The Gym?

[Ron Scott]

During the past 15 years, the number of gyms in the United States has increased by about 40%, as more and more people opted to pay money to exercise inside.

I don’t think I ever paid to belong to a gym, although I might’ve had an inexpensive three month starter membership years ago. I stay fit by biking, walking, stretching, and light lifting at home.

I’m interested in what the FIRE crowd thinks about an avoidable, recurring expense like this.

[GilesMM]

We love the gym for strength training. $10/month for a large, clean, uncrowned gym with fairly new equipment ten minutes from home. What’s not to like? Even better during winter when it is too cold and wet to do as much outside.

[Arbitrage]

I've avoided paying for a gym membership for basically my entire adult life (I'm mid-40s now), despite being an avid lifter since middle school.  Mostly this has been done using college or work gyms, or lifting at home.  I used a Bowflex for a while, then ditched it for some heavy-duty adjustable dumbbells.  I did get pretty serious about lifting heavy weights for several years in the work gym, but COVID put a screeching halt to that.  I expanded my home gym to include resistance band and TRX knockoff workouts.  Though I'm not quite as strong or bulky as I was during my power lifting phase, my joints and tendons are far happier.  I figure that's probably the way to go now that I'm pushing 50.  I do occasionally grab a gym workout when the (free) opportunity presents itself.

I've often neglected cardio, as I far prefer to get that through sports and activities.  Now that I e-bike everywhere, and especially now that I mountain bike and kayak regularly, cardio is no longer neglected.

[NotJen]

When I was working, I paid $40/mo for a gym membership.  And I used it.  I also had exercise equipment at home (and exercised outside on the weekends).  But the gym offered a lot of variety in exercises for when it wasn't practical to exercise outside (i.e, in the dark on workdays or during broiling hot summers).  In particular, I liked the classes - they were ways to push myself into a harder workout than I would do on my own.  It was also faster to hit the gym and then go out with friends than it was to go home and exercise.  (Daily exercises has been a habit for years, it's never an issue of if, but when.)

Now that I'm FIREd, I can't currently justify a gym membership, since I can choose to exercise outside at the perfect time each day.  My health insurance also offers access to online fitness classes, which I use for the push to do strength training, stretching, etc. at home.  The only downside is that I don't have very heavy weights (only 2s, 3s, and 5s).  I keep checking Goodwill, but haven't found any yet.

I'm pro-gym, if you actually use it (and price shop for a good deal, of course).  The problem is the people who join and don't go.

[Brystheguy]

We have belonged to a gym for years. The classes are what draws us to it. Sometimes it's nice to have someone else pushing you to do something or coming up with a workout for you. I don't want to go out and rock 15 miles on the bike in January but I'll go to a spinning class at the gym to get a workout in. I sporadically do triathlons and the gym is nice for the pool use. If I only ran, would I sign up for a gym membership? No, because I don't need any specialized equipment for that.

[GuitarStv]

It depends on what you want from a gym.

If you're just looking for a place to exercise (exercise bike, weights, etc.) you're probably better off buying what you need and keeping it in your basement.  I've lifted weights for more than a quarter century doing just that and it works great.  I've comfortably worked my way up to regular 160 km solo bike rides and had great times doing it.

That said I pay for a gym membership for Jiu Jitsu and it's worth it for me.  First, I can't physically do the activity without training partners (and if you just walk up to folks on the beach asking if they want to strip down and wrestle you're likely to get hit or pepper sprayed), but there's also benefit in the camaraderie of being around other people interested in your activity.  They can help you push yourself harder than you're able to do on your own.  You have to have a real need for going to the gym though - because it's less convenient than your basement and takes a little will to force yourself out of the house on a regular basis.

[uniwelder]

Sometimes a community gym is a town perk.  In the last town we lived (we lived outside town but had rental property inside) members of the community had free access to a gym with cardio, weight machines, and free weight equipment.  It was very well equipped and we made good use of it.  The town we live in now has a community gym that doesn't have much for weight training, but it only costs $1.30 per visit.  I feel like its easy to do cardio on my own, but having readily available equipment for strength training is nice, but most importantly, it motivates my wife to go, which for her joint problems, is definitely worthwhile.

[uniwelder]

...if you just walk up to folks on the beach asking if they want to strip down and wrestle you're likely to get hit or pepper sprayed...

Or if they did take you up on the offer, I'd imagine you'd get sand in your eyes.  No probably not a good idea to proposition people to wrestle at the beach either way!

[jeninco]

I defray my gym membership by volunteering to help with one of the senior classes. 1 volunteer class/week = my open gym costs plus a bunch of social contact with people who are awesome!

On the other hand, I pay $$$ for someone else to write me a training program (it's the gym owner who is ALWAYS around, so my program gets modified to adjust for things she sees me doing improperly). At this point, I think that's money well spent -- I could get myself about 80% of the way there, but I'm looking for long-term strength, mobility, and sustainability, and having some supervision helps with that.

