At the beginning of every new year, gym memberships soar. And while they have typically dropped off significantly by now, there are still plenty of gym goers all year long. As someone who has been a member of a few different gyms in my lifetime, I’m no stranger to the circuit. But, in all reality, is a gym membership really worth it for most of us?
Why?
First and foremost, you should be asking yourself why you want to join a gym. What do you think you will get out of it? Both in the short term and long term. Is this something you can realistically stick with as a routine, or do you have a history of new things fizzling out? And what is your main goal of joining a gym? Is it to lose weight, tone up, get rid of baby weight, look good for summer or a wedding? The list can be endless. But, no matter what your why is, you should first tease that out before making any commitment.
Gym membership Actual costs
A lot of gyms will get you in the door with extremely low advertised monthly rates. I’ve seen some as low as $5 per month, which is crazy! But, I’ve also learned that those rates don’t last for life, but a generally just temporary to get you in the door. Once they have you signed up and inside their domain, then it’s time to start throwing add-on’s at you.
A lot of these include fees for things such as:
- Towels
- Lockers
- Sauna
- Pool
- Steam room
- Personal training sessions
- Dietary plan
- Spin classes
- Zumba/Dance classes
- Private classes with smaller numbers
These additional costs can really add up over time. And even if they don’t, the average cost of a bare bones gym membership runs approximately $60 annually (depending upon where you live, of course). This equates to approximately $720 per year, which can easily be a week long vacation for us. And if this is something that I’m not sure I’m going to fully commit to, or have the time to do, then I certainly don’t want to throw a week long vacation away.
other options
It’s also entirely possible that your budget doesn’t have the extra wiggle room for this kind of extra fee. I know that mine didn’t for a large part of my adult life. So, instead of joining a gym, you could consider some other really great options that don’t cost anything (or very minimal) to participate in. Some of my favorite alternative options to a gym include:
- Hiking (one of my long time favorite go-to’s)
- Biking
- Speed walking
- Yoga
- Trampoline (Yes, we have a big one for the kids but I’ve also used it for workouts)
- Workout at home with free weights, jump ropes and a heavy bag
One of my regular workout options at home is to walk around the pool in the backyard with some free weights. I do different arm exercises while I weave around the many dogs that are with us for boarding or doggy daycare. The dogs love it too!
group environment
While I am typically very good at doing things all by myself, a lot of people need a bigger support system. This type of network can help to create positive change. This is where a gym membership can really shine if you fall into this camp.
People who work out at the same gym have a tendency to create gym relationships that assist with their individual goals. When we feel the societal pressure to be accountable to others, we have a higher rate of success, because we don’t want to fail those in our accountability groups.
In fact, just having somebody to be accountable to, increases our level of success by 65%, according to a study ran by the American Society of Training and Development. That’s huge! And if this is what you need to help you create the change you want, then figure out a way to make it work.
Gym Membership summary
Overall, whether a gym membership is worth it all depends on you. The biggest questions to ask yourself before signing on the dotted line are:
- Do you have a strong why for wanting to join a gym?
- Is this a long-term or short term why?
- How much is it going to cost you monthly to join a gym?
- Will your budget allow for this increased cost?
- Are there FREE alternatives you could use instead?
- Do you need a group or network in order to achieve success?
Once you have the answers to all of these questions, then the decision should be pretty clear.
For somebody with my crazy lifestyle and lack of any regular time, it is simply not worth it. I would be one of the 67% of the gym membership population who is paying for something that I’m not using. And since I don’t like setting my money on fire, I opt to use the free options available to me instead.
Have you joined a gym and found the costs to be exponentially worth it for you? If so, why?
