Do you find your gym membership worth it?

moonangel12
moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
We haven’t been members of a gym since my oldest was a baby, so over 10 years. We have since moved and there is a OneLife facility about 45 minutes away (others closer, but smaller with way fewer amenities). 80,000 square feet, indoor salt water pool (indoor chlorine is an asthma/croup trigger for my 8 year old so HUGE perk), supposedly neat stuff for the kids, just not sure what is available for each age... Price tag would be $114 for our family of 6. Ouch. But we aren’t renewing our annual tubing/ropes course pass... and it would give us something to do over the winter (we homeschool). Also, I am wanting to train for a sprint triathalon. I want to go and check it out one day.

All that to say (or ask):

If you pay for a gym membership each month, do you feel it’s worth it? Do you use a lot of what’s available? What are your favorite aspects of gym vs. home workouts?

Currently I run the neighborhood, do some videos and body weight exercises, and a couple indoor things like a vintage rowing machine and bike trainer... but I get bored out of my mind. I can swim in the river in warmer weather but the water’s already below 60*.
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Replies

  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    edited October 2019
    I am so lucky! My gym is 10 minutes away, and costs $10/month. I walk the track, ride the bikes, and take a few classes. I don’t use the weight room, the climbing wall, play basketball or volleyball. There is no indoor pool. There is an outdoor pool, and I go to water aerobics classes 8 weeks in summer. If you swim at other times, you have to pay regular admission.
    I used to drive about 30 minutes to an indoor pool. I love swimming, but it just wasn’t worth the effort, time and gas.
    Edited to add. There is a gym about 5 minutes away with a small indoor pool. It costs more than I will pay. I forgot, but I think maybe $60-70/mo.
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    I hate the gym. For me, gym memberships (no matter how close the gym was to my work or home) was a huge waste of money because it was so easy to make a million excuses to not make the drive. I’ve lived 5 minutes from a gym and still barely gone, I would never regularly go to one 45 min. away.

    I workout at home. I’ve used free workouts on YouTube (mostly PopSugarFitness and Fitness Blender). And I’ve also used Daily Burn ($15 a month) and Beachbody on Demand ($99 a year). I’m really loving Beachbody the workouts feel more challenging than Daily Burn and I like having a program to follow rather than picking workouts at random off YouTube.

    I’ve had to invest in a set of dumbbells but I found a great set cheap on Craigslist. And I run but I just do that outside.

    I do wish I had access to a pool. I love swimming and it’s so good for you but the gym closest to me charges an extra fee to use the pool and it’s more than I want to pay per month.
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    No way would I consider a gym 45 minutes away, for about a thousand different reasons.

    Depends on location and what you’re used to I guess... we are 20 minutes from anything, 30-45 min from anything beyond basics. I know a lady that lived pretty centrally located and wouldn’t travel more than 10 minutes for most anything. Any indoor pool would be a minimum 30 minutes so the saltwater option would be well worth the extra time for us.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    moonangel12 wrote: »
    We haven’t been members of a gym since my oldest was a baby, so over 10 years. We have since moved and there is a OneLife facility about 45 minutes away (others closer, but smaller with way fewer amenities). 80,000 square feet, indoor salt water pool (indoor chlorine is an asthma/croup trigger for my 8 year old so HUGE perk), supposedly neat stuff for the kids, just not sure what is available for each age... Price tag would be $114 for our family of 6. Ouch. But we aren’t renewing our annual tubing/ropes course pass... and it would give us something to do over the winter (we homeschool). Also, I am wanting to train for a sprint triathalon. I want to go and check it out one day.

    All that to say (or ask):

    If you pay for a gym membership each month, do you feel it’s worth it? Do you use a lot of what’s available? What are your favorite aspects of gym vs. home workouts?

    Currently I run the neighborhood, do some videos and body weight exercises, and a couple indoor things like a vintage rowing machine and bike trainer... but I get bored out of my mind. I can swim in the river in warmer weather but the water’s already below 60*.

    My mom and brother live 45 minutes away, and as much as I love them and the location, it is a chore to make that drive once a week.

    Would this be a month-to-month contract? If so, sure sign up and see how often you use it month 3 or so after the novelty has worn off a bit.