[Sibley]

If you're regularly using the gym, fine. But the number of people who have memberships and never go... that's just wasting money. And that's coming from someone who paid for a membership for 6+ months this year yet never once went. (Yes, I've cancelled it.)

[Paper Chaser]

I have enough home exercise equipment to do some basics if I really need to, but I like having a separate place to go where I can focus solely on working out. It's purposeful. It helps me avoid distractions or keep from getting dragged into whatever else might come up during a 60-90 minute block of time at home. There's also enough different pieces of equipment at the gym that if I'm bored, or sore, I can easily modify things and still get the work in rather than skipping anything.

Like any other purchase, it's important to find value from it. That means avoiding overpaying for "fluff", and also using the thing you're paying for.

[2sk22]

I have been a member of a high-end gym for about 15 years and exercise every day without fail. I am one of the crowd waiting outside the gym every morning for it to open at 5am (I am an early riser). Once a week, I have a one hour session with a trainer for strength training and I also do strength training on my own twice a week. I do cardio on the other days. I look forward to my daily workout and I have become friends with the others who work out in the morning. We spend a few thousand dollars a year on the gym and training for my wife and myself - absolutely no qualms about it.

[Samuel]

I kind of hate gyms, massively preferring to just be active outside (and doing basic pushup, pullup, and kettlebell stuff in my apartment). But I've found I need regular hard cardio for my mind to work right and that is difficult to do living in a 1BR apartment when plantar fasciitis issues keep me from being a serious runner. And it's even harder when it's 42 degrees, raining, and dark at 4:30pm as it is now.

So yeah, I rejoined a gym a couple months ago and have been hitting it regularly. $35 a month is worth it to me for what I get out of it.

And I also find I work out harder at a gym than when I try to work out at home. It is motivating to be around other people.

[jrhampt]

I love the Y.  I go 5-6 times a week for classes, pickleball, and occasionally with my spouse on rainy days.  I discontinued gym membership for a while when I was paying off the house and we re-evaluated all our subscriptions, but decided it was totally worth it and reinstated it.  I missed it during covid.  I ran outdoors every day and sporadically lifted weights at home, but I am in much better shape with more muscle when I am taking my regular class schedule at the Y. 

[simonsez]

Admittedly, I'm a creature of habit.  This includes being in a good rhythm as well as bad rhythms as it pertains to workout regimen.

If I had a recurring membership, I'm not sure if that would motivate me to avoid the bad rhythms or if it would just piss me off at my own futility more so compared to if I just neglected my working out at home (for free).  When I don't workout for long stretches, my mental health is not great and usual logic and rationale aren't there so not sure if I would come out of it quicker with a membership or just have another reason added onto the pile to not be happy (i.e. wasting money).

Based on cost, I'd rather have equipment at home.  It could be better but it is a designated space for workout equipment.  I'm a SFH owner and intend to be for a few decades.  I understand for renters how the calculus can be VASTLY different.  I'll keep adding to it but I do miss year-round access to things like racquetball courts, sauna, and the pool and I am limited due to the height of the room (no overhead exercises while standing).  I do like trying out or using things I can't justify buying to have at home (either due to space or cost) like a cold plunge or a Smith machine.

To each their own on this topic.  I'm sure my own choices later in life could change and it could absolutely make sense at the time to do so.  For now, nah to the membership.  Someone could spend $0 and do push-ups and body-weight squats (dips, chin-ups on a tree branch, throw a heavy rock around, whatever) and go for a multi-mile walk everyday and be just fine.  Or someone could spend thousands due to certain classes, trainers, specialized equipment, etc. and if that works for them, bully!  The important thing is knowing yourself and how you tick and getting yourself to do *something* in the first place.

[Kris]

I have belonged to a few gyms in my adult life. Generally speaking, I have spent more time not belonging to them because I don't as a rule like indoor exercise like treadmill running/walking or machines, and I am not someone who is good at motivating myself to strength train on my own.

However, about a year ago, a friend convinced me to do a 10-week challenge at a local gym that does only classes, kickboxing and strength training. The culture there is fantastic, and it turns out I really love hitting a bag. So now, 11 months later, I am going at least 5 days a week, and loving it. My strength, endurance, and coordination have all improved by leaps and bounds. (And I look pretty damn good, too!) Plus I have a community of great people there. This is something I never would have been able to accomplish on my own. Completely worth it, especially because I am in my 50s and fighting the effects of aging while sedentary is important to me.

So yeah. Totally depends on the gym.

[index]

We have a lot of gym memberships to the tune of around $300/month. Spouse Yoga - $120-150/month ($15 a class), Me Climbing gym $75/month, Both of us Fitness club - $85/month. I think of yoga and rock climbing more as hobbies than a true gym membership, but they are impossible to replicate at home. We each go to these gyms 2-3 times a week. 

We use our fitness club for lifting, hot tub/steam room, pickleball, and swimming every other day. $300/m sounds like a lot of money, but they cost less than $5 an hour considering our utilization.

[ca-rn]

I belonged to a gym for about a decade for their classes and nautilus equipment but having to schedule life/work around classes, crowded classes and sweaty uncleaned equipment, I started going less and less. 

