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

qwikstreet
qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
edited November 13 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
    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
    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
    ALl of the local Ys are more expensive than my gym. So thats a no go
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    I pay $100 a month for a membership at my local Y…….
  • qwikstreet
    qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    My town population is under 7k. :)
  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
    The y here is like $40 a month.

    The no frills golds membership is $10.
  • MissElmaN
    MissElmaN Posts: 2 Member
    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.
  • qwikstreet
    qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
    Wow. If my Y was that expensive I wouldn't of joined. I don't care that I can walk there. My family annual is less than some of your quarterlies.
  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
    I remember the y where I used to live adjusted the rate based on income. Don't know if they still do that.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    The cost at my Y for a single person is $42. It is also about eight minutes away. Only three more remotely in this area: A Fitness Planet for $10.00 a month but is half an hour away. I either (a) would never go or (b) burn way more money in gasoline than the $32.00 difference. There's another gym just a little further away which is sleazy looking, has hardly any machines, and is $30.00 a month. My Y has a swimming pool, three fitness rooms, a gym, a huge hot tub, a sauna, inexpensive but excellent PTs, and lots and lots of free classes. I do Zumba once or twice a week (anywhere else you pay at least $4-5 a class, so that's a minimum of $16 - $32 saved right there). Other free classes include spinning, yoga, pilates, etc., and there's no signup for them. Plus all the people are very nice, both employees and other members. I've never had to wait for a treadmill or any other machine, as there are plenty. I just signed up for a six-week, twice a week for an hour group PT session with an excellent PT for $40.00. I wouldn't trade my Y for any other facility!
  • dalygirl2014
    dalygirl2014 Posts: 3 Member
    They just closed the y in our area.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    I used to have a Y membership and swam 3x a week, got up to doing at least a mile every time.
    That was back when I had a real job and disposable income.
    Now, there's no way I could afford it. :disappointed::frowning:
    They are supposed to support the community, give discounts to low-income people, etc.,
    but they don't. Their _discounted_ rate was still something like $30/mo.
    I go to PF, which is $10/mo. I'd love to have access to a pool, but can't afford it. And the
    24/7 of PF is a bonus.
  • cindy_h_va
    cindy_h_va Posts: 1 Member
    Try swimming. Join a Masters team. The US Masters is a swim team for adults, for any level, age group and fitness goals. Find your local team at www.usms.org. even if you don't know how to swim the coach will teach you. Team dues are usually cheaper than the admission fee to the pool itself, if you go regularly. Plus, you get professional coaching. Masters coaches are certified. Most of them have been or are still competitive swimmers. Much better than getting instructions by some staff from the rec center. Each practice you burn 400-500 calories easily. Swimming with a team also helps with motivation. Much more fun than working out alone. I definitely push myself much more since I joined my team.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
    The Y here is the most expensive. So, no.
  • qwikstreet
    qwikstreet Posts: 94 Member
    Well I was wrong. Granted the last time I belonged to something like Gold's was in the 20th century and was paying 30-35. I figured inflation would hit the gym market too.

    Like I said your mileage may vary. For families though, most Y prices and benefits still outweigh the cost of signing up 4 people to a regular gym.
  • DoneWorking
    DoneWorking Posts: 247 Member
    edited March 2015
    I would have to drive a bit to get to the Y around here, and they do not have anything like a gym. One of the few negatives of small town living. The health clubs within driving distance are too expensive. They know they're the only two shows in this part of the county.
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    No y in my town. But our city's rec center costs me 29 a month and 8 more for my daughter's membership.has everything thing we need.
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