    Also see if there are Groupons for your location / if this free week applies to you https://www.certifikid.com/deal/30241/sportandhealth-and-onelife-fitness_free-one-week-fa
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,739 Member
    My gym is a health/fitness center operated by the healthcare network of which I am a patient. It is about a ten minute or so drive from me. I was able to easily find, investigate and join because it is in the same building as the orthopedic sugical practice that did my hip replacements. It has three pools (therapy, exercise and swim), a hot tub (not so hot, waiting for mechanical repair), a walking/jogging track upstairs along with available machines, free weights and all manner of group exercise classes dry or wet if members wish. My first experience with it was a transition "next steps" program after which I joined for an affordable (I get senior rate) monthly fee; just a few dollars more than the Y next door and you get so much more. It is absolutely worth it, especially remembering my awful state of being just one year ago.
  • Terytha
    Terytha Posts: 2,097 Member
    I love mine, but it comes with 18 weekly sessions with a personal trainer, and after the 18, one free one per month. I feel like if I didn't have someone telling me what to do or giving me a plan, I'd be aimless and anxious and I wouldn't go.

    I never work out at home. I feel stupid when I try because I don't know what I'm doing, and it's so small I tend to bump into stuff too much.

    I would definitely not go to the gym if it were 45 minutes away though! Mine is like 10 minutes away.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,415 Member
    edited October 2019
    Mine is a 10 minute walk from my office and part of the institution I work for. There are multiple pools, baskeball courts, a weight lifting room with like... 20 lift cages, a couple of cardio rooms with rows and rows of treadmills and ellipticals, and...

    2 rowing machines in the entire 5 floor building. Which is weird, but everything else is nice, and it's convenient and the cost is a wash via my health insurance. It's $20/month (payroll deduction, pre tax) for a membership, but if I go 2x/week or more for something like 8 months of the year, I get a $200 bonus from my health insurance company to pay for it. (Might be worth looking into with your insurance.)

    Really, I end up paying for my locker and towel service, so like... $50/year?
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    For me proximity to work and home is of utmost importance (several locations throughout the city is a bonus).
    Price under $50. Private showers, large free weight section, cleanliness are also musts.

    With young ones obviously there would be different priorities
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    We priced out our options and have set up a home gym.
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    edited October 2019
    I've got a home gym set up as well, have a variety of weights, bench, pull up bar, squat rack etc. All in all I've spent probably $2,000 (I have A LOT of weights) and it is well worth it. I workout nearly every morning, it's super convenient, I can rock up in my jammies first thing in the morning and no one will judge me, and I never have to wait for any weights/machines.
  • achagpar
    achagpar Posts: 493 Member
    I have a gym and a pool in my apartment building which I can use 24/7 for free.... but I never use it. I pay for a gym membership which I think is totally worth it since I get classes as part of that, and I try to get at least 6 classes in a week... so I think it depends on what you want, and what motivates you.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    moonangel12 wrote: »
    If you pay for a gym membership each month, do you feel it’s worth it? Do you use a lot of what’s available? What are your favorite aspects of gym vs. home workouts?

    In my final full time job I had three concurrent gym memberships so clearly worth it for me, one was very low cost (subsidised by my employer) at a location I sometimes worked at, one was a few minutes walk from my usual workplace and relatively basic but inexpensive so both these allowed me to train within my working day. The other membership was a premium gym/health club close to home which I kept going after I left work.

    For me that closeness was a huge factor in frequency of training. Even though I'm now semi-retired I find it far easier to fit in when the gym is nearby. About 10 minutes by bike and slightly less by car. Could walk there if I wanted to.

    Training at home I've always found too many distractions and not enough equipment plus I like the complete focus of allocating a slot of time purely for me and my exercise.
  • Pipsqueak1965
    Pipsqueak1965 Posts: 397 Member
    I wouldn't consider something that far away. I belong to a gym near my work, so I can go lunchtimes, and when I leave this job next year, I will join one near home - must be within walking distance as I can't be bothered to drive! Luckily a gym has recently opened about 10 mins walk from my home, so it will probably be there. We do have some equipment at home, but I find it a struggle to get in there - I guess I might, if whatever work I start doing next year makes it tricky to get to gym.
  • Cora0477
    Cora0477 Posts: 326 Member
    I partially homeschool 2 of my 3 kids. Here’s my two cents..

    If you use the facilities regularly and the family enjoys doing so, the cost and the drive may not be that big a deterrent for your lifestyle. It could actually be a good family routine. If you schedule your trips 2-3 (or how many ever..) times a week, the kids can do educational stuff on the drive and count their pool time as PE. And if they are counting on going at a particular time on a particular day every week, it can help keep you on track too because you’d have to disrupt their schedule to not go. I can absolutely see it working for a homeschool family!

    I prefer to work out at the gym because I have a lot of distractions/chores/excuses at home and also find the structure at the gym easier to do without having to motivate myself. My kids love swimming and would love to have it scheduled every week. They enjoy long drives too. So if we were a full-time homeschool family, we would be up for that.