Plus I used to drive to the gym.  Stupid but riding a bike was not ideal (no safe route/secure parking) and having apply sunscreen to ride there and reapply to ride back made it all unappealing.

Because I got such a "good deal" I kept it for a few years even though I stopped going.

I started using Youtube for yoga, added push ups and hiking and walk/bike instead of default driving.  I feel healthier, stronger compared to when I used to go to the gym.  I am looking into add dumbells/kettlebells with functional exercise/movement at home.

[Laura33]

I belong to a Crossfit gym, because psychology.

1.  I am lazy and always find excuses not to go upstairs to the elliptical or outside for a walk -- it's easy to procrastinate until it's too late to do anything.  Whereas if I have a set class time that I have to sign up for in advance, I force myself into a commitment that is harder to bail out of when the time comes.

2.  I am cheap, so if I am spending $150/mo. on something, I am much more likely to make myself go to get value for the money.

3.  I really, really love lifting heavy shit and doing strongman stuff.  I am also old and don't have 30 years' experience doing it properly.  I like the security of knowing that I have experienced supervision from trained coaches to keep me from injuring myself because stupidity, ensure I have spotters to keep me safe, and that someone who knows about this stuff is maintaining the equipment, keeping it clean, etc. (and it's a small, neighborhood gym, so I know the owner/coaches and know how it's maintained).

4.  I like the gym's programming, which cycles through an intentional program that considers a bunch of different things (muscle groups, cardio/strength, flexibility, cycles of focusing on specific lifts, etc.).  It means I don't have to think or research, just do what I'm told. 

5.  As much as I am not a joiner in general, these people make me feel like a badass.  I have never felt physically proud of myself -- the classic too much weight, lack of cardiovascular capability that turns out was undiagnosed exercise-induced asthma, etc.  These guys get me out of my head, never criticize me, but instead always praise effort and notice new personal bests and such.

6.  It is a huge emotional outlet.  I am always, always the grownup in the room, at work and at home, so I always have to have a filter and manage my emotions in a mature, productive way.  When I go to the gym and discover Chris has programmed burpees, I can bitch and moan about how much I hate burpees, swear my head off if I feel like it, and everyone just laughs.  It is my "safe space" to be the real me. 

7.  It's 2 blocks from my house.  For a while I belonged to the Y, but I had to drive there, and making a left turn out of the parking lot to get home after was fucking impossible.  More convenience = much more likely I will go (see "lazy" above).

In a way, it's kind of like saving money and managing a healthy diet, except that saving money comes naturally, while eating right and working out do not.  If I set my life up so hitting the gym becomes the default and minimize opportunities for immediate gratification to lead me astray, I wind up more successful than if I just try to willpower my way through what I know I "should" do. 

[englishteacheralex]

I would love a gym membership but there is no way I would be able to get sufficient use out of it in the season of life I'm currently in. There simply aren't an additional thirty minutes in my day for another thing to commute to and from.

I bought a folding workout bench and a small set of dumbbells (the heaviest of which are 20 lbs) and I do the exact same full-body weight lifting routine three times a week, on the exact same days every week. It takes me about half an hour and that is literally the exact amount of time I have available for that activity.

I also walk 10k steps six days a week and make sure my heart rate gets above 90 bpm at least 150 minutes/week. I have a two year old Fitbit so I know my stats.

That's the extent of my exercise. I've really taken it to heart, the idea that the best exercise is the exercise you'll do consistently. There are so many different forms of exercise that I truly love, but with two small children and a full time job, the walking and the weight lifting are the only things I have the bandwidth for. All I can say is that I truly am extremely consistent. Also these activities are free once I bought the equipment for them.

Sometimes I wonder if the lack of diversity is a bad thing. And I get excited for a time when a gym membership would make sense again.

[GuitarStv]

I like the security of knowing that I have experienced supervision from trained coaches to keep me from injuring myself because stupidity

YMMV and all that, but in my experience this is not a given at crossfit gyms.  All too often, they can be the opposite.

[Photograph 51]

I would use the gym both when I was a student and when I was teaching college.  In both cases, the gym access was free.  I struggled with the gym quite a bit, however, and that led me to use it less frequently than I would if it was better designed for neurodiversity.  The loud music, bright lights, several televisions all on different stations, people coming in and out/moving all around/talking, and the noise from the machines being used would get to be too much for me and I would end up leaving.  I really tried to keep making it work because it seemed wasteful not to use a free gym.  I suggested that the gym have sensory-friendly times, but that didn't go anywhere.  I don't currently have any free gym access and I feel okay with not paying to be overwhelmed.  I do a lot of hiking and cycling.  In the summer, I go swimming and kayaking.  When the weather doesn't suit, I do yoga at home and jump on my little trampoline.  This keeps me active in ways that are good for my mental health and sensory needs.

[Michael in ABQ]

I don't like going to the gym. I never paid for one except in college when it was one of the required fees so I took advantage of it sometimes. If they're going to spend $10-20 million on a huge gym and then charge me $100+ per semester I figured I might as well get some use out of it.

