Hey all! I want to lose some weight again. I have been holding steady for too long now and it's time to start losing.
I want to know the benefits of joining a gym. I feel guilty for spending the money because we have a treadmill at home and we really don't have a whole lot of extra cash. I just want some advice on if it's worth cutting back other places to join. THANKS!
I've had a few gym memberships over the years. If you can find one where you don't have to commit to a long-term membership, it would be worth a try. I don't like the smell of the gym or working out with other people. But, paying money did motivate me to go (for awhile). My community center has a lot of equipment and they are really cheap. Do you have a local community center? It might be worth looking into.
I've found that if I can't motivate myself to exercise at home or outside, I probably won't be motivated to go to the gym very long. I guess the nice thing is if you have kids and they have free babysitting. That might be worth it to me to go.
Well to be honest, if you have a treadmill at home, what else are you going to do at the gym? You can buy some free weights at any sporting goods store, or wal mart or target, and they're pretty inexpensive. There's also videos you can buy, so really, you don't necessarily need a gym.
I was thinking about joining because I like to walk and jog on a treadmill at an incline (I live in a very flat area) but if you have a treadmill, you've already got something beneficial.
If you don't have extra money, don't do it. If I were you, I'd get on that treadmill every day, jog, walk, do an incline, and get some free weights and use them during your workout and if you're finding you do it every day, then it might be worth it, because the last thing you want to happen is to join a gym and then not go. And that's wasted money. It happened to me and I was really stupid about it.
So if you find you can work out 5 days a week or so, then it'd be worth it, but find that out first.
benefits include more variety when it comes to machines to work on, and trainers to help you figure out new exercises and routines that will work for you. helps keep the boredom at bay! I'm lucky because my job has a gym and it only costs me $15 a month for membership.
treadmill @ home is where i workout. i've wasted a gazillion dollars on gyms when i just couldn't stick to it. just figure out what works best for you and stick to it. if u need motivation from a gym sign up. i plan to sign up eventually to do more intensive weight training but now i'm just doing cardio on the treadmill
I think it's all in what motivates you. I've worked at a gym for the past 3 years and I've grown to like the atmosphere. I like the option of taking classes or trying a new machine if I get bored with the routine. I have a fitness center at my apt complex that consists of a bike, stairmaster, and a treadmill. I tried to save money by going there for a bit but it just wasn't working for me. I'm working at an off-campus pool for the summer so I'm not at the main gym where I work anymore. It takes me a 40-50 min drive and $5 parking to get to the main gym, so without working there I just stopped going. Finally I decided to join the YMCA. Great choice! Close by, free parking, no contract, and I got a scholarship so I only have to pay $20/month!
For me the 2 biggest selling points of the gym over a home workout are the elliptical (i've yet to find a home quality elliptical that doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart under me, I love the gym quality machines) and the lap pool.
But if you are content with your treadmill and maybe some workout DVDs, by all means, save your money!
Trainers are a benefit, but they cost extra. The gym I used to belong to had a "deal" were it was 3 sessions for $99. That's just astronomical, IMO.
Honestly though, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how to work out. You can go online and see different workouts. And if you have a bike, you can alternate from walking/jogging/running on the treadmill to riding your bike. You honestly don't need *that* many machines, and a pair of free weights used in different ways can do wonders.
Honestly, I agree with the poster that said if you don't have the extra cash, don't do it.
The thing about joining a gym that I realized recently was that you have to make sure that it's a place you will look forward to going to everyday. I have had several gym memberships in the past and I didn't really feel comfortable there and I eventually stopped going. The gym that I go to now has a really great atmosphere and I feel comfortable there, not like I am being judged. I am disappointed if I can't go one day. So... if you're not sure that you will go regularly then you probably won't.
The biggest benefit for me is the routine. When I work out at home, there is always this or that to keep me busy - some project to get involved with. With the gym, I just slate it out of my day like an appointment. Some people can do this at home. I have never found the ability to be consistant at home.
When I had a gym membership I found that I was WAY more likely to go than if I just had intentions of working out at home. I enjoy going, I'm a people watcher, and the gym was a really nice one and the variety was great, everything so easily accessible and I love all machines (both cardio and weights) and classes can be really fun too (although I was a little intimidated at first).
Wow, talking about it makes me really want to start going to the gym again!
I agree with the posts that say you should go to the gym and get a feel for the place first, because that will let you know if you think you'll want to go every day.
When I lived in the states, I was a member of this gym that I thought was fantastic. It had every machine you could ever hope to see, classes that I could easily go to and a pool. The lighting was nice and bright, but not glaring, it was clean and the machines were spaced far enough apart so I never felt like I had to squeeze by anybody working out to get to the machine I wanted, or feel like I was working out right on top of somebody else, huffing and puffing in their space, ya know? It had a wonderful happy feeling with lots of happy encouraging posters and stuff like that. *sigh* I miss that gym. I went to that gym every chance I got, just because I loved being there.
