I haven’t had a gym membership since we moved to the East Coast. When we lived in CA, I always had one and I loved it. I mostly used 24 hr fitness and the deals and gyms were nice and cheap. I was renewing my membership for only $99/year. I used to go at least 3-4x/week or almost everyday. I loved taking spin classes in the mornings.
Unfortunately since moving I let that lapse because the gym prices out here are RIDICULOUS! Unfortunately I’ve gained weight because of it. I think I want to rejoin a gym because the weather out here is not condusive to really working outside all year long. But I hate the idea of blowing so much on a gym! How much? Way more than it should be.
The closest gym to be me would cost $105/month family plan or $65/month for just be plus $100 registration fee. This is a month to month cost and they don’t do annual plans. I’m not entirely sure my DH would join, so it would likely be $65/month.
Then there are three other gyms within 1.5 miles of my house. The 2nd gym would cost $44/month for each of us. Not a bad price, getting better. The 3rd gym also within the 1.5 mile radius would be $51/month. Finally the 4th gym would be $64/month. Ouch.
Or 2.2 miles from my home a gym that would only be $29/month, $29 registration fee and no contract. I’m tempted by this one, but I feel bad that it would be the furthest from my house.
I wonder if it’s worth it? Which gym would you pick and why?
14 responses so far ↓
1 CentsInTheCity // Mar 12, 2009 at 9:27 am
I think that a gym membership is worth it. I know I’d be a lot bigger if I didn’t have one! Overall it’s good for both physical and mental health. As long as you’re going and using the membership, it’s worth the extra cash.
Before moving to NYC, I paid about $30 per month for a membership to Bally’s. The deal that I had with them was that I could only go to the gym on Tues, Thurs, and Sat. This was fine because I’d supplement with my parent’s treadmill at home.
Now I pay $78 a month. I decided to join the gym closest to my apartment for convenience sake and it’s pretty nice to boot. Am I a fan of paying that much? Not really. I try to attend the classes and go regularly so that I get my money’s worth.
I also found out that my health insurance will reimburse me $200 for every 6 months, if I have 50 visits in that time period. This is very doable and has kept me motivated. It will also bring my gym costs down to $45/month if I succeed.
Definitely check to see if your health insurance offers any compensation or discounts. I’ve found most health plans have some kind of discount program for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Another alternative is to purchase gym equipment for your home.
2 Andrea // Mar 12, 2009 at 10:06 am
You made me wonder how far my gym is so I mapquested it and it’s 3.39 miles and I don’t consider it too far at all. I go 3-4 times a week. Another thing to check is if they have childcare included. Do you have to call ahead and have an appt for childcare? because in my opinion that’s a deterrent. I belong to the YMCA and an ind membership is $60/mo, two person is $94 and family is $104 but that includes a good discount on swim lessons. And for comparison we’re in MN. Also consider the direction to travel home from work. Is it on your way? I mean, assuming you work out after work, or that you wouldn’t go home first.
3 Meg from FruWiki // Mar 12, 2009 at 10:24 am
A gym membership can be a great investment (assuming of course that you can afford it, you’ll use it, and that there isn’t a better option).
My husband and I did enjoy our gym membership when we started, but unfortunately it was more like 4 miles away and there were waaaay too many stop lights in the way. That got old since it wasn’t really on any of our normal routes. And since we were stuck in a 2 year contract (which was still $$$), we were happy to pay our last bill and be out of there.
However, 2.2 miles doesn’t seem to bad unless you were planning to walk — not that walking is bad in itself, but that would eat up your time and as you said, the weather isn’t always great for outdoor work. It might still be a nice bike ride depending on the area and weather. And of course, it’s nothing in a car if you don’t mind using the gas.
Since that gym doesn’t have a contract, why not give it a shot? What are you going to lose? If it works out, great! If it doesn’t, you can always join another gym.
