Do you have a gym membership?

[Naer]

How many days a week are you there, and for how long per day? Do you use the sauna, yoga classes? 

 

I'm trying to justify a membership. I already have 25lb and 15 lb dumbells

[JacktheThriller]

I think if you keep investing in more weights over time you will have gym at home. Most memberships are $1/day unless your in a major city or a fancy gym. Invest that into your own equipment and you will have a gym at home. I mean if you can't do 20 pullups and 50 pushups without a break then you don't need a gym. Find a public park and do chins pushups sprints etc you will be worked out. All the best .

[Wesley]

I work out in a crossfit-style workouts and have slowly acquired a set of Olympic weights, a 1.5 pood kettlebell, a pull-up bar, a plyo box I build that is 18" x 20" x 24", I made a cheap med ball by filling a basketball with sand and taping it, which came out to 22 pounds, and a speed rope. I also can run trails, roads, sprint hills, bike, pushups, core stuff, etc and do all sorts of wods with that equipment. As I get a little more money then I buy something else.

 

The equipment I learn many skills with after making a purchase and will have it for years rather than it running out in the way a gym membership does. To me, it is also far more motivating to work out when I have invested the time and money into it.

 

Here are a few ideas on how to workout crossfit (one on the super cheap and one providing the order fr building your own crossfit gym and which equipment to go for first)

http://www.crossfit.com/journal/library/cfjissue1_Sep02.pdf

http://crossfitcenturion.wordpress.com/equipment-on-the-cheap/

 

Beyond this you always can do bodyweight stuff and free running which costs nothing. Addin to your push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and air squats you can start working on handstand push-ups. Been a while since I've tried them, but achieving them is quite fun.

 

The only benefit to going to a gym is if you do not know what you are doing and want trainer help, if the gym has good classes or teachers which again is guided help, but also can let you meet people, or if you prefer working out with people and do not want to invite them over to your home gym. Other than that, havin the equipment at your house helps you learn more and be better, learn mor movements with limited equipment, cut down on excuses for not working out as you just need to go into the other room, and I find it fun coming up with some new wod to do that I haven't done before.

 

Hope some of this was helpful!

[wdiaz03]

I pay around $18 a month for a gym membership. The gym is 2 blocks from my job and another 2 miles from my house. I workout 3 times a week (MWF) at lunchtime. ~45min. then shower and back to work. It works out great for me and I have time for other activities like team sports and biking on my free time.

 

I agree with the other replies, and it can be done if you have the time. I come from the old school of weight training and old habits die hard. I've been going to gyms for years, but before I started I had a home gym that I outgrew in my late teens. Before I made the commidment of paying for a memership I made sure I could keep up with it no matter what, it meant attending when I had absolutely no desire, or not relying on people to go.

 

Best of luck on your persue of fitness.

[Stoic_Dreamer]

It depends upon what your needs/requirements are. It is a bit more difficult for the inexperienced to workout outside of a gym just simply for the fact that there aren't machines telling you what particular actions/lifts will work out which parts of the body. You can find home workout routines online or invest in some P90x type stuff. Sometimes people will use personal trainers at a gym to develop particular workout routines and/or motivate them to achieve whatever goals they have (i.e. weight loss, overall health, strength, etc.). However if you research it enough you can usually find something that fits your needs outside of a gym setting. Like Jack said you can find a playground and achieve your goals... probably not as hardcore as these guys-

, but you get the idea.

 

 

I have a gym membership for a couple of reasons:

 

1) Massive amounts of readily available equipment in a lighted setting 24 hours a day. I'm an insomniac and at times I want to hit the gym at like 2-3 o'clock in the morning. I don't have the space to buy all of the fancy stuff that I like at the gym I go to.

 

2) Added facility benefits: When I'm done working out I usually want to swim, hot tub, sauna, shower, or use the steam room. My gym has two pools with both swim lanes and general room to relax/soak. Same with sauna, 2 hot tubs, showers, a room filled with bicycles, and a steam room. It has me spoiled when it comes to relaxation incentives. I have a working class job that leaves me aching and exhausted... the last thing I want to do is go from there to lift weights even though it helps me blow off steam. Knowing that I'm going to chill in the hot tub after makes sure that I get there when I can even if I'm hurting.

 

3) Yoga classes, educational courses, rock climbing, pickup games, and whatnot. I don't always have a chance to take advantage of these features because I work full time at one job, part time at another, and go to school full time. Also I don't like the martial arts stuff and other violent entertainment. However, it's nice to know that there are dozens of classes that I can attend for "free" and more that are available for the cost of supplies. There is also a basketball court, tennis court, and rock climbing wall. There are pickup games every day that I could join if I liked basketball. It saves time too because it is all in one facility rather than having to go to multiple locations.

