5 Must-Ask Billing Questions Before You Join a Gym

So you're ready to dive into a new fitness routine and join a gym—exciting times ahead! But before you get lost in the thrill of picking out workout outfits and planning your new routine, let's talk money.  

Yep, it's not the most fun part, but it's super important. Here are the five key billing questions you need to ask your gym before you sign on the dotted line. You don’t want to have your gym experience ruined by a billing nightmare.

1. What’s the Deal with the Monthly Fee?

First things first, how much is this going to cost you every month? But don’t just nod along to the number they throw at you. Dig a bit deeper. Ask what exactly you're getting for your money. Is it just the gym floor and some basic equipment, or can you join those high-energy classes without paying extra? Knowing exactly what your monthly fee covers can help you figure out if you're really getting a bang for your buck. 

2. When Do They Hit the ‘Charge’ Button?

Find out when your account is going to get charged. Gyms have their own schedules—some might bill you right at the start of the month, others might do it on the anniversary of when you signed up. Some gyms bill weekly other  bill monthly and some  bill every four weeks(that’s what we do at Chaos) . It's good to know so you can make sure you've got the funds ready and you’re not . And hey, ask if they can adjust the billing date to suit you better; some places are cool like that.

3. Any Surprise Fees I Should Know About?

Ah, the dreaded hidden fees. Ask straight up if there are any extra charges that might sneak up on you down the line. Maintenance fees, equipment fees, or even charges for those supposedly ‘free’ classes can all add up. Getting the lowdown on any additional costs upfront can save you from a nasty surprise on your bank statement and a fight with the front desk in a couple months. 

4. What If I Need to Bail?

Life happens. Maybe you move, maybe you’re just not feeling it anymore. Either way, you need to know the score when it comes to bailing out. Is there a fee for breaking up with the gym? Do you need to give notice, and if so, how much? And is there an option to freeze your membership if you’re going away or can’t use it for a while? It's always better to know the exit strategy just in case and to 

5. Can I Make the Payments Less Painful?

If shelling out for a gym membership all in one go sounds a bit much, see if they offer any payment plans that spread the cost. Some places will let you pay in instalments, sometimes without charging extra, making it easier on your budget. It's worth asking, especially if it means you can join without feeling the pinch too much. 

Joining a gym is a big step towards hitting your fitness goals and getting the most out of life, but don’t let the excitement cloud the practical stuff—like understanding the billing ins and outs. By asking these five questions, you can dodge any financial surprises and focus on what really matters: getting fit and having fun. A good gym will be upfront and clear about all this, so you can work out with peace of mind. 

Cheers to hitting those fitness goals without any billing woes!

5 Tips and Things to Look for When Signing Your Kid Up for a Boxing Gym (or Any Sport)

Quick introduction: my name is Sal Toner, and I am the owner of F.C. Chaos Boxing & Fitness. I have owned my own gym for the last five years and have been in the fitness industry for approximately twelve years. I've trained kids ranging in age from four to eighteen."

Throughout the years, I have picked up some best practices that parents use when signing up for my gym, and I wanted to share them with you.

• Honest Parent-Kid Conversations After the Initial Session

• Ensuring the Classmates/Environment is Where Your Child Will Grow (Looking for Alternatives if it Isn't)

• Finding Coaches that Earn Both You and Your Kid's Respect

• Ensuring That Safety is Always the Number One Priority

• Aligning Your Goals, Your Child’s Goals, and the Coaches' Goals

1. Honest Parent-Kid Conversations After the Initial Session

In my gym and in many sports, there is a trial or tryout. During this session, your kid will be challenged in a new and fun way. At the end of this session, the parent will very often turn to their kid as they stand in front of their new coach (me) and ask, "Hey Johnny, how did you like it?" The kid will almost always answer in a positive way. Understand that there is underlying pressure added by asking them right in front of me and the gym. Instead of this approach, simply move the conversation to the ride home and have an honest conversation with your kid, explaining the commitment and agreeing on common goals.

2. Ensuring the Classmates/Environment is Where Your Child Will Grow (Looking for Alternatives if it Isn't)

Look around at the fellow classmates/gym members and make sure they push your child to improve and to be better, not only athletically but overall. If for whatever reason that may not be the case, ask about ways to put your kids around the right peers to push them out of their comfort zone.

