Gym Memberships

Lovely lovely lovely thread my friend! I have been pondering on this myself! The thing is, gyms are good, gym memberships are good and useful. To be quite honest, doing simple body weights and running in the park IS not effective, use of the gym is important! Firstly. The prime purpose of going to the gym is to strengthen your body, not matter how long and how much you run, running doesn't strengthen your body. It will be good to save up a good amount and pay the gym membership because If you don't have enough money and you pay for a month, you may be unable to pay for another month.

 

Purchasing a gym membership was probably one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I bought a membership at Planet Fitness, and absolutely love it. I suggest you look into the gym you are going to go to though. For example, Planet Fitness does not really encourage heavy weight lifting.

 

The way I see it, I'm paying for my gym membership because it has weights and stuff that I don't have at home (and my gym has a sauna!!). That's the biggest thing for me when I decided to sign up for the gym (even if I could just workout at home with videos or go for a run).

I wouldn't say I can't live without it, but until I get a home gym I'm definitely sticking with my gym. Plus the gym I go to is a local gym (not like a national one like 24 Hour Fitness) and the money we pay for the membership goes towards a poll/opinion box where we can request what we want to see next at the gym.

Oh and I'm more motivated to go workout knowing that I'm paying for it

 

It is only a waste of money if you applied for one and don't use the gym frequently. I had a membership a few years back and I made sure I get my money's worth by working out everyday and using all the facilities. Some gyms offer a yearly contract to make sure they have steady paying clients. This is where they make money. I usually go for gyms which do not have these, and just offer a monthly membership, so that if I don't feel like working out for a certain month then my money wouldn't go to waste. These memberships are really ideal for gym rats who make their work out a daily lifestyle.

 

The only time I had a gym membership in the past was when I lived within 5 minutes walking distance to my nearest gym. Apart from that, in the past when I had one and lived too far away the commute really turned me off going and it was not such good value. Since then as others have said in this thread I mostly did body weight exercises and cardio in the local area.

 

At the moment I don't have a gym membership, and it's been a whole year since I ended it. These days I just work out in the park. Admittedly, I miss certain parts of my exercise regime but I'm happy to see the benefit in my pocket at the moment.

 

I don't think it is a necessity to have a gym membership to stay in shape, but it can definitely help! I have been using P90X for a few years now and am very happy with the results. So it is definitely possible to stay in shape working out from home with minimal equipment.

 

I used to think it's better to just exercise at home, using an equipment that you bought and that's readily avaiable at home. I think though that's not quite right. I still think it's better to have gym memberships because then it will force you to really exercise or else you're just wasting money on unused membership. However, if you're the type who also don't care about wasting it, then maybe it won't work as a good motivation.

 

I still use my membership heavily. Personally, I like the fact that technology is making people work out in the comfort of their own homes. It's made the old fashioned gym less crowded. Which means I get to do my workouts and not have to wait for someone to be done with the weights or machines.

 

I would love to go to the gym purely because it is peaceful first thing in the morning and you get to use the sauna and the pool. I haven't had a gym membership for years now because I just cant afford it and I realised that you don't need it. All the exercise you need can be done at home.

 

I personally prefer to have a gym membership, mainly because of the interaction and being able to swap notes with other members. It's lovely to see the transformation that everyone's going through, and that really spurs you on to keep going. You can also seek guidance from the experts.

However, I hate how you get locked into the membership, and trying to get out of it can be such a nightmare. In recent years however, pay-as-you-go gyms started mushrooming all over England. These are mainly basic but very effective gyms, where there's no contract. You go on a roll-on-roll-off basis. They even do day passes. You can decide to terminate your membership at a month's notice. The one I went to cost just £5 a month, and there was no hefty fee paid upfront. I had access to all the machines you find in any other gym. It was clean and there were bathrooms. The only things that these gyms don't usually have are pools, sauna and jacuzzi.

I think these are a very idea, and over time I think more people will opt for them.

 

I love gym memberships, but not for the reasons you might think. I'm very frugal and I really hate to waste money on frivolous things, so when my wife sent me a lifetime gym membership as payback for me sending her one last Valentine's day, all I could think was, "If I don't go I'll be wasting money." I go everyday now and it's become a routine.

 

I'm not a fan of them at all. Honestly, they're no better at encouraging you to work out than a nagging spouse. I like that there is equipment available but I'd rather buy my own.

 

The gym isn't a necessity, but I like going because they have equipment there that I like to use that I don't have in my own home. If I had a stationery bike, a treadmill, a weight set, an elliptical at home, I'd totally skip the gym.
That being said, I haven't been to the gym in quite some time, it's been over a year I'm sure. I just didn't make the time to go, even though I paid for the membership. I think I went about 5 times so far. Over the years I've had several gym memberships, but have not been consistent with any of them, and as we all know when it comes to the gym, consistency is key.

 

I used to have a gym membership, but the main reason was because a couple of my buddies did as well. Going to the gym is as much a social experience as it is a means of exercise. After they discontinued their memberships I felt less inclined to renew mine as well. There are other ways to keep fit without a gym membership, and I still workout at home to stay in shape.

 

I think it just has more to do with what appeals to the person more. Some people prefer to jog and to just be outdoors in general as an exercise, whereas there are those who thrive most in lifting weights and using machines. I don't think there's one that's particularly better than the other as long as the person is getting some form of exercise, but I lean more towards being outdoors myself just because I like getting fresh air while I stay active.