We’re about to enter the final year of the month. And you know what that means, the holidays are right around the corner. After that? New years. And that’s usually when you start looking for new ways to achieve your fitness goals. If trying MMA for fitness is in your plans, you should already be looking into how to find a good MMA gym if you haven’t already. 

Of course, the holidays bring fun, family, and the inescapable—food. 

While hustling for your goals is well and good, don’t forget to enjoy your well-deserved break. Just don’t go overboard on the alcohol and holiday feasting. 

Remember: Everything is good in moderation.

That said, we don’t want you to deprive yourself during one of the most joyful times of the year either. Just make sure not to bury yourself in a food coma, only to wake up and do it all over again. 

Anyways, even as you’re enjoying your holidays, you should be looking into finding the perfect MMA gym near you. 

In this article, we’ll give you some pointers on how to find a good MMA gym. After all, the new year is a clean slate. What’s better than starting strong on your goals as soon as 2023 comes around?

• 1 Check out the facilities

  

  There’s more to MMA gyms than just equipment. Of course, we want a gym that has heavy bags, training dummies and all the other bells and whistles. More importantly, though, is that you observe how clean the gym is. 

  When training in MMA, you’ll be spending the vast majority of your time on the mats. It’s a mixture of people’s sweat, hair and other general loose dirt. All these elements combined makes for a prime breeding ground for bacteria.

  What does the gym smell like as you first enter? Unclean mats have the distinct funk of smelly socks. If your MMA gym smells nasty the moment you walk in… go check out your other options. If it smells too strongly of air freshener, take a closer look. They may be trying to cover something up!

  Aside from that, you also have to check if they have

  • safe storage spaces,
  • showers (and how clean those are),
  • toilets, and
  • parking (especially if you drive a car).

  The gym doesn’t have to be super fancy, but it has to be safe and clean so you won’t get sick in it. Check out our facilities.

• 2 Meet the coaches

  Looking into how to find a good MMA gym also takes into account the coaches you’ll be learning from. You know you have a good coach if they invest themselves in your growth. Aside from having the knowledge and skills to build you up, they must also care enough about your goals and help you reach them.

  Most MMA gyms offer free trials so you can get a feel for the overall environment. Joining those can be a good way to meet the coaches and get an overall feel for the gym environment.

• 3 Look at the timetable

  Everyone is busy in one way or another, and the thing about MMA for beginners is that you can’t do it alone. You either join a class or hire a personal trainer (which can be pricey and not an option for some people). TFC offers a wide array of classes and timeslots throughout the day so you can join whichever best fits your schedule. View our timetable here.

   

• 4 Find a gym with good leadership

  

  Leaders dictate an organization’s direction. If the leaders are uplifting and empowering, then you can expect the rest of the staff and coaches to be as well.

  The best gyms offer leadership that encourages you to keep going, reminds you why you started and gives you the best advice on days you want to give up. 

  Go to a gym that drives you to live healthier with positive reinforcement. Positive vibes tend to energize people more than shaming ever will. Since our founders built TFC precisely for its positive community, you can expect their leadership to keep going in the positive direction as well. 

• 5 See how engaged the people are

  

  It’s not shallow to look at numbers in this case. Gyms with a good reputation have it for a reason. A good MMA gym garners good feedback, and it should be something you actively look into when finding one that you want to go to. Having people who come back to the same gym over and over again also indicates a good relationship between the gym and its patrons. 

  Pro-tip: Check your prospective gyms out when it’s the busiest. (Around 5PM-6PM.) It’s the best time to witness the gym community in its natural state.

  You can find what people say about us here.

• 6 Feel the energy

  

  Exercise is fun once you get the hang of it, but part of what helps accomplish that is having a good rapport with the people around you at the gym.

  We strive to make TFC an MMA gym with positive vibes. Being comfortable inside the gym means you can put 100% of your focus into your workout, which also means getting better faster.

  And the best thing is that it’s a positive feedback loop—the more you feel good, the more you exude positive energy, and the more people around you feel good and do the same. It creates a cycle that motivates everyone to keep going and achieve their healthy lifestyle goals.