    My advice would be to see if they’ll let you do an introductory period and then you can spend a couple weeks seeing if it does in fact work for your family.

    Good luck!
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    edited October 2019
    My home gym never has a fee (other than the initial cost)...If I were you, I'd look into that.
  • Lesley2603
    Lesley2603 Posts: 119 Member
    My gym is about 15/20 mins away, I pay a slightly higher price per month so I can use other gyms in the group and bring my oh with me once a week. Seeing as I am there 4 x week, and use a larger one 1x week when I see my PT, it works out at less than £2 per visit, and I could also do classes if I wanted to. Excellent value
  • ellie117
    ellie117 Posts: 293 Member
    edited October 2019
    45 minutes away? Wow. My gym is on my way home from work, and is 5 mins from my house. I bring my gym bag to work and go straight to the gym afterwards because if I went home first, I'd never go back out. So I guess it depends on you - if you can motivate yourself and your family of 6 to drive an hour and a half multiple days per week just to work out, go for it.

    I pay $35 per month and go 4-6 days per week. Classes are included but I don't go to them, I prefer to work out on my own. I use elliptical machines and weight machines. I'm too intimidated by the free weight section. It's worth it to me because I hate running and won't do it outside, nor can I work out at home - my dog gets too excited and doesn't let me haha.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    If you can say that your daily "usage" of the gym $10 or less per session, I say that makes sense.

    You are a motivated athlete--you're more likely than the average user to commit to a gym routine.

    I think as a parent you also may have more motivation if your kids get a lot of value from the gym. If, say you go to swim lessons, older kids join swim team, and the gym offers rock climbing classes or has free swim on Saturdays, karate class or whatever...that's a big value SAVINGS over all of those potential activities done separately.
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    I adore the gym. In fact, I belong to two. One where I go for personal training (5 mins walk from home) and another where I go with hubby (10 mins drive) because he likes to use the swimming pool and the first gym doesn't have one. I have to say that I would not be up for a 45 minute drive to get there, though. I go every day.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    @moonangel12 $114/mo or year. That's more than reasonable if it's for a year. You sound like you want to, if you can swing the dues, go for it.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited October 2019
    I would definitely not get my money's worth at a gym that was 45 minutes away. I would never go. I don't have time for that. But ignoring that little issue, I used to go to Lifetime Fitness that was a really nice big gym. I used the workout equipment 3 or more days a week, I used the childcare area, they had an indoor and outdoor pool, so we were there at least 5 days a week. Sometimes I even dropped my kid off at the childcare place and I went and relaxed in the hot tub and then took a shower and spent all the time blow drying my hair and putting makeup on lol! This was when I didn't work and I only had one kid, so I had plenty of time. Now, not so much. I bought weights and took up running and workout at home/run outside so I can be more efficient with what little time I have.
  • JennJ323
    JennJ323 Posts: 646 Member
    I belong to Planet Fitness, and use it mostly for cardio. I only pay $20 a month and it's less than 2 minutes from my house, so to me it's worth it. In my opinion the 45 minute drive would detour me from joining the gym you're talking about, it sounds like a decent a price though for all it offers and for 6 people. But that drive would be a killer.
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    @moonangel12 $114/mo or year. That's more than reasonable if it's for a year. You sound like you want to, if you can swing the dues, go for it.

    Per month, that’s the hang up. Per year I would be all over it! I priced out rock climbing gyms and it’s actually more than that per month, just for the 5 of us (not including my husband).

    The size of our family make any and all costs rise quickly, above average number of kids, although I don’t see us as a “large family.” Kids ages are 6, 8, 10, and 12 so my oldest costs nearly the same amount as an adult based on the pricing online.

    The drive truly isn’t the hang up, it’s the cost. The only thing within a 5 minute walk of my house is the mailbox at the main road :lol: . 10 minutes in either direction is Dollar General and maybe a gas station. Even the grocery store is 20 minutes. There are branches of the gym closer, but much smaller and not near the amenities so if I wanted to go one evening after my husband got home it would be 25 minutes or so.

    The main draw is the saltwater pool, my kids LOVE to swim, and if I hope to do a sprint tri in the spring I am going to need something. The last indoor chlorine pool my daughter was in triggered a 3-4 day long asthma/croup episode (at 8 years old she should have put grown it but it’s just getting worse, an allergic response for her).