I belong to a Crossfit gym, because psychology.

.....

Basically the same. I signed up for 6 months last year and went 2-3 times a week. It was literally a 2-minute jog from my office so I had no excuse not to go first thing in the morning right after I got into work. Paying for it with a set time made it much easier to commit than an amorphous "go to the gym and work out". I also got to know some people doing the hour-long class at the same time so it was nice to have a bit of camaraderie.

I ended up getting injured (tendonitis) and dropped the membership a few months ago. But I should probably restart it. Otherwise I just go for a jog about once a week and maybe some bodyweight exercises at home on a very irregular basis.

[jeninco]

I like the security of knowing that I have experienced supervision from trained coaches to keep me from injuring myself because stupidity

YMMV and all that, but in my experience this is not a given at crossfit gyms.  All too often, they can be the opposite.

True (and it's a pretty common criticism of CrossFit gyms), but also YMMV.  When you find a place with good coaches who understand how the exercises are supposed to be done and how to teach them, that's a good place to stay. I went hunting for a coach who could teach me (mid-50s, always been athletic, intermittently did powerlifting, HIIT, plyometrics, etc etc) how to do Olympic lifts without injuring myself, and now that I've found one, I'm intending to stay. She has specific expertise in older women, as well as having been a trainer at the USOC, and is a physical therapist and massage therapist as well has having a dozen kinds of coaching certifications!

[JupiterGreen]

I defray my gym membership by volunteering to help with one of the senior classes. 1 volunteer class/week = my open gym costs plus a bunch of social contact with people who are awesome!

On the other hand, I pay $$$ for someone else to write me a training program (it's the gym owner who is ALWAYS around, so my program gets modified to adjust for things she sees me doing improperly). At this point, I think that's money well spent -- I could get myself about 80% of the way there, but I'm looking for long-term strength, mobility, and sustainability, and having some supervision helps with that.

This is very smart!

Right now, our gym membership is a work perk. We will continue to have a membership when we retire. It will probably be the YMCA because with a membership you can use any Y across the country and there are a lot of them. I think of a gym membership as healthcare. And maybe when I get older it will also be for social by joining those retired folks who get together to drink coffee in the morning at my local Y.

[Louise]

I've never belonged to a gym. We have a squat rack, barbells, adjustable dumbbells and a flat and incline bench in our basement. My spouse also setup up a pulley system to use for lat pulldowns, etc. That's pretty much all we need for strength training. I also have a hyper dog that I have to walk every day rain or shine. I love not having to go to a gym because I can just pop down to do some training in my PJ's or a sundress or whatever.

[cupcakery]

It can be worth it, if you use it.  I have a gym membership.  By paying annually, I save hundreds of dollars.  My total cost is $750/year.  It is worth it to me for many reasons.  Health, accountability, social, etc.  I have equipment at home, but it is too easy for me to get distracted or make excuses.  I go to the gym 4-5 times a week and almost exclusively take classes like yoga, barre, strength training.  I do work out at home some.  We also love outdoor activities such as walking/hiking, kayaking, etc.  So the gym is part of my overall fitness plan. 

[Metalcat]

If having a gym membership results in otherwise sedentary people being regularly more active, then it's 1000% worth it.

For a lot of people the hassle of actually going to a gym is more than their busy schedules can tolerate, that's why most people don't actually use their memberships, which is what the business model depends on.

But for other people, the routine of going to a separate space, the structure of it, is exactly what motivates them to maintain a regular habit.

I personally radically prefer to exercise at home when the whim strikes me, DH radically prefers to go to an actual gym on a set schedule. If I *had to* drag myself to a gym, I wouldn't exercise nearly as much. Meanwhile DH's exercise tends to fall off if he doesn't have a designated gym routine with the exact equipment he likes.

Like everything, it all depends on the individual and what they get out of their investment. There's no general answer as to whether gyms are worth spending on or not.

However, there are a TON of people who spend on them without actually having them capacity to use them effectively. People tend to seriously overestimate their capacity to add exercise to their overburdened routines. They mistake enthusiasm for joining and gym with capacity to actually utilize their membership enough to make it a great value.

[HenryDavid]

Here’s my experience and observation: I worked at a a place with a super gym. Coworkers would gym-binge, fall out of the routine, binge again. No consistency. Not great results.
What worked for me was taking the planning and will power out of exercise. Which meant human-powered commuting instead of “workouts.” Had to get to work—if I was at work, I had by default, exercised.
No cost, no plan, no willpower.

But that’s just one person. Anyhow, if gym visits require “friction” as in travel, willpower etc. that’s one more obstacle to fitness. Make it part of your necessary routine if you can.

[Metalcat]

Here’s my experience and observation: I worked at a a place with a super gym. Coworkers would gym-binge, fall out of the routine, binge again. No consistency. Not great results.
What worked for me was taking the planning and will power out of exercise. Which meant human-powered commuting instead of “workouts.” Had to get to work—if I was at work, I had by default, exercised.
No cost, no plan, no willpower.