3. Finding Coaches that Earn Both You and Your Kid's Respect

If you do not respect your child’s coach, your child will likely never respect his or her coach. If there is any reason for you not to respect your kid’s coach, it may be time to find a new coach. The more respect you give to your kid's coach, the more they will respect them, and the more likely they are to become successful.

4. Ensuring That Safety is Always the Number One Priority

This is a pretty straightforward and simple thing to look for, and if at any time you feel the safety of your child is compromised, immediately bring this to the attention of the coach.

Sidebar: Allow the coach to push the limits of your child both mentally and physically but keep safety in mind. Voice your opinion and give the coach the opportunity to explain the logic behind why the risk is worthwhile.

5. Aligning Your Goals, Your Child’s Goals, and the Coaches' Goals

Have a conversation with your kid and with your kid's coach to make sure everyone is on the same page as far as the goals of the sport. If the coach is aware of your goals for your kid and your kid's personal goals, they are more equipped to help them achieve them and set their own goals for success. A lot of times, coaches are left guessing what the parent and kid are looking to accomplish through the sport, and a simple conversation can make a world of difference. If the kid, coach, and parent all understand that the object of starting to box is to build confidence or to build speed and endurance, everyone is on the same page and can move forward.

These are five takeaways I've gathered over the years that I've found to be successful in fostering a healthy parent, kid, and coach relationship. While I am not yet a parent and have not been on the other side of the equation, I believe most parents would agree that these simple five steps can have a tremendous impact on coaching young, healthy, and happy kids.

From Chaos Comes Community

On March 18th 2020, I was simultaneously sent a news article by five of my friends and both of my partners. The article stated that gyms were to be closed as of 8pm that night. As someone who eats, sleeps, breathes and loves his gym this was a tough day. The six months of being closed that followed were less than Ideal for a business that was only two and a half months old when we had to shut our doors. 

Over the course of those six months I have learned a lot, saw some of my worst days and some of my best, asked the girl I love to marry me and saw more than a few friends lose loved ones. A couple years back a very wise man once told me “it’s not about the money, power or success that will matter in the end but instead the meaningful relationships that you make throughout you life.”

Throughout the Chaos of the Pandemic, I’ve seen some of the most amazing relationships blossom. I have seen clients sending “wellness baskets” and “coffee cash”  to other clients who were on the front lines.  I have seen friendships that started during park workouts but now go far beyond the gym.  I have seen people laugh, cry, talk, think, smile, and come together! 

For years to come we will look back on 2020 and remember all the hardships it brought, but more importantly we must reflect on the community and relationships that rose from the chaos.

FITNESS CHALLENGE: 100 Push ups a day!

100 Push ups a day!  Every single day. Not just when you feel like it. Not just once a week. Not just when you have someone watching you. EVERY SINGLE DAY!. That’s the challenge I present to you starting right now! 

In an unforgettable commencement speech the great General Stanley McChrystal spoke about how if you want to change the world wake up everyday and make your bed. His argument was simple. If you wake up every morning and make your bed that one simple task is a task completed and that sense of accomplishment will carry with you for the rest of the day and will in turn spiral into you changing the world... and if you have a crappy day at the very least, you will have accomplished one thing... making your bed.

So I present a similar case to you everyday, and I mean everyday, complete 100 push-ups. It doesn’t have to be the first thing you do in the morning or all in one shot. It can even be done in two sets but set yourself up to change the world 100 push ups at a time.

So take the pledge, make a commitment, set a goal and don’t give up!

“I pledge to do 100 push-ups everyday from this day forward to change myself and in turn change the world!”

Our WHY!

Simon Sinek gave perhaps one of the greatest TED Talks on leadership with his talk titled “How Great Leaders Inspire Action”. If you have not watched this TED talk,  google it right now and listen to it! 

Basically, Mr. Sinek explains that the most revolutionary leaders communicated starting with WHY they do what they do instead of just simply explaining what they do or how they plan on doing it. So, I could stand here and tell you what F.C. Chaos offers or explain how we plan on getting you in the best shape of your life, but instead let's talk about the WHY!