    And unfortunately, outside of a one day trial, it’s a yearly contract which I am not a fan of :grimace: . The coupon link someone posted above expired last year.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I had to drop my membership for now when for medical reasons I had to stop lifting. My gym was 30min away and I totally found it worth it when I could use it. I kept my Jazzercize membership going the whole time and am looking to rejoin a gym soon now that I’m cleared.

    When everything is at least a 20min drive away 45 doesn’t feel far and if you’ll use it multiple times each week it’s worth it. If you’ll only pop in occasionally I’d recommend seeing if they have drop in daily rates and try that first
  • Cora0477
    Cora0477 Posts: 326 Member
    @moonangel12 The LifeFitness near us makes exceptions for things like lowering fees if people sign up in groups etc. Which means they do have flexibility in what they can work with you on. If you talk to the manager and explain your situation, you might find they’d be willing to let you try a longer introductory period. It’s at least worth asking since the worst they can say is no.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    moonangel12 wrote: »
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    @moonangel12 $114/mo or year. That's more than reasonable if it's for a year. You sound like you want to, if you can swing the dues, go for it.

    Per month, that’s the hang up. Per year I would be all over it! I priced out rock climbing gyms and it’s actually more than that per month, just for the 5 of us (not including my husband).

    The size of our family make any and all costs rise quickly, above average number of kids, although I don’t see us as a “large family.” Kids ages are 6, 8, 10, and 12 so my oldest costs nearly the same amount as an adult based on the pricing online.

    The drive truly isn’t the hang up, it’s the cost. The only thing within a 5 minute walk of my house is the mailbox at the main road :lol: . 10 minutes in either direction is Dollar General and maybe a gas station. Even the grocery store is 20 minutes. There are branches of the gym closer, but much smaller and not near the amenities so if I wanted to go one evening after my husband got home it would be 25 minutes or so.

    The main draw is the saltwater pool, my kids LOVE to swim, and if I hope to do a sprint tri in the spring I am going to need something. The last indoor chlorine pool my daughter was in triggered a 3-4 day long asthma/croup episode (at 8 years old she should have put grown it but it’s just getting worse, an allergic response for her).

    And unfortunately, outside of a one day trial, it’s a yearly contract which I am not a fan of :grimace: . The coupon link someone posted above expired last year.

    $114 doesn't sound too bad to me honestly for 6 people at a nice gym like that with lots of amenities. If I had a different lifestyle (didn't work FT) and a higher income I would join. (not for a 45 min. drive though :D )
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    moonangel12 wrote: »
    Diatonic12 wrote: »
    @moonangel12 $114/mo or year. That's more than reasonable if it's for a year. You sound like you want to, if you can swing the dues, go for it.

    Per month, that’s the hang up. Per year I would be all over it! I priced out rock climbing gyms and it’s actually more than that per month, just for the 5 of us (not including my husband).

    The size of our family make any and all costs rise quickly, above average number of kids, although I don’t see us as a “large family.” Kids ages are 6, 8, 10, and 12 so my oldest costs nearly the same amount as an adult based on the pricing online.

    The drive truly isn’t the hang up, it’s the cost. The only thing within a 5 minute walk of my house is the mailbox at the main road :lol: . 10 minutes in either direction is Dollar General and maybe a gas station. Even the grocery store is 20 minutes. There are branches of the gym closer, but much smaller and not near the amenities so if I wanted to go one evening after my husband got home it would be 25 minutes or so.

    The main draw is the saltwater pool, my kids LOVE to swim, and if I hope to do a sprint tri in the spring I am going to need something. The last indoor chlorine pool my daughter was in triggered a 3-4 day long asthma/croup episode (at 8 years old she should have put grown it but it’s just getting worse, an allergic response for her).

    And unfortunately, outside of a one day trial, it’s a yearly contract which I am not a fan of :grimace: . The coupon link someone posted above expired last year.

    I found the coupon and a Groupon in about 30 seconds of googling - dig around some more and also discuss with staff. There is generally flexibility. Ask for a longer trial period and lower monthly rates.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,073 Member
    I wouldn't dream of paying for a gym 45 minutes away, but my situation is very different than yours.

    I actually just joined a gym last week. This was due to the fact that I had "outgrown" the little fitness center where I live, and my workouts were pretty limited there - I could do them, but it was limited.

    I joined Anytime Fitness, which is close to my job, so I get up and head to the gym and get ready for work there now. Seems to be working out really well. I liked that their memberships are all-club, so that's perfect if I were to move or want to go to one closer to my house instead of work one day.

    For my workouts and my goals, I pretty much need a gym - trying to invest in everything I want/need for a home gym would be very cost (and space) prohibitive - besides most of that stuff being a PITA to move when I need to do that again!

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