Can't afford a fancy gym membership? Check out your local YMCA.

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qwikstreet
qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Over my lifetime I belonged to a lot of gyms. When I was single I had disposable income to go to places like Gold's and use their new equipment and be around a very young and good looking crowd. In hindsight, I was usually waiting for the machines I wanted to use and a lot of the clientele was actually intimidating.

Now as a family man I live on a budget. We joined our local YMCA. My entire family's monthly membership is cheaper than my individual premium gym membership. It's cheaper than what my wife was paying to go to Zumba twice a week somewhere else. Now she can take Zumba and Barra and others for free while the boys and I can hit the gym. Luckily, our YMCA has a very decent cardio, nautilus, and a free weight room. The place is very vacant. No waiting for machines and it is a lot of normal looking people from your very fit to your people trying to get back in shape. (Oh and a lot of senior citizens.)

Too bad ours doesn't have a pool, but oh well.

Check out your local Y!
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Replies

  • kaitlinrt
    kaitlinrt Posts: 28 Member
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    I loved belonging to the YMCA as a college student! But now as a single adult, it is very expensive in my area. We have a planet fitness that is about the a third of the price of the Y. But how I do miss the awesome yoga classes at the Y!
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    Yeah, Y is much more expensive than most gyms and I have a free gym at work, so...
  • s_pekz
    s_pekz Posts: 340 Member
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    ALl of the local Ys are more expensive than my gym. So thats a no go
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
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    I got a discount at the Y through work in CT and it was still more expensive (and inconvenient) than all of the other gyms.

    I'm sure as a family, with the childcare and classes, it does end up being cheaper. But definitely not for a single person in the states of Maine or CT
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
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    The Y down the street from me charges the same price as my fancy gym for a center that reeks of chlorine in every corner, contains hordes of screaming kids, and has a windowless closet for a weight room.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    I think this depends on location. Different locations have different prices.

    I do have a family membership to our local Y. It's about $10-$20 more than if me and my husband got a membership to one of the other gyms in town. It's also about $12 more than some of the locations in some of the nearby cities. However, the other gyms in town don't include classes, a pool, or daycare in their prices. One even charges you extra for the piece of plastic that lets you into the gym (it's listed as a separate charge from the actual membership). For us though, it's worth the cost just for the 2 hours of daycare while we workout.
  • raychill23
    raychill23 Posts: 9 Member
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    Yeah, as a single person I pay $70 for my YMCA membership. It's definitely more expensive than other local gyms, but it's worth it. The money goes back to the community.
  • XxQueenMxX
    XxQueenMxX Posts: 683 Member
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    YMCA benefits a family, not a single person. I have it for my fam and its great. Not so much for my single friends who would have to pay more than a "fancy" gym.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    raychill23 wrote: »
    Yeah, as a single person I pay $70 for my YMCA membership. It's definitely more expensive than other local gyms, but it's worth it. The money goes back to the community.

    Wowzers. See this is what I mean. Our family membership is $72 a month at our YMCA. A few other locations in Missouri charge $60 a month for the family membership.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    It definitely varies.
    Where I am the YMCA is a cheaper option (not by much though) plus they offer a program where if you can't afford their rates, they will work with you to provide a rate for you that you can afford.
    They are also the only gym in my area with a child care service and a pool.
    Ours has been completely renovated recently.
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
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    I think it's all relative. A single membership at something like a Lifetime is around $150 and I'm sure a family membership at the Y is cheaper than that scenario. But I checked out the Y a few years back and it was a lot nicer than I expected it to be but it wasn't a cheap membership and the hours were limiting.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    I pay $100 a month for a membership at my local Y…….
  • qwikstreet
    qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
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    Wow. My Y single person is $25 and my family is $38. Another Y I belonged to in a semi decent city in PA was $36 single and 53 family and they had a pool.

    LA Fitness near me wants $35 individual plus initiation fees.

    I guess your miles may vary but the Y is a good option to explore.
  • BraveNewdGirl
    BraveNewdGirl Posts: 937 Member
    edited March 2015
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    World Gym is $20 per month (and that includes access to all of their classes and facilities) for a single adult. The YMCA is $77.50 per month for the same deal. It definitely varies in value from city to city and based upon whether you're looking to snag a single membership or for a family set-up, I think!
  • qwikstreet
    qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
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    I apologize. I did a quick search and it all depends on the size of your town/city. The smaller the cheaper.

    I must really have a diamond in the rough because mine also did not have any signup fees. Other than the three separate exercise rooms they have a full court indoor basketball, a dance studio, and a rec room. (Which all three of them can be used for the 3-4 exercise classes they run throughout every day except Sunday.) They also open at 5:30AM until 10PM during the week and close by 5PM on the weekend.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    qwikstreet wrote: »
    I apologize. I did a quick search and it all depends on the size of your town/city. The smaller the cheaper.

    I must really have a diamond in the rough because mine also did not have any signup fees. Other than the three separate exercise rooms they have a full court indoor basketball, a dance studio, and a rec room. (Which all three of them can be used for the 3-4 exercise classes they run throughout every day except Sunday.) They also open at 5:30AM until 10PM during the week and close by 5PM on the weekend.

    Interesting because I live in a small, suburban town of 20,000. The Y is still $100 a month.
  • qwikstreet
    qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
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    My town population is under 7k. :)
  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
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    The y here is like $40 a month.

    The no frills golds membership is $10.
  • MissElmaN
    MissElmaN Posts: 2 Member
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    My local Y is $100 for the family, it's 4yrs old, has a lap pool therapy pool and family pool. Having moved to the States from the UK it is definitely cheap for a family of 5. The childcare is a bonus otherwise some of us would never make it to the gym. On a negative note my husband has a separate gym membership as he thinks it's too crowded.

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