Gym membership or treadmill?

2»

Replies

  • Stdavis53
    Stdavis53 Posts: 233 Member
    Get yourself a Sole F80 treadmill and you can still afford to get some weights at home as well! I had the same decision to make a few weeks ago and I am extremely happy with my decision!
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    I'd say gym. You can do a bunch of different exercises instead of just running or walking and I know for me, I associate being at home with relaxing and I would be super unmotivated to work out at home. When I go to the gym I'm going out and doing something and I'm motivated.
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
    Gym. The yearly fee is worth it for the squat rack alone. Like others have said, try running outside - you don't really need a treadmill.
  • runfatmanrun
    runfatmanrun Posts: 1,090 Member
    I would invest in some dumbells or kettle bells for home use, buy a nice new pair of running shoes and run outside. I can't stand the treadmill and don't typically care for the gym.
  • SeaJenni
    SeaJenni Posts: 211 Member
    I've had an unused gym membership for years. I could've had a really nice treadmill instead; and I would have used it, too. I love the treadmill. Also, I live in a small town and don't need the whole town talking about how they saw me running, as if that were some type of news. However, it really depends on what you think you will use.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    At $300 a year, you could go to the gym for 6 years before you've paid as much as the $1800 treadmill costs. And you get so much more than a treadmill - even if you just use treadmill, elliptical, and a few weights. (If it's $400, it's about 4.5 years)

    Ask yourself 2 things - will the new treadmill last you at least 4 years? And, if you get a gym membership, are you as likely to go in and use it as you would be to use a treadmill at your house? (I'd probably use the gym membership more, but there's lots of people who get one and then use it for a month or two). Now may be a good time to take advantage of the new year's deals a lot of places offer!
  • BeingAwesome247
    BeingAwesome247 Posts: 1,171 Member
    For me personally, I'd want an at home machine.
    I don't have time for the gym and I'm more comfortable working out at home.

    This is ENTIRELY up to you and YOUR PREFERENCES. Everyone has their own personal feelings but this is ALL ON YOU.
  • ruperthumphrey
    ruperthumphrey Posts: 195 Member
    I live about 35 minutes from a gym. I use to have a gym membership at a big chain that is here in Canada, Goodlife, and I really loved it. For me though, was the cost of gas to get there. It is not as though I could drop in on my way after work. I really liked the fact that there was so many options that you could do at the gym. I have a treadmill and elliptical and a huge weight machine at home, plus a few other things..the bonus to that is there is, is that I am only five minutes away from my gym. So time may also be a factor. When I had my gym membership I also could not go when it was about dinner time as I would never be able to get any machines, you had to wait for them. So I didn't like that. And don't go on the machine for more than thirty minutes..that was the limit if the gym was full. At home I can go on machines as long as I want. So for me, I loved the gym in the fact that you were hanging out with like minded people, so that was kind of motivating I guess. There was also negatives. At home, I suppose the only negative for me is it is in the basement, I wished I could work out upstairs. We do have a nice gym room downstairs, but my daughter is occupying it for now. When it is better roads I take to the outdoors. Love it!
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    I do the gym because I like to mess around. ;)

    I would easily have stuff at home if I could afford to. The gym for a family is $600 a year. I have taken a few classes (which are extra), used the pool, used the outdoor pool in the summer, lift weights, run the circuits, used the treadmill, elliptical and the spinning bikes. So, it's a good experience. And I made a few friends in the class that I run races with. In the end, I hate to go there, but I still do.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    If I were you, I would go to the gym for all the reasons stated many times above - you get away from the home, into your own mental and physical space, if equipment breaks down it gets repaired into your membership and maybe they have a sauna, hot tub, coffee bar etc so there is a wind-down social side of things as well.

    If you were me, you would buy a set of resistance bands, a pull-up bar and a couple of kettlebells and walk or cycle outdoors to work and back. That's all I need along with my daily visit to the yoga mat.
  • 135OHK
    135OHK Posts: 33 Member
    For me, the fact that I didn't have to shower and do my hair to go to the gym, then come home and shower again and do my hair was a BIG factor in having a treadmill at home. I would get up in the morning, do my workout (bed hair all spikey and funky) and as I walked on the treadmill I'd watch TV. That made the time seem much shorter, so I actually walked longer because I was distracted. Then I took my shower and I was done for the day. I hate going to the gym and waiting for machines, then knowing someone sweated all over it and/or maybe had a cold and sneezed on it. YEP...germaphobe! I actually had a gym membership this past year because my treadmill also died. But when summer came, I really preferred to walk outside. So I haven't been back there since spring.
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
    gym membership.

    a treadmill will make a very small impact on your body composition. lifting weights can dramatically change the way you look and feel, much more than cardio.
  • Miche11e5
    Miche11e5 Posts: 114 Member
    I (mostly) prefer to work out at home. I love being 60 seconds from my "gym" and back "home" quickly after my workout. I agree with what others have said about variety being important and I have many different DVD workout programs that I rotate through adding in elliptical, treadmill & Yoga (at a Yoga studio) workouts. We just bought the NordicTrack C1550 treadmill from Sears for $1,160. A XMas gift for my hubby & me!
  • taylorwaylor
    taylorwaylor Posts: 417 Member
    Gym membership FOR SURE! You can go on the treadmill plus everything else there.
  • emmagreenie
    emmagreenie Posts: 11
    Is this the treadmill you are looking at? > http://www.nordictrackcoupon.com/nordictrack-treadmills/nordictrack-commercial-1750-treadmill-coupon/

    It's only $1,400 and you can use the coupon on that site to get an additional $60 off... So at just over $1,300 I would choose having a nice home treadmill over a gym membership. The treadmill will have paid for itself in 3-4 years. In the past I had a gym membership, but I got a treadmill for home use about 2 years ago, and I enjoy it sooo much better than going to the gym. It saves me time, money (both gas and membership fees), I also hate working out in front of other people, so for me the treadmill has more tan paid for itself. Just weigh all of your options though, and if you think you might like to try out a gym, maybe you could get a trial membership (for like a month) to give it a whirl before buying the treadmill, and then you can make your decision.

Categories