Gym Membership - Worth It?

I have to agree on this one. Though I love my gym membership, I have the benefit of classes and child care. If you own a Wii there are some great options that your kids might enjoy joining you for. I recently received Wii Zumba 2 for the Wii. It tells you how many calories you burn during your work out and has step by step instructions. The other game I just recently received is the Jillian Michaels 2009 workout game (don't recall the full name off the top of my head). It is challenging but fun and my 4 year old loves to do the exercises with me.
Just some options to avoid that fee. Plus I have several JM DVDs and The Biggest Loser DVDs as well. If you have the floor space I totally recommend them. The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga is amazing!
Good luck!

Maybe try the punch cards for a couple times, if you find you like it and you're sticking to it then sign up for a membership. That way you're not locked in.

Two things: first, check with your local dance studios. Half the time now, if they offer classes for adults, they'll have zumba, or yoga, or whatever's trendy. It can be a great way to mix things up, and it's usually cheaper than a gym membership. Second, if you have a hospital locally (or a physical therapy center), check and see if they have a fitness center that's open to the public. It's not all that common, but some do, and the membership rates tend to be a lot lower than the average gym.

I pay $19/month for the community center..includes gym, track and 2 pools. The classes cost a little extra but usually $30 for 10 weeks so not bad

Dexy I do believe you don't need gym membership to lose weight. It's up to you. I really, really like that gym the one I have here is top notch. But if you desperately want classes don't both signing up. You'll be wasting your money and it's an 18 month contract.

Everyone who's offering helpful advise, please note the OP lives in Australia not America.

Yuup. The first gym I joined was $80 per month, the one I go to now is $48.. cheapest I could find!

Same. I used to do Fernwood and while I loved the gym was just too expensive.

I WISH we had super cheap gyms here, but we don't. The $48 a month that I pay (in a capital city no less!) is super, super cheap. $65 is the standard.

I personally don't think so. really how many times are you willing to go??
you have to ask yourself a million questions about your time, family, how it will work with your life not how your life will fit into the gym.

Personally I just bought my final piece to my own home gym. so no more excuses for me.

Good luck in your decision.

$65 a month? my 24 hr fitness here charges you an initial fee of $65 but that's for your first month and last month. After the initial fee they charge us here $26/month. But I go to LA fitness and I pay 32.64/ month because I need a gym that has a pool, sadly 24 hr here doesn't have a pool. I don't know about 24/hr, but LA Fitness has a little area where they take care of kids.

YES. Yes Yes Yes. I spend a lot of time conditioning, and have several equipment and some weight sets in my "home gym" in the basement, yet I STILL pay for my gym membership. I think part of it for me is eliminating the chance to make excuses to not work out. I have a lot of willpower and am committed to this, but there are things in your home that can distract you from the focus you need on your workouts. Also, I love having access to equipment I wouldnt have working out at home solely. I'm also super competitive and even if I don't know the people in my gym, I like pretending I'm in mini-races with them at times just to push myself harder. I only go to the gym a couple times a week depending on my work schedule and my body, and complete the rest of my workouts at home, but I can usually manage a 900 calorie burn session at the gym...i'm lucky to get 300 calories at home.

I think it comes down to how badly you want to cross train and how effective you want your work outs to be. The gym is typically the better option for me for a harder core workout.

If its a no contract $65 a month, go for it if its the cheapest around. I guess I'm spoiled living in a metro-area, because I can find gyms anywhere from $15 a month to $250 a month for a single person. I won't pay over $35 a month for a gym membership, unless it had child care...and even then I'd have to think about it.

However, for $65 a month they place better be clean and the equipment in working condition. If a piece of equipment breaks, they should fix it within a few days to a week. Look at the bathrooms and showers. If the bathrooms and showers are clean, the rest of the place is most likely clean. Also since its 24 hours, how would you get in? Is the door always unlocked or is it key card access only. And go when you're most likely going to workout to see how the crowd is. If its too busy and you can't get on any equipment, take your $65 a month and invest it somewhere else.