But that’s just one person. Anyhow, if gym visits require “friction” as in travel, willpower etc. that’s one more obstacle to fitness. Make it part of your necessary routine if you can.

Yep, some people need less friction to exercise while others need more ritual and routine.

It all depends on what that person's barriers are and what strategies work best for them to move around them.

[Cranky]

We paid for a Y membership for many years. It was a great deal with 3 kids - loads of classes and the pool. I can’t justify it now, but I do miss it. If nothing else, I loved the indoor walking track for winter. Walking at the mall is not as pleasant.

[trollwithamustache]

Really depends on the cost of the gym.  Currently I'm a garage gym guy. But apparently a chain gym with a $10/mo membership (no classes, but full use of the gym?) is opening like a mile from us. If that plays out as expected, that could totally be worth it for access to a bunch of equipment I don't have at home.

but a $100+/mo spa gym? not for me.

[Dreamer40]

The only gym membership that isn’t worth the cost is the one that you don’t enjoy or use. If you have good ways to stay fit without one, that’s great. I don’t have a membership because I currently have a great home set up and space for my weights. But I would join one in a heartbeat if I was on the road or living in a situation where I couldn’t bring/use my adjustable dumbbells.

[glacio09]

I started with free workout classes through work. Then got into running and thought that I'd totally do body weight workouts on the side to keep it free. Nope. I joined a planet fitness thinking the routine of going would push me. Nope, I was the person on my phone in between sets. I was so into running that I hurt myself because of lack of cross training.

I now openly acknowledge that I need someone yelling at me. I go to a gym class once a week through my husband's job so it's at least a bit cheaper. It feels like a waste of money since I go so infrequently, but I figure one workout class a week costs less than one physical therapy appointment a week.

[Laura33]

I like the security of knowing that I have experienced supervision from trained coaches to keep me from injuring myself because stupidity

YMMV and all that, but in my experience this is not a given at crossfit gyms.  All too often, they can be the opposite.

True (and it's a pretty common criticism of CrossFit gyms), but also YMMV.  When you find a place with good coaches who understand how the exercises are supposed to be done and how to teach them, that's a good place to stay. I went hunting for a coach who could teach me (mid-50s, always been athletic, intermittently did powerlifting, HIIT, plyometrics, etc etc) how to do Olympic lifts without injuring myself, and now that I've found one, I'm intending to stay. She has specific expertise in older women, as well as having been a trainer at the USOC, and is a physical therapist and massage therapist as well has having a dozen kinds of coaching certifications!

Yep, that's me.  Owner is very, very big on form, coaches are all certified by various organizations and do ongoing training, etc.  The thing I appreciate is that they are good at modifying various movements for personal limitations.  I am a dumbass and often do stuff to injure myself (we're talking walking-down-the-street stuff, not just lifting-heavy-weights-badly stuff), which can become a huge excuse not to go to the gym ("gee, my shoulder is hurting, and we're doing overhead squats today, so no point in going").  Coach will be like, uh-uh, if the shoulder hurts, you can do XYZ to still work the other main muscle groups, or for that part have me do rehab-type stuff with resistance bands while still doing the cardio, or whatever. 

The other thing I meant to say earlier is that I work much harder when I am surrounded by people who have expectations of me.*  I once had a coach who was the sweetest thing, who'd always say, "can you do just one more?" in the nicest voice -- except there was then always another "one more."  She kicked my ass, because it worked every time (and I'm embarrassed to admit how long it took me to realize that was part of her schtick).  ;-)  At my current gym, the folks who finish early cheer on the folks who are still working -- and since I'm in the latter group, I'm not going to let everyone down, you know?  When my own brain is giving me 800 different excuses to stop, the need to not be a wuss in front of everyone else keeps me going.


*This is a big personality trait in a bunch of areas of my life -- I hate letting down people whom I respect/like who are counting on me, so I will work much harder for them than I will just for myself. Tends to be a useful character trait on the job, and it's helpful to find a way to make use of it in other areas of life where I struggle more.

[jeninco]

Here’s my experience and observation: I worked at a a place with a super gym. Coworkers would gym-binge, fall out of the routine, binge again. No consistency. Not great results.
What worked for me was taking the planning and will power out of exercise. Which meant human-powered commuting instead of “workouts.” Had to get to work—if I was at work, I had by default, exercised.
No cost, no plan, no willpower.

But that’s just one person. Anyhow, if gym visits require “friction” as in travel, willpower etc. that’s one more obstacle to fitness. Make it part of your necessary routine if you can.

Yep, some people need less friction to exercise while others need more ritual and routine.

It all depends on what that person's barriers are and what strategies work best for them to move around them.

