When a person is in dire financial straits, the first expenses which are cut from the budget are those which are not essential to a person’s daily life. While it is true that today’s society has a radically different perspective on what “essential” means, when faced with a crisis that requires us to take a little deeper look, we begin to cut the extras from our budgets. Often, a gym membership falls into the “extra” category and it gets cut.
I understand this. In order to turn around a bad situation, it is essential to focus your finances solely on the things that matter, such as food, shelter, electricity, etc. A person is able to go for a walk without paying a membership fee each month. It doesn’t cost anything to do a couple of hundred push ups on your living room floor. There is no need for a Stair Master when you are hiking up and down the stairs in your house.
At least that is what we tell ourselves when we cancel our memberships. We assure ourselves that we don’t need a gym membership because we can do everything at home without the extra cost. Everything is great! An extra $30 is freed up for use elsewhere in the budget and now we will start our exercise routine at home tomorrow. But we don’t.
Our good intentions fall victim to excuses. Those Pilates DVDs that we bought a year ago were used once, and even though we told ourselves that we were going to use them again now that we are working out at home, we still haven’t touched them. The treadmill in the spare room gets more use as a clothes hanger than an exercise machine. Exercising at home just doesn’t happen, whether it is because there are too many distractions or we simply cannot find the motivation to move the coffee table to do yoga, it just doesn’t work.
Now that you’ve cut your exercise expenses and are no longer exercising, what is it costing you? At first glance, you might think it is costing you nothing and you’re even saving yourself $30 a month, right? Wrong.
By not exercising you are increasing your risk of health problems such as cancer, heart attack and diabetes. Exercise is also proven to reduce anxiety and stress, increase energy and fight symptoms of depression.
What about your quality of life? A sedentary lifestyle leads to weight gain and obesity. Climbing that flight of stairs becomes a real challenge. Forget about climbing a mountain, it is hard enough carrying the groceries into the house. What are you missing out on as a result of your physical condition? How many quality years are you losing at the end of life?
How much do these ailments cost in a lifetime? If you consider the cost of hospitalization for some of the health related problems and prescription costs for the mental and emotional issues, the costs can be extraordinary, but how can you measure a loss in your quality of life? I’m not sure it is possible to put a dollar figure on a life and I wouldn’t want to argue with someone on their death bed that they can’t buy more time for all the money in the world.
I believe that the cost of a gym membership is more than worth the extra expense every month, so long as you are using it. If you are not using it, don’t cancel it, GET TO THE GYM AND EXERCISE!!! It isn’t the money you should be concerned with, you should be concerned with your life, with your future and with your health in the long term.
Keep the gym membership and use it!
It’s all down to personality.
I can exercise at home or in the gym.
Recently, my schedule has meant I’ve had to exercise at home more than the gym (in fact I’ve not been in the gym for a few months now) and I’m in great shape.
You mentioned doing a ‘couple of hundred push ups on the living room floor’ – you’re right, it doesn’t cost anything to do this, the sad thing is that most people can’t even do 10 push ups. I know many women who go to the gym regularly who can’t even do 1 push up!! That is the problem with gyms – many people now assume the only way to get fit is to go to a gym. The fact is, a regular push up routine is better than many resistance routines that people are spending good money to do in many gyms.
There is definitely a place for gyms, and I like to train in a gym myself, but many people do waste their money when it comes to gyms.
Check out some of my blog posts and you’ll see where I’m coming from on this: http://bodyweightandkettlebells.wordpress.com/
It does depend on the person, as do most things in life, but I also know from experience (and I consider myself to be a fairly motivated person) that when I am at home, the last thing I want to do is exercise. I could be doing other things, like watching The Biggest Loser.
I find that when I actually get out the door and into the gym that my motivation to exercise skyrockets. While I may have felt lazy and lethargic on the couch at home, 10 minutes after I get to the gym the sweat is already beading up on my forehead.
I just put on my iPod, crank up some heavy music and get to work. I probably wouldn’t do the same at home.
The other benefit of the gym is the variety of equipment it provides. One could argue that it is not necessary to have all of that Stuff to workout with, that gravity can do everything those machines can (and they’d probably be right), but they make the routine fun and interesting. You can explore new muscle groups you may have forgotten you even had!