 

4) Entertainment. I could watch people in the gym for hours doing weird shit all day. From the guys that grunt and scream like they're taking a dump to the people who sit on equipment backwards and will give you the stink-eye if you dare to correct them. Others that will do like 100 reps for 7 sets to where they are overworking to the point where it isn't doing them any good. All of them are entertaining to watch as they do their thing.

[Alan C.]

I belong to a gym. I usually lift weights for about an hour and then I do 30 mins of cardio on an elliptical.

 

I go at least 5 days per week.

[cherapple]

A related episode from the Voluntary Life podcast:

 

"Why Your Gym Membership is 300 Times More Expensive Than You Think"

http://www.thevoluntarylife.com/2013/07/115-why-your-gym-membership-is-300.html

 

There are several $10/month gyms around here. I don't belong to one at the moment, but I do pay $10/month for membership to a website for working out at home, usually five or more days per week using my own collection of basic equipment:

 

www.dailyburn.com

[Panoptic]

I go to the gym 4-5 days a week. But I'm in college so the gym is "free" so of course I use it. Once I'm done in school though and get my own place I'm going to start building up my own home gym.

 

If you have enough room to make a home gym, I would start building one up. If you have an adjustable bench, a bunch of dumbbells (or a set of those awesome dumbbell handles where you screw on the weights, and its far cheaper), a pullup bar, and a good amount of open space, you can workout your entire body. Dumbbells are actually considered the best way to weightlift (apart from using machines). You have a greater range of motion, it requires you to use more stabilizing muscles, and it can ALL be done without any spotter. You don't even have to train to failure to get bigger. Of course a home gym won't build itself instantly so you may want to get a gym membership at first.

 

One VERY important thing. Don't think of working out as a chore. You'll never get the results you want. Think of it as something to do to relieve stress. I actually find it more fun if I go when my life is really busy, because its a set amount of time for me to relieve stress. Whatever you end up doing though, working out only has benefits. When I am consistent with my workouts, I notice that my overall stamina increases (even without cardio), I am more awake throughout the entire day, I pay more attention in my classes, and my motivation in school stayed higher for longer through the semester. It takes a few months to start seeing these results (including visible results, unless you do extreme cardio), but it is so worth it. I am a member on the bodybuilding forums (here). Its the largest workout forum in the world. You don't have to sign up, but go through and read through all the stickies (you'll get enormous amounts of info that even I wasn't aware of after 4 years of working out), make your own workout plan so that you'll stick to it, and finally go to the MOTIVATION section to keep yourself going every day. Anyway, your workout will depend on what your goals are. So figure out your goals before making a plan. 

 

[wdiaz03]

I go to the gym 4-5 days a week. But I'm in college so the gym is "free" so of course I use it. Once I'm done in school though and get my own place I'm going to start building up my own home gym.

 

If you have enough room to make a home gym, I would start building one up. If you have an adjustable bench, a bunch of dumbbells (or a set of those awesome dumbbell handles where you screw on the weights, and its far cheaper), a pullup bar, and a good amount of open space, you can workout your entire body. Dumbbells are actually considered the best way to weightlift (apart from using machines). You have a greater range of motion, it requires you to use more stabilizing muscles, and it can ALL be done without any spotter. You don't even have to train to failure to get bigger. Of course a home gym won't build itself instantly so you may want to get a gym membership at first.

 

One VERY important thing. Don't think of working out as a chore. You'll never get the results you want. Think of it as something to do to relieve stress. I actually find it more fun if I go when my life is really busy, because its a set amount of time for me to relieve stress. Whatever you end up doing though, working out only has benefits. When I am consistent with my workouts, I notice that my overall stamina increases (even without cardio), I am more awake throughout the entire day, I pay more attention in my classes, and my motivation in school stayed higher for longer through the semester. It takes a few months to start seeing these results (including visible results, unless you do extreme cardio), but it is so worth it. I am a member on the bodybuilding forums (here). Its the largest workout forum in the world. You don't have to sign up, but go through and read through all the stickies (you'll get enormous amounts of info that even I wasn't aware of after 4 years of working out), make your own workout plan so that you'll stick to it, and finally go to the MOTIVATION section to keep yourself going every day. Anyway, your workout will depend on what your goals are. So figure out your goals before making a plan. 

 

Good info. When I started in my late teens I read a few books (Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder) was one of them. I made the training part of my lifestyle, something I do, like showering. And I have never been away from the gym more that a week since. I'm going to be 40 this year and noone can believe it, They all say I look 10 years younger. One thing I learned early, If you want results you'll need to make food 50% of your plan. Looking back I'm glad I got a head start because now I train very light just to maintain muscle and avoid injury.