It's also worth noting that this can change over the course of a lifetime. Working while raising small/medium-sized kids? The lowest possible barrier is your friend. "8-10 min workouts" (they're bodyweight and typically HIIT) are awesome!  A bit older, can't (or shouldn't) go 100% many times/week, and the kids are out of the house? Perhaps the routine of just going to the gym after a cup of coffee 3-4 times/week is the right thing. Also, what we (er, "I") want from my workout routine has changed a bit as I've aged: it used to be "I want to be in good enough shape and strong enough to do all the stuff" and now it's that plus "I want to age without the same failures I see in my -- also fairly athletic -- mom". So, for instance, more upper back work has made it into my routines...

But boredom is a thing, so there's no shame in mixing things up over the years and decades.

[Metalcat]

Here’s my experience and observation: I worked at a a place with a super gym. Coworkers would gym-binge, fall out of the routine, binge again. No consistency. Not great results.
What worked for me was taking the planning and will power out of exercise. Which meant human-powered commuting instead of “workouts.” Had to get to work—if I was at work, I had by default, exercised.
No cost, no plan, no willpower.

But that’s just one person. Anyhow, if gym visits require “friction” as in travel, willpower etc. that’s one more obstacle to fitness. Make it part of your necessary routine if you can.

Yep, some people need less friction to exercise while others need more ritual and routine.

It all depends on what that person's barriers are and what strategies work best for them to move around them.

It's also worth noting that this can change over the course of a lifetime. Working while raising small/medium-sized kids? The lowest possible barrier is your friend. "8-10 min workouts" (they're bodyweight and typically HIIT) are awesome!  A bit older, can't (or shouldn't) go 100% many times/week, and the kids are out of the house? Perhaps the routine of just going to the gym after a cup of coffee 3-4 times/week is the right thing. Also, what we (er, "I") want from my workout routine has changed a bit as I've aged: it used to be "I want to be in good enough shape and strong enough to do all the stuff" and now it's that plus "I want to age without the same failures I see in my -- also fairly athletic -- mom". So, for instance, more upper back work has made it into my routines...

But boredom is a thing, so there's no shame in mixing things up over the years and decades.

Yup. When I was younger I was a very active gym member, now it would be wasted on me.

One of my consulting clients, however, was a very, very busy clinic owner with two young kids and a husband who was also a very, very busy clinic owner of a different clinic. She had *no* time and yet going to the gym for her was practically religious because she had been a competitive athlete, so the routine of going, changing in the locker room, doing circuits, etc, was absolutely necessary for her to maintain a sense of psychological well being when under insane pressure.

She cut back on sleep to make time for the gym, often going at 11pm. For her, that's was optimal balance. Go figure.

[erp]

Here’s my experience and observation: I worked at a a place with a super gym. Coworkers would gym-binge, fall out of the routine, binge again. No consistency. Not great results.
What worked for me was taking the planning and will power out of exercise. Which meant human-powered commuting instead of “workouts.” Had to get to work—if I was at work, I had by default, exercised.
No cost, no plan, no willpower.

But that’s just one person. Anyhow, if gym visits require “friction” as in travel, willpower etc. that’s one more obstacle to fitness. Make it part of your necessary routine if you can.

Yep, some people need less friction to exercise while others need more ritual and routine.

It all depends on what that person's barriers are and what strategies work best for them to move around them.

It's also worth noting that this can change over the course of a lifetime. Working while raising small/medium-sized kids? The lowest possible barrier is your friend. "8-10 min workouts" (they're bodyweight and typically HIIT) are awesome!  A bit older, can't (or shouldn't) go 100% many times/week, and the kids are out of the house? Perhaps the routine of just going to the gym after a cup of coffee 3-4 times/week is the right thing. Also, what we (er, "I") want from my workout routine has changed a bit as I've aged: it used to be "I want to be in good enough shape and strong enough to do all the stuff" and now it's that plus "I want to age without the same failures I see in my -- also fairly athletic -- mom". So, for instance, more upper back work has made it into my routines...

But boredom is a thing, so there's no shame in mixing things up over the years and decades.

Yup. When I was younger I was a very active gym member, now it would be wasted on me.

One of my consulting clients, however, was a very, very busy clinic owner with two young kids and a husband who was also a very, very busy clinic owner of a different clinic. She had *no* time and yet going to the gym for her was practically religious because she had been a competitive athlete, so the routine of going, changing in the locker room, doing circuits, etc, was absolutely necessary for her to maintain a sense of psychological well being when under insane pressure.

She cut back on sleep to make time for the gym, often going at 11pm. For her, that's was optimal balance. Go figure.

I think for the very overscheduled, a gym is often easier to justify than working out at home - if you have the formalized process of going to a class with no cell phones, then you just can't be reached while you're at the gym. Someone might chase you down if you're at home, so the act of carving out the space in a distinct place makes it easier to actually do your workout.

Sure, an optimal life might be less overscheduled, but that's generally more involved than a gym membership.

[Metalcat]

Here’s my experience and observation: I worked at a a place with a super gym. Coworkers would gym-binge, fall out of the routine, binge again. No consistency. Not great results.
What worked for me was taking the planning and will power out of exercise. Which meant human-powered commuting instead of “workouts.” Had to get to work—if I was at work, I had by default, exercised.
No cost, no plan, no willpower.

