gym membership vs home exercise bike?

Ange_
Ange_ Posts: 324 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My yearly gym membership is about to expire an i honestly didn't use it as much as i should to really get my value worth. But i feel like if i don't renew it then that would be giving up on getting healthy as where i live there are almost no other options (middle of a pretty much dead flat desert with no bike tracks and a pool only open a few months of year).
But i did notice that there are exercise bikes for sale that cost less than a year's membership so i was quite tempted by these.
When i do go the gym i mostly use the bike and since there are limited numbers of them often it is pain when i can't get on one.

But are the ones you can get for your home and are cheap anywhere near as good as the gym ones? has anyone had experience with indoor bike stands that let you convert a regular bike into an exercise bike? how stable are they and do they ruin your tires?

I have one or two exercise DVDs and hand weights too so was thinking that combined with an exercise bike of some description i would be sorted...

I'm just not sure if the gym exercise bike is just a phase and then later on i'd rather an elliptical trainer or something...

What are your experiences?

Replies

  • lanerichardson
    lanerichardson Posts: 35
    i picked up a book from the store that shows you how to use your body weight when your at home or in a crowded gym. I would suggest getting one for yourself i was just unable to pay for the gym as much as i was using it also. i walk at home and use some exercise games on the wii.
  • trailriderdee
    trailriderdee Posts: 38
    I live in the sticks, the closest gym has hours that were meant for stay at home moms...not full time working women.

    I got a FREE (keep an eye on craigslist, be careful of weirdos) proform recumbant bike, and put it in the living room, it's AWESOME! If I can find an elliptical and a treadmill, I'm tossing the couch and turning the living room into a perma-gym!
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
    I've been here for a year, I have no gym membership and I've lost 74lbs so far. I did buy an elliptical machine which I love! and have also now added a treadmill (Which I got at an estate sale for a steal!). I spent about $800 on my new elliptical machine (the first one I had was free of Craigslist and I used it for about 4 months until it fell apart LOL). The treadmill cost me about $200 and it's a very good model, but since it was an estate sale the dead guy didn't need it anymore.

    Some people need to GO to a gym to work out. I prefer my basement or my garage, or the road to workout. I own some free weights as well. The weights I picked up at a second hand store cheap.

    So you don't NEED a gym membership to be healthy and lose weight unless you like having some place specific to go.
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
    I like my membership only because I have the freedom to go in there and use whatever I want. I had a treadmill at home and never used it - or I got on and gave up after 10 minutes. The act of actually GOING to the gym makes me stay there longer.
  • chuckyp
    chuckyp Posts: 693 Member
    If you think you will use it, get one. And get the best quality one you can possibly afford. A lot of the cheap equipment just isn't smooth and fluid feeling and isn't as nice to work out on. Sometimes they aren't as stable either and they will rock or squeak.
    Sometimes you can find a good deal on a used one that is actually FROM a gym. That's what I did with a pull-up / dip machine.

    My wife got one of the bike stands several years ago that lets you ride your bike on rollers. If you are training for an event on a specific bike, it might be nice, but otherwise it was a bit of a pain and she didn't use it much for whatever reason. It was also pretty noisy. I don't know that it would wear your tires any more than regular riding. You also don't get any of the added features that a stationary bike would have like programs, calorie and heart rate features, water bottle holder, etc. Plus let's face it, most real bikes aren't as comfortable as a stationary bike.
  • zeeeb
    zeeeb Posts: 805 Member
    i started out with a 2nd hand elliptical and a 2nd hand spin bike at home in the shed. lost about 7kg and then got a gym membership and have since lost another 10kg.

    i love the gym, i've always been a gym person, just let myself go for a few years while i had kids. so i use my membership, i go 5x a week most weeks, so it works for me.

    But if you don't use it, get the gear at home. you don't have to buy the most expensive equipment, just get some stuff so you can switch up your routine. if you have a partner or friend that will do it with you, boxing gloves and focus mits are great, really get your heart rate up high, and they don't cost much. get a couple of dvds that you can use and a bike, and that with walking / jogging, you have heaps of different things you can do.

    the other thing with the gear at home, if you only have a half an hour to spare, you can quickly do a half an hour, and then do another half an hour later.
  • temptedtemptation
    temptedtemptation Posts: 11
    Hello, In my opinion it all depends on what really motivates you and what keeps you motivated. I have had and have not had gym memberships and have ended up loosing motivation. I would work out at home doing home videos, I switched it up almost every day and definitely every week so that my body and mind stayed in-tune. After one day of not working out for whatever the reason I convinced myself that I would just take the rest of the week off and start fresh next week, I would but that stop and start became a cycle.

    The thing with me and the gym is that I need to be part of a class so the gyms that do not offer classes are not for me and not just one class but a variety. Unfortunately for my pocket that those gyms tend to be more expensive but they give me the freedom of working out with other people or by myself, i can swim, our use the sauna. I can also go jogging out doors if I feel to switch it up, I can work out with my videos also, so for me finally I have found out what gets and keep me motivated though through many trials and errors.
    Try to locate your motivators and then go from there. good luck.

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