A gym membership is only a waste of money if it goes unused and I’m not about to tell someone to cancel a membership for something that can improve their health and quality of life. I will tell them to use it and get their money’s worth.
Ultimately it is upon the person to find the desire to exercise, either in a gym or not. Having a membership to a gym is not going to help someone lose weight or bulk up if it goes unused. Of course, laying around on the couch isn’t going to do anything either. One way or another, people have to move to improve!
I agree, it’s all about where you are at that time. I’ve had times when I’ve gotten my money’s worth and times when I’ve just been throwing money at a problem. I’ve sort of learned that I have a temptation to throw money at a problem, and when that temptation is active, I need to hold my wallet tight and think some more.
Right now, I’m not in a frame of mind and I don’t have the kind of routine where a gym is feasible. So I don’t have a membership. I’m just building walking and/or running into my routine in the places where it fits. When life changes, it may be that I can go to the gym regularly, enjoy it and reap the benefits, so then I’ll join. The other trick I have is go to a gym and pay for a month, or I’ll pay the $10 per visit or whatever. They don’t like you to do this because plainly, they’d rather have the money every month. Then I test drive if I can get the groove down. If the groove happens, I can go ahead and join.
The gym membership issue is important to nail down I think, because it entangles a couple different self-improvement goals.
I have never joined a gym. I’m 5’6″, 120 pounds, and very healthy. Chasing kids & cleaning the house is my exercise. Eat in moderation is important as well. I rarely eat candy and junk food.
I think it can be hard to necessarily go to a gym when that gym isn’t near where you live. My boyfriend recently signed up at the local YMCA — it just happens to be in La Crosse. Since we living in MN, I don’t think he is going to use it as much, but in the meantime, we have been walking at least 5 days a week for 30 minutes. I know this doesn’t seem like a lot, but because I am currently suffering from severe migraines and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, I can’t do a lot of intense exercise.
I am, however, looking into the local fitness gym thats about 2 miles from where I live — Snap Fitness. The cool thing is that it is open 24/7, so people can work out anytime. Plus, they offer a free week so that I could try it out and see if I like it before committing to spending $35 a month for membership. Not only that, but they are sponsoring a contest where someone can win 8 personal training sessions – which they are calling a free makeover. Sounds like something I might need to try and do.
I can definitely understand where you are coming from about not wanting to tell people to cancel their membership when it is something that could benefit them. I think that if people can’t afford a membership (which is the reason I asked if they offered any sort of scholarship program or financial assistance program for those of us that don’t make a whole lot, or anything in my case), then they need to at least walk around the block. I know that isn’t very far, but just getting out into the fresh air can really make a difference.
I can honestly say one of the best things I’ve ever done was join the gym. I agree with you Steve, I’m motivated by going there and by paying the $30 a month. I don’t want to waste my money so I end up going almost every night. I also have no desire to do push ups in my living room.
I’ve lost weight but most importantly I go to the gym because it helps me sleep.
I couldn’t agree more! Spending the money for a gym membership is a motivator for me to go and use the gym so I’m not wasting the money (a little circular, but it works for me). Getting into the gym motivates me to work harder than I might at home. Having said that, working out at home is an option when I can’t get to the gym, and getting outdoors to run or walk is much more pleasant this time of year than it has been for some time.
My gym membership is one of my expenses that I will never let slide…yes its a stretch once a year to afford the Yearly membership payment, on my disability pension…but it is VERY well worth the money, to me. (Once its paid, its paid, and my budget can start to recover soon after…lol).. I have regained SO much more mobility since I joined at the gym 4yrs ago…and exercising, and dominating over this body of mine which doesnt work as well as an ablebodied person, is one of the best feelings in the world to me. To feel powerful, by using the weights, by doing the exercises, by being alongside others working out the gym..being ‘just like them’ is awesome. Basically, joining the gym was not only a lifechanger…it in a way, has been a lifeSAVER for me :)
The gym, and what Im achieving in it, is part of why Im motivated to be on my ‘ticking things off my bucket list’ journey, and achieving all that I possibly can, in this life. Im now on a mission to tick 3 huge Fitness Goals off of my bucket list, and to raise money for charity at the same time…training for this at the gym is such a magical experience :)