So, i am having a bit of a issue at the moment. where it stands now I have a membership with the YMCA. Its newly built, very nice and up to date equipment and so forth. well I found this exercise bike for only 100 dollars yestersay and I want it.
I already have a treadmill, yet it is old and rather loud when I use it, so for fear of the people im living with i don't us it as much as i should, as I do not wish to disturb them in whatever they are doing.

then i thought to myself if I bought this bike what's the point of spending the money for a gym membership? And I really don't use now.

so what I am asking is do you guys find it better to work out at home or at a gym? I don't know what I should do.

im a broke college student so i know it sucks paying for the gym. but you dont need a fancy club, u know? i always "attempted" ahem, to work out at home (HAH!) but i started actually going to a womens gym and it forces you to work out, once youre there. because i personally feel stupid driving there, walking in, going on the tredmill for ten mins and then leaving. something i totally would had done at home lol. i vote the gymmmm.

I work out at home & it's slowly been built up since I started I have 3 kids and a husband that travels a lot so a cheap, simple gym membership ($100 a month is the cheapest here that includes child care, blah) was never in the cards for me

Some people have to go to the gym to work out or they flake out. It's up to you to decide on which you can do.

I workout at home. A little over a year ago I gave up my gym membership due to the crappy economy and no time. So I was forced to seek out ways to get in shape at home. I found that with a little investment I can lose all the weight I want and maintance workouts for one flat price. I had 3,5 10 pound dumbbels. I bought over time, 8lb dumbbells, one 15lb kettlebell that came with a dvd. I had 3 Jillian Michaels dvds and add 3 of the Biggest loser dvds and 6 of her other independent dvd and an inexpensive step from Walmart.

I find that working out at home is great! I can workout, without the time waste of driving to the gym, worrying about the weather and do whatever fits myschedule. Maybe all I have time for is 20min of 30DS or kettlebells. Maybe some yoga if I get home a bit later than normal.

It fits my schedule rather than me fitting into a gyms schedule.

hi mickeypnd. i've been working out at home but also have a gym memebership that i hope to start using soon. i haven't given up the gym membership yet because i'm hoping that at some point i will want to vary my workout, which i'd be better able to do there. so then it would be a combination of some things at home and some at the gym. i also want to get back outside to do some walking but it is just too hot and humid right now. but i think it's definitely possible to get a good workout at home. so far that's what i've been doing too. good luck!

Hi, ive found that im more commitment and focused during @ home exercise than working out @ the gym. I can perform at my own pace and not worry about any distractions. it's also more cost effective so i recommend home workouts for more reason than one!

It all depends on if you are able to maintain your workout goals without social pressure. If you need people around to keep you accountable at the gym while working out and you worry that without that pressure you won't want to exercise, then stay at the gym. If money is your only issue and you don't need the push from others to keep going, then work out at home.

I exercise outdoors because I think it is more exciting than staring at a gym wall (the gym I used to go to had the treadmills butted against a blank wall, no pictures, TV's or anything!) and I like the smells, sights and sounds of the outdoors.

Just find what is the best fit for you and keep going!

If you have a gym membership that you're paying for and not using, you definitely need to do something about that, one way or another. I get a really good deal on my gym membership through work ($4 per pay period, which is every 2 weeks) and I go at least 5 days a week, sometimes twice a day. I can't remember where I read it, but a while back I read an article that said if you find yourself not wanting to go to the gym, get dressed and drive over there anyway. If, by the time you get there, you still don't want to go then turn around and go home...but 9 times out of 10 you're going to say "well, I already drove over here...might as well go ahead and work out."

Personally if you're worried about waking your roommates, I would keep the gym membership and go there. If you don't use the treadmill b/c of them then chances are you wouldn't use the bike for the same reason.

For me, it is definitely the gym. Well, my first choice is to run outside, but if I can't do that, THEN it's the gym.

I like that I have so many things to choose from -- treadmill, stairmill, a variety of ellipticals and steppers, regular bikes, recumbent bikes. All sorts of weights -- both machines and free weights. And tons of classes -- so far I've only done spinning and kickboxing but I plan on trying yoga and pilates soon. I have three kids and my husband works a lot, so I chose a gym with really good child care. (I know I am fortunate to be able to afford this).

Sometimes I come straight home to shower and sometimes I shower at the gym -- it helps that they have really a really nice locker room and provide shampoo, conditioner, hair dryers, towels, etc. This is the first gym I've ever showered at -- I don't think I ever even saw the locker rooms of the other gyms I've belonged to.

I occasionally work out at home -- 30 Day Shred or yoga on tivo -- but I have to do it either during my DS's nap or after the kids have gone to bed.

I have to admit -- I didn't think I'd like the gym so much when I joined. My main motivation was the child care. My husband was deployed and I really needed a little time away from the kids, so I joined the gym knowing I would get a little break and lose the baby weight (this was last year when my DS was 4 months old). Now I really like going and am so grateful I gave it a chance!

I have a treadmill as well. I prefer working out at home....I know I'd flake out on a gym membership in a heartbeat.
I also get together with friends for morning walk every now and then too.

Thanks for starting this thread. I have been needing some insight on this topic. I really would like to do the gym, but am worried about my flakiness

I do both. I see no need for a gym whatsoever, but I definitely up my game when I go to a gym. I thrive off the gym atmosphere and I enjoy...really enjoy...the classes. I am highly motivated by all that. I can work out just fine at home, but it's with less motivation.

So in addition to my gym membership I bike on a local bike path, walk 3-5 miles regularly and I run. I don't need a gym membership for any of that. I have all the equipment at home that I need for strength. (Exercise ball, 5, 8, 10, 12 pound weights)

As for the treadmill and bike, I say why not if it's within your budget. I'm really wishing I had one of those right now. I would love to be able to bike or walk while watching a show just to be moving. I wouldn't consider it my workout, but I would love to just move when I was in front of the television.

Even if the calorie burned estimates are incorrect on the machines I need the consistency and variety the gym offers.

I have a Y membership and love the variety of what is available to me but I also work out at home when can't fit a trip to the gym.

Things would have to get extremely tight in the budget for me to give up the Y.

I had a gym membership for like 2 years that I used maybe 5 times total. I get really self conscious and just couldn't manage to go by myself. Plus, I would have to go out of my way to go there, and it wasn't always open when I could get there, so it just didn't work for me. I feel much more comfortable at home, and I didn't have to worry about turning red or sweating really hard or what parts were flopping and jiggling. I didn't get bored because I had DVDs, and I used OnDemand workouts available through my cable service, and I would do other routines that I would find in books or magazines.