But that’s just one person. Anyhow, if gym visits require “friction” as in travel, willpower etc. that’s one more obstacle to fitness. Make it part of your necessary routine if you can.

Yep, some people need less friction to exercise while others need more ritual and routine.

It all depends on what that person's barriers are and what strategies work best for them to move around them.

It's also worth noting that this can change over the course of a lifetime. Working while raising small/medium-sized kids? The lowest possible barrier is your friend. "8-10 min workouts" (they're bodyweight and typically HIIT) are awesome!  A bit older, can't (or shouldn't) go 100% many times/week, and the kids are out of the house? Perhaps the routine of just going to the gym after a cup of coffee 3-4 times/week is the right thing. Also, what we (er, "I") want from my workout routine has changed a bit as I've aged: it used to be "I want to be in good enough shape and strong enough to do all the stuff" and now it's that plus "I want to age without the same failures I see in my -- also fairly athletic -- mom". So, for instance, more upper back work has made it into my routines...

But boredom is a thing, so there's no shame in mixing things up over the years and decades.

Yup. When I was younger I was a very active gym member, now it would be wasted on me.

One of my consulting clients, however, was a very, very busy clinic owner with two young kids and a husband who was also a very, very busy clinic owner of a different clinic. She had *no* time and yet going to the gym for her was practically religious because she had been a competitive athlete, so the routine of going, changing in the locker room, doing circuits, etc, was absolutely necessary for her to maintain a sense of psychological well being when under insane pressure.

She cut back on sleep to make time for the gym, often going at 11pm. For her, that's was optimal balance. Go figure.

I think for the very overscheduled, a gym is often easier to justify than working out at home - if you have the formalized process of going to a class with no cell phones, then you just can't be reached while you're at the gym. Someone might chase you down if you're at home, so the act of carving out the space in a distinct place makes it easier to actually do your workout.

Sure, an optimal life might be less overscheduled, but that's generally more involved than a gym membership.

Yep, for some the barriers created by a gym membership compared to a home gym are a feature, not a flaw.

She made choices that I would never make, but that's because she has very different priorities than I have.

[AMandM]

I've never belonged to a gym but I pay for a neighbourhood fitness class. I dislike pretty much everything about exercising and find it extremely boring. Along the lines of Laura33, the combination of having paid and being expected by a bunch of friends keeps me showing up. It is the only exercise program I have ever done for more than a week or two of my adult life.

[use2betrix]

I’ve been regularly lifting weights and working out for 20+ years. 3-4 times a week, nearly every week and every year. Sometimes as many as 5+ times. I’ve lived all over the country and always had gym memberships. When I met my wife, she started lifting with me and loves it. As I get older, I’m more looking to maintain my strength and focus on endurance activities (running and biking). That said, I’ve always loved lifting so much that I still do it 3-4x a week for an hour at a time, and am more muscular to the point it negatively impacts my endurance activities, I’m ok with that for now.

3 years ago we started renting our first home (still here). It was in the peak of covid, my wife was pregnant with our first, and I was working 55+ hours a week. After all my years of exercise, I was 100% ready and knew exactly what I wanted to build my home gym. I love it. Keep the AC at 68, and lift in my underwear without going anywhere! Lift heavy 4ish times/week and cardio several other days (or outside). Today is Thursday and I’ve worked out 9x this week.

We’ll buy a home some day, and 100% have a dedicated gym room, hopefully larger than our current.

[ixtap]

Gyms are for pools and classes. I don't get paying for a gym to go work out by yourself. But then, I did own a Wii and now a Switch to help with ideas for working out at home.

For now, we belong to a yoga studio. The Y would be cheaper and have a pool, but this studio is less than two blocks away. We usually walk the scenic route to get there and back and we are there six days a week.

[Metalcat]

Gyms are for pools and classes. I don't get paying for a gym to go work out by yourself. But then, I did own a Wii and now a Switch to help with ideas for working out at home.

For now, we belong to a yoga studio. The Y would be cheaper and have a pool, but this studio is less than two blocks away. We usually walk the scenic route to get there and back and we are there six days a week.

Sure...if you have zero need for gym equipment, then I can see having that opinion. But for a lot of us the pool and classes are the useless part of the gym.

I absolutely need gym equipment, and if I live in a place where square footage is expensive, it makes no sense to keep that equipment in my home when there are piles of gyms around that will rent it to me for a much lower fee than what an extra room would cost to house it.

Yet again, it all comes down to individual needs and preferences.

You don't understand why someone would pay to exercise alone at a gym, and I would rather be punched in the face than be made to take a class at a gym.

[Kris]

Gyms are for pools and classes. I don't get paying for a gym to go work out by yourself. But then, I did own a Wii and now a Switch to help with ideas for working out at home.

For now, we belong to a yoga studio. The Y would be cheaper and have a pool, but this studio is less than two blocks away. We usually walk the scenic route to get there and back and we are there six days a week.

Sure...if you have zero need for gym equipment, then I can see having that opinion. But for a lot of us the pool and classes are the useless part of the gym.