Why do we do what we do? It’s simple. Sometimes shit sucks. Especially in NYC, your job can be grueling and mentally exhausting, relationships are far from easy, stressful family situations and let’s not even talk about financial stress. The bottom line is sometimes shit just sucks! 

So what if for one hour I told you to leave everything at the door. Not to worry about anything going on in your life and just focus on getting through the next 15 rounds. Then simply everything becomes a little easier and you walk out with a smile and it’s not just a temporary fix you start to see your confidence rise as you crush workouts and all of a sudden those issues become smaller and smaller. This is why I wake up every morning at 4:30 with a smile on my face.  Because I know something as simple as a great workout can make a difference and if one person becomes a little happier and a little healthier though my time at Chaos I know it will all be worth it! 

Tell us your why!

WHAT The F is FC?!

If you have ever seen the super sleek, good looking, totally awesome F.C. Chaos Logo, then you have probably asked yourself the question “WHAT THE F does FC stand for?”. 

When we were brainstorming ideas and concepts for Chaos, we each brought a unique perspective. Sal came from the boxing background. Andrew a collegiate football player who loved Crossfit and intense training and has been passionate about fitness since he picked up a football when he was a kid. Anthony on the other hand is a D1 Soccer player who currently plays for Rutgers and saw Chaos as the prime opportunity to intertwine sports training with boxing and HIIT!  

From that we got F.C. 

FC stands for Fight Club 
FC stands for Fitness Club 
FC stands for Football Club

And when they all meet in the middle, you get a little controlled CHAOS as you find the middle ground between Boxing, Fitness and Sports training. Whether you're a D1 athlete training in the off season or a working mom trying to stay in shape for the summer, we have something for everyone. 

You’ll notice we don't have the word “gym” in our name. That’s because we are far beyond a gym. It's a community, a family and a place people come to accomplish goals, stay healthy and build long meaningful friendships. 

What does FC stand for you?

How Harry Met Sally

In other words, how Toner Boxing & Fitness evolved into F.C. Chaos. My name is Sal Toner, creator of Toner Boxing & Fitness. When I started Toner Boxing & Fitness back in 2018, I always wanted to start a blog and document the journey. However, once I opened the gym I soon learned that owning a business while working full time didn’t leave me with much time to change my socks - let alone write about my day. Fast forward a few years and some life changes, I am excited to finally get to share this journey with you and create a community to share fitness tips, stories and more.

So, let’s start from the very beginning. I first walked into a boxing gym when I was 11 years old and instantly fell in love with the people, the sport and the challenge - which was nothing short of exhilarating. Ten years later with college graduation around the corner, I found myself still in love with the sport but too often life got in the way. I needed to put my first passion on the back burner to pursue another growing passion for non-profit fundraising. I interned and worked for top nonprofits in the city and was lucky enough to finish school and land my first job on the day I graduated with an organization I still hold near to my heart: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. While working full time, I still managed to train a few clients in a local gym. As much as I loved my work raising money for noble causes, nothing equalled the satisfaction I felt when training others. After working for a couple of months, I saved up just enough money and courage to go after the dream of having a small studio with my name on the door. 

When I opened Toner Boxing & Fitness I exhausted all of my savings, maxed out my credit cards and couldn’t have been happier about it! I was fulfilling a dream which was born the day I first picked up the pads to show how to throw a jab. Little did I expect that in less than a year, I would quit my full-time job, link up with two of the coolest partners a guy could ask for and open a second location that was six times the size of my little studio.

The idea of opening F.C. Chaos resulted from endless meetings and brainstorming sessions with my partners, Andrew and Anthony. We came up with several principals which would serve as the foundations upon which the gym would be built. Most essential, we all agreed that ensuring every athlete would be treated as part of a family, all of whom were provided  instructions and a workout customized to their personal needs! 

Since the day we transformed Toner Boxing & Fitness to F.C. Chaos, our family of athletes continues to grow and I couldn’t ask for a more positive, inspiring and courageous group of people to be among on a daily basis. 

We look forward to sharing on this blog and are hopeful that we may inspire others, in and out of the gym, and perhaps even teach them a thing or two! 

Welcome to the F.C. Chaos blog family!