Since I moved to Sweden, I've found that Sweden has no such thing as that sort of gym. (Swedes seem to all be naturally thin and beautiful btw, so perhaps its just that they don't feel like they really need a gym that much, I dunno. )
The gyms here have low lighting, the equipment all seems to be squeezed into a rather tiny room, right on top of each other, and though it's usually clean, it just has that rather obvious odor that this is a room where people come to sweat. (Keep in mind that Sweden doesn't do air conditioning, at least not in my area, nor do they have antiperspirant in their "deodorants") The gym I joined does have a pool, but to be honest, after about 6 weeks of going to that gym every day, not even the pool entices me to come back very often. It just doesn't have a pleasant feel to the place.
So, make sure you like the feel of the place and that it's going to motivate you to have a place you can go to away from home where you will feel happy working out. If you don't get that feeling, then don't waste your money.
The biggest benefit for me is the routine. When I work out at home, there is always this or that to keep me busy - some project to get involved with. With the gym, I just slate it out of my day like an appointment. Some people can do this at home. I have never found the ability to be consistant at home.
i am exactly the same. i know that unless i actually have to leave the house to do it then i either wont work out for as long as i should or i wont bother doing it at all. my family would definitely be a distraction.
the gym i go to has no contact commitments and it costs less than €40 a month. i love the atmosphere. there are the "hardcore" weight lifters but they are all really nice guys and while they are huge and really fit, they never make me feel like a big fat whale. sometimes they encourage me if they see me struggling with a weight or something. the rest of the people are big men and ladies. we are all there with the same goal. but tbh if the gym was full of teeny tiny people in lycra i might not be so entusiastic.
i think if you could get a trial first, see how you like it. some people need the structure of the gym, others are much happier at home.
I have belonged to a few different gyms. I started with the YMCA, and it was less expensive and a friendly-feeling place--and after that, I realized that gyms just weren't all that scary.
Why I like the gym:
- I don't have room in my house for any exercise equipment.
- In the past, when I had a different house and did have exercise equipment, I didn't use it.
- Going to the gym ensures I'm going to exercise--because there's nothing else to do there.
- Lots of different options for exercise! rowing machine, treadmill, stair climber, elliptical, bicycle. And both freeweights and weight machines. I like the machines for some exercises. And lots of other equipment--resistance bands, big balls, balance balls... And some gyms have pools.
- Exercise classes at some gyms! These can be really fun, like step class, dance aerobics, etc.
- Gets me out of the house!
- My current gym has a dry sauna in the locker rooms for each sex (not co-ed)
- Trainers available if I want that.
So for me, having a gym membership is great. Of course, I've been going for almost four years to one gym or another, so it's second nature now.
Drawbacks:
- Yes, it costs money--but if you look at what you spend on pizza, fast food, junk food, etc. it's not that much! And besides, what is your health worth?
- If you stop going, you blow the concept and lose money.
- Have to drive there.
I wouldn't give up my gym membership unless I got sick with something that meant I couldn't go, heaven forbid!
...I want to know the benefits of joining a gym. I feel guilty for spending the money because we have a treadmill at home and we really don't have a whole lot of extra cash. I just want some advice on if it's worth cutting back other places to join. THANKS!
I can't say that joining a gym benefitted me. Everyone is different. I've had gym memberships over the years and I barely went. Maybe I wasn't committed enough before, I don't know. But, I've had gyms close to home/work very accessible and I didn't go. I wasted lot of money.
I finally invested in a good treadmill and some free weights. Later on, I bought resistance bands and balance ball too. I workout at home every day. For me, this has been really great. I've been more consistent working out at home than I'd ever been at the gym. I can watch/listen to whatever I want, wear whatever clothes I want in the comfort of my home , I don't have to be embarrassed or wait for others to finish so I can workout etc. But, like I said, this worked out way better for me.
Bottom line, it is about committment. Joining a gym or working out at home whatever you decide to do make sure you JUST DO IT . If you don't have spare cash at the moment, start by using your treadmill and going out for walks. You don't even have to do 1 hour/day in the beginning. Start small and then build on it. Think of it as "me" time. There are plenty of dvds out there for cardio that require no special equipment. Try them. You can rent dvds either via netflix or your local library.
Benefits of Joining a Gym
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It just doesn't have a pleasant feel to the place. 
, I don't have to be embarrassed or wait for others to finish so I can workout etc. But, like I said, this worked out way better for me.