Comments on: Gym Membership

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 01:05:32 +0000

Paying for a full year at a time doesn’t work for most people. Most people will figure the money is blown after the first month anyway. My family and I bought a full year membership once, paid in full. No one was going by month #2, and the money was gone. We just kept making excuses for not going, and since the money was already spent with no hope of recovery, it didn’t matter any more.

By: Brian Feener

Brian Feener — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:30:15 +0000

@Andrew – Unlike restaurants (like Outback, Red Lobster), chain gyms such as Gold’s, World Gym, etc. tend to cost more. Search out a local gym – not only will the cost be lower, but the crowds will tend to thin out quicker. For the record, small does NOT mean small-time. My gym is up-scale with optional laundry service, full-time personal trainers, massage, licensed physical therapists, and more – - AND costs $15/mo. less than the chain one block away.

By: Mark Shead

Mark Shead — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:16:05 +0000

In rural parts of the country gym costs are a little lower. We paid for 4 people (my wife, myself and my parents) and it came to about $10 per person per month.

By: Andrew Flusche

Andrew Flusche — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:09:14 +0000

I’ve really been thinking about joining a gym as well. But it’s so expensive these days. I hate that it’s so cheap to be fat & lazy, but pricey to be healthy.

Best wishes to you guys, and thanks for the link!

By: Mark Shead

Mark Shead — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:49:21 +0000

@Brian – I suppose it depends on the person. For my family it is a big motivator to use it so we don’t throw money away.

By: Brian F.

Brian F. — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:20:15 +0000

Mark –

Paying for the year up front may be a short term solution. My gym takes automatic deductions from a checking account and every month I have a reminder that I’m a member.

I think that the one time payment makes the whole payment issue a non-issue come February. It becomes “sunk-cost.”

By: Mark Shead

Mark Shead — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:42:43 +0000

@Brian – Our trick for motivation was to pay for the entire year up front. :)

@BohRev – Interesting take on goal setting. I think for the majority of people it is better to actually hit their goals. If you are doing 95% it is easy to let that down to 92% and so on. Also the act of achieving a goal helps put you in the mind set to achieve the next one. If you are setting goals that you have no intention of reaching it seems like it would be harder to stay motivated….at least for me.

By: BohRev

BohRev — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 19:59:33 +0000

You know, what works for me is to set a SLIGHTLY unreasonable goal, but decide in advance I’m not going to feel bad about not quite reaching it. That’s because somehow when I’m reaching my goals I feel like I’m not doing enough and end up giving up. But with the somewhat unreasonable goal, I end up coming close to hitting it and getting the benefits of reaching the lower goal but the feeling of having come that close to a spectacular goal.

I think different approaches work for different people, but I do agree that setting a goal of 100 and hoping to reach 51 is too big a stretch – most people’s minds just won’t know what to do with the discrepancy, and they’ll end up settling for 25 or 15 or 0.

By: Brian Feener

Brian Feener — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 01:13:32 +0000

I’ve got a decent amount of experience with setting goals at the gym.

1. Be THAT guy with a notebook. Write down your mileage, or how many reps and how heavy the weight, or how many sit-ups… the important thing is that you’re tracking yourself. I like a spiral-bound notebook, if only because I can slip a pen in the spiral.

2. It’s food too. Get in a routine with your diet. If you’re looking to lose weight, it’s gotta be a one-two punch. Rewards are important too, but they shouldn’t be the basis for your diet.

3. Learn good form and use good form. Watch online video from Men’s Health or Men’s Fitness, or someplace with a good reputation (that is, if you can’t afford a personal trainer, which is ultimately better than any video you’ll ever find). You will not see results with bad form, but you will see injury.

4. 30 minutes- – You BEGIN to lose weight and see a significant metabolic increase after the 30 minute mark of an elevated heart rate. If you go at a slow and steady pace, you will see more results than by using quick bursts.

(I really got off track on how to achieve goals, didn’t I…)

5. Set reasonable expectations for yourself. Like the Peyton Manning commercial when he says, “let’s be realistic about getting those six-pack abs”… if you’ve been out of shape for the past 10 years, a month of the gym isn’t going to solve every problem. Set a couple short and long term goals. MAKE SURE THEY ARE MEASURABLE.

6. Tell yourself that you are NOT that February-quitter. Confidence and believe in yourself is key here. You can achieve, you can achieve, you can achieve.