4 Meg from FruWiki // Mar 12, 2009 at 10:27 am
P.S. I just checked and it turns out that our gym was almost 5.5 miles away. 2.2 would have been much better!
5 Mary // Mar 12, 2009 at 10:34 am
I live in the country. So gym membership just isn’t practical. I would have to go right before or right after work or else I would have 12 mile (one way) trip to it. I do own an elliptical trainer, 3 lb and 10 lb weights, and a yoga mat. I have subscription to Fitness mag and between all that I do my own work outs.
During the summer, I walk/run or ride a bike outside. The only thing that prevents me in the winter is the lack of daylight. I personally love to walk in the dark, but as a driver I hate having people walking along the road at night. It just freaks me out; so I don’t out of curtesy of others in case they feel the same.
I would chose the gym that works best for you. In college, I paid for a gym membership because the work facilities at my college were poor. What are you going to use? Are there classes one gym has that you would like? Cost doesn’t mean anything if you won’t use it.
6 SP // Mar 12, 2009 at 10:38 am
I’d start with the no commitment one and see if you could switch to outdoor workouts in the summer. If you are committed to using it.
Health is worth $30/mo!
7 tom // Mar 12, 2009 at 12:45 pm
$29 a month gym is the way to go, 2.2 miles is not that far, though I don’t know your traffic situation. If your paying to work out, you’ll start to feel bad everytime you don’t (which is great motivation).
8 Ellen // Mar 12, 2009 at 5:13 pm
My gym is 5.2 miles away, so it takes 10-15 minutes to get there. I work from home, so it’s usually the only driving I do on a daily basis during the week. I don’t know if I would find the distance more of a nuisance if I were also driving to and from work.
Regardless of which gym you pick, I definitely agree with everyone else that it is worth it. I’ve been working out regularly since the new year, and I feel so much better. I’m sleeping better, & I’m not as stressed. Good luck making your choice!
9 LivingAlmostLarge // Mar 12, 2009 at 9:36 pm
I’m probably going to check all of them out this weekend and decide. While chatting with my PT, she said most people are paying $100/month in the area. Apparently gyms are expensive because it’s hard to exercise outside in the winter. Yuck!
10 JoeP // Mar 13, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I think I was paying something like $40/mo 13 years ago, and then the gym moved and upped their price.
My solution was to walk the dog more often and buy a bike to ride to and from work. We also do a lot of outdoor activities with the kids and rarely watch TV.
I realize some areas cost more and such, but there are some very effective ways to get a majority of the gym’s benefits without the cost.
11 Abigail // Mar 14, 2009 at 3:14 pm
We’re on a pretty tight budget here, so despite being within 1.5 miles of three gyms, we’re not members of anything.
It’s definitely not ideal. My exercise routine isn’t great. But it’s hard to tell if I’d be more motivated by a gym membership. It has more to do with energy level and time constraints.
I am a big advocate for at least attempting a non-gym workout. It’s a relatively cheap experiment and if it works you save plenty!
Most fitness magazines (of which you can generally get free or nearly-free trial memberships) offer advice for outdoor workouts. My biggest investment was a recent $13 for some 5 lb weights, because the hand-me-down dumbbells I have don’t go that low.
So that’s what works (or does when I’m more organized) for me.
On the other hand, you don’t have my energy constraints (it tends to feel like a big waste of money when you consistently can’t go use the gym). And you like some of the classes offered. So maybe it’s something you should start looking into.
My guess is, a few visits and you’d be able to negotiate down — or at least get the activation fee cut in half/waived.
12 LAL // Mar 14, 2009 at 4:53 pm
JoeP, both my DH and I bike during the summer. I bike during the spring and fall but not this year due to knee issues.
But I’m lazy bum who doesn’t during the winters. It’s doable but I’m just too tired.
Abby, the problem is I lose motivation in the winter. Summer, nice weather no problem. We generally bike, kayak, hike, etc. Even gardening and home repairs. But winter I’ve found I am really bad about doing anything outside of walking the dogs.
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