I absolutely need gym equipment, and if I live in a place where square footage is expensive, it makes no sense to keep that equipment in my home when there are piles of gyms around that will rent it to me for a much lower fee than what an extra room would cost to house it.

Yet again, it all comes down to individual needs and preferences.

You don't understand why someone would pay to exercise alone at a gym, and I would rather be punched in the face than be made to take a class at a gym.

This. I live in a condo, and I don’t have any room for gym equipment. I have to put my coffee table on my sofa if I want to do yoga. So if I want to use equipment, I need a gym.

[Metalcat]

Gyms are for pools and classes. I don't get paying for a gym to go work out by yourself. But then, I did own a Wii and now a Switch to help with ideas for working out at home.

For now, we belong to a yoga studio. The Y would be cheaper and have a pool, but this studio is less than two blocks away. We usually walk the scenic route to get there and back and we are there six days a week.

Sure...if you have zero need for gym equipment, then I can see having that opinion. But for a lot of us the pool and classes are the useless part of the gym.

I absolutely need gym equipment, and if I live in a place where square footage is expensive, it makes no sense to keep that equipment in my home when there are piles of gyms around that will rent it to me for a much lower fee than what an extra room would cost to house it.

Yet again, it all comes down to individual needs and preferences.

You don't understand why someone would pay to exercise alone at a gym, and I would rather be punched in the face than be made to take a class at a gym.

This. I live in a condo, and I don’t have any room for gym equipment. I have to put my coffee table on my sofa if I want to do yoga. So if I want to use equipment, I need a gym.

I also live in a 1 bedroom apartment where every.sqft is optimized, so no space for gym equipment, but the complex has a gym that we use daily and pay for with condo fees.

A LOT of seniors use our complex gym for the exact same reason I do: they need machines for rehab.

[jinga nation]

I love the Y.  I go 5-6 times a week for classes, pickleball, and occasionally with my spouse on rainy days.  I discontinued gym membership for a while when I was paying off the house and we re-evaluated all our subscriptions, but decided it was totally worth it and reinstated it.  I missed it during covid.  I ran outdoors every day and sporadically lifted weights at home, but I am in much better shape with more muscle when I am taking my regular class schedule at the Y.

I think I found my Y doppelganger! LOL.

On bad weather days when I can't for a long bike ride, the Y's a great substitute. On some days, I just wanna whack a ball to relieve a mental block, so racquetball it is. But lifting weights is my zen, my me-time. I can't run on treadmills, so I leave that for morning/evening runs at home. My kids are on the Y's swim team and train daily, hence I'm there too, working out. Wife is in master's swim plus pays from some PT sessions. There are a lot of classes to pick from when I want to do something different, like power yoga or a HIIT workout. I'm in there 5-7 days/week.

The best part is the gym support structure. I've been a member since 2006-ish, so there's always a friendly face around irrespective of time of day, and always someone to push me harder. Working out at home during COVID for 2 months using borrowed equipment wasn't just the same; I lost strength and motivation, plus having to also be the kids' teacher's aide, PE teacher, etc. while working FT was time-sucking.

This year we're going to donate a sum that would put our name on a banner in the weight room. (That's a different MPP - we don't want our name anywhere, but the Y insists as publicity draws in more donations. Plus my Y's been bugging me to join their board, which I would love to but don't have the time for.)

I grew up playing outside every evening or in organized racquet sports or martial arts; we never spent late afternoons/early evenings at home. My dad wanted my siblings and I to be active and fit, grades weren't everything. My dad and his siblings grew up the same way, my grandpa too (he was a youth wrestler, and exercised for years until his early 80s). That philosophy of "study/work but don't forget to play and enjoy life" is being passed onto my kids.

[GuitarStv]

You don't understand why someone would pay to exercise alone at a gym, and I would rather be punched in the face than be made to take a class at a gym.

. . . and I pay extra for classes where they punch me in the face!  :D

[Metalcat]

You don't understand why someone would pay to exercise alone at a gym, and I would rather be punched in the face than be made to take a class at a gym.

. . . and I pay extra for classes where they punch me in the face!  :D

Facts.

[Arbitrage]

I like the security of knowing that I have experienced supervision from trained coaches to keep me from injuring myself because stupidity

YMMV and all that, but in my experience this is not a given at crossfit gyms.  All too often, they can be the opposite.

Agreed.  Know too many crossfitters who have been seriously hurt doing it, including a couple of friends who owned a gym.  Combining pushing to cardiovascular exhaustion with heavy weights can be a recipe for disaster. 

Nevertheless, glad Laura33 is getting a good experience out of it. 

[mizzourah2006]

I pay for a gym membership, but I'm also into powerlifting or at the very least fairly heavy weights compared to the normal person. I could have bought a bigger house and outfitted it with gym equipment, but I have no room for gym equipment in my current home as we don't have basements.

My gym membership is partially subsidized by my company, so I only pay ~$25/month for a family membership although I think this is moving to $45 next year as they are opening a brand new facility.

I think it's well worth it. I go about 3-4x a week.