Gym Membership worth it?

In the beginning I set my gym up with cardio and weight machines. I found myself gravitating toward moving small boulders, sprinting and jumping outside than moving a machine. I found better results too. I then added the barbell to the gym so I could lift and track my strength progress. I still find myself wanting to sprint to a boulder than be inside a gym.

Disclaimer: California climate and traffic are major factors for me. If I were to move back to Manhattan, I would join a crossfit box or Chelsea gymnastics.

My gym membership is worth it because part of my workouts are in the water. I swim laps and do water aerobics so I need access to a pool. I would make no use of a membership at a gym that was only weights and machinery, so that would not be worth it to me.

I have two gym memberships so definitely worth it to me.
Work one is dirt cheap and means I can use my lunch break for exercise so less impact on my precious "me time".

One near home has a much higher standard of equipment and far bigger range than I could afford/justify and fit in my house or garage.
I also quite like the discipline and concentration that being in the right environment brings.

I was a member at a YMCA in the city we used to live in. It was close to my house, but I had trouble going more than once or twice a week. With two little kids, a full time job, and a husband who works long and unpredictable hours, it just didn't work that well. They even had childcare included, but I couldn't pick up my kids from daycare then go drop them at the gym daycare.

In our new house there isn't a gym particularly close by. So I have been working on setting up our own gym in a spare bedroom. It's working out really well, and I exercise 5-6 mornings per week before my kids and husband get out of bed. I don't waste time driving. I sleep in my gym clothes, wake up, put my shoes on and start. Then I go right from the workout into my own shower and get ready for work. So much simpler.

But yeah, if I lived in an apartment or small house, or didn't have kids, things would be much different.

Personally, no it wouldn't be.

My main priority is endurance running, so I put the miles in on the road and trail.

For resistance training I'll do bodyweight or TRX. Run out to the park and do a bodyweight circuit, then run home. 10K of running plus the circuit. Or I'll stick the TRX into a Camelbak, run out to the woods and set up on a tree to do a circuit using that.

But that works for me.

Only if you use it.

My 24 Hour Fitness membership is the best. It's no frills in the decor, but it has all the weight equipment I need, a cardio room for when it gets too cold/stormy to run outside, group classes for when I need a change of pace, and access to gyms nationwide if I'm traveling. Everything is well-maintained, and the staff is awesome. $325 a year, and my company reimburses $240 of that, so my out-of-pocket cost works out to just over $7 a month. Completely worth it.

Find a gym that meets your needs for a cost that's not a burden. Some people like swankier places or specialty studios and are willing to pay premiums for that, but you don't have to shell out a ton of money to get a good workout in. If you're not going to go, don't spend the money, but if you pay the money, get every dollar's worth.

I have a Gym 24 membership--they're plentiful around here. I go 1-2 times a week for lifting and if the weather is bad for cardio (I prefer to run outside). Sometimes go to use the sauna/hot tub. I have a yoga studio membership and I go to class 3-4 times a week. Mostly after work (I can walk there) plus Sunday mornings.

I go all the time...5 or 6 days a week.

For me it is important to get out of the house, so it's perfect...

I have a free gym in my apartments and I hardly ever use it. I get so bored using traditional gym equipment. I prefer to work out in my apartment along to dvd's. Or even walk in my apartment with music or a TV show on. Everyone is different, though. I'm sure most people in my position would take full advantage of a free gym. For me, a gym membership would be a waste of money since I'd never go. It's all a matter of what you'll stick to.

I go to a pole dancing studio weekly for private lessons, and I also have a home pole set up in my living room (I live alone and I'm a hermit, so no one comes to visit me, lol). And the money I put out to do lessons for pole are totally worth it. I'm someone who needs someone to say "no lift your butt up more or square your hips and make sure your gripping tight enough with the pit of your knee." I need direction. I even purchased a year membership to Studio Veena, a pole dancing website that has lessons, to help supplement when I'm poling at home.

I just joined a gym and got a personal trainer so I can start lifting heavy. The good thing is, they don't charge dues or membership fees b/c it's a personal training gym. It's expensive, but again, I'm someone who needs direction for things like fitness and sports, so for me it's worth it.

But I use everything that I'm paying for, so nothing is being wasted. I don't know if I would be able to have a weight lifting gym b/c I'm not sure I would utilize it the way I do my pole. I have a passion for pole dancing, as of now I don't have a heavy lifting passion. I just know I need to do it to help with my poling.

Worth it for me. I pay £19.99 at the local leisure centre and use the gym 5 times a week and do 3-4 classes a week every week so each visit costs me a little over 50pence. Well worth it for me. However I have a friend who paid £40 a month for a nicer gym that included spa, sauna etc and used it 10 times max for the year so her sessions cost her £48 each. Not worth it?

As others have said it is only worht the money if you actually use it and go. A membership in itself will not bring the motivation, nor will it help unless again it is being used and that motivation has to come from within.

I only very recently got myself a gym membership. It was not until I felt that I was no longer improve or push myself to another level of fitness that I considered it.
For two and a half years I did not have it and it would not have been worth it to me. My excersise was mainly lots and lots of walking, yoga, some resistance training in the morning and cycling.

quiksylver296 wrote: »

I also joined an Anytime Fitness because I travel some for work and I love being able to have access to a full gym when I am on the road, unlike the hotel fitness rooms which are usually just a treadmill and a bike.

I also have an Anytime Fitness membership and have gone to several when traveling. It is a nice option. Also, I am not all that motivated when I am home, the coach calls my name My gym membership is totally worth it.

this might be the second most "your mileage may vary" question there is, behind "should i do cardio or not?" - which doesn't mean you shouldn't ask it.

if you're gym-curious, then maybe dip your toe into the water somewhere like Planet Fitness, where the cost is minimal and there's no contract and try it on for size and see how you feel about it.

as nearly everyone here has said, it's not an absolute necessity - but I count myself among the folks who love having it as an option. but i also have a dumbell in my desk drawer and ride the bike trails every chance i get.

it's all about balance, and every person has their own definition of what that is.

you'll find yours.