this is included in the price?

Receptionist: Yes, it is. If you want to continue with your trainer after the first few classes, we can talk about that. It does cost extra though. OK?

Customer: Yeah. Sounds ... great.

Receptionist: Do you have any other questions?

Customer: Hmmm, yeah. Um, OK. Why should I choose here instead of any of the other gyms in the city?

Receptionist: What, you mean apart from our competitive rates and personalised attention?

Customer: Yeah, I guess.

Receptionist: Listen, here's a free day pass. Why don't you drop by and see for yourself? That way you can talk to other members, see the facilities and our staff.

Customer: OK, I'll do that. Thanks very much!

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

Discussion

What do you look for in a gym?

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Language level

B2 Upper intermediate

Topics

sport and exercise

I would like to look for a fitness club which is located near to my home. I will plan to sign up for a month, then if I feel well there, I would extend my membership. I would like to work out on my belly fat there.

In my opinion the answer for question 5 is false because we can see in the transcription: “He or she will design an exercise plan that's just right for you and show you exactly what to do. We even include nutrition advice in the plan” Indeed the plan includes this benefit but isn’t clear that personal will do it.

Hello Teixeira,

I see what you mean. I've changed the wording of question 5 to try to make it clearer.

I hope it makes more sense now, and thanks for pointing this out to us.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Well, the short answer would be - nothing. I really don't look for anything in the gym. Actually, I've never been there before. And that's not because I think gyms are useless or fitness is meaningless. I just prefer to do my exercises in the nearest park or at home when the weather is cold or wet. You can ask me why? The answer is easy like the Cyrillic alphabet )) The gym costs money, you have to ride to the gym, if it isn't near you, you need to share exercise machines with others. Of course, there are lots of pros in gyms. You can use modern exercise machines (if they free), you can count on the gym trainer who could teach you to do exercises right. You also can look at your co-trainees and copy what they do. And above, if you accidentally hurt yourself, there might be someone among the gym personal who could give you help. So go or don't go to the gym every one can decide for oneself. Someone likes new fitness equipment and competitive spirit and someone likes fresh air and the freedom to do what you want.

All I need in a gym is a treadmill and pilates class. Those are the unique things I look for a gym because I really don´t like it. I rather choose exercise in home. hehe. =)

What I look for in a gym would be good rates obviously to be affordable, trainers who give us advice on what to do? and, how to do it ? in order to achieve our goals. the lesson has been useful and approachable. Thanks a lot.

First of all I’m interested in sportive life style and especially going to gym so when I have to choose one i prefer some specifications such as best rate, large space, not too much members so as not to be too crowded, polite personal trainers, comfortable and calm atmosphere , and diversity of equipments that meet my needs

What I look out for in a gym is getting fit to keep my body and system in perfect condition.

Hello ZahraMashama

Regarding Task 1 question 5, you have to look at what is said in the conversation: 'For your first visits we'll assign you one of our expert personal trainers. He or she will design an exercise plan that's just right for you and show you exactly what to do. We even include nutrition advice in the plan.' It's true that who creates the plan is not specified, but since no nutritionist is mentioned at any time, 'True' is a better answer.

As for question 6, it seems to me that what you say means you think the answer should be 'False', which it is, because you have do have to pay to join the gym. Or have I misunderstood you?

As for question 7, the customer says 'Yeah, I guess', which doesn't show commitment. He does agree to look at the gym more, but it's not clear that he is convinced he will join.

As for question 8, the 'free day pass' is what gets you a sample visit.

All the best