Gyms a waste of money

Penrose

I personally have been working out for 2 years with my own free weights and I am very fit and strong. I previously had a gym membership but I was always waiting around to use gear.

Does anyone else think its a big ripoff?

WithCheesePlease

Not if you use it. I use the gym 4/5 times a week and can't complain. Grand to do your own bit outside (I also like to run a few times a week) but I like the variety in the gym. Not to mention pool, steam room, jacuzzi, etc.

accensi0n

No.

Has equipment I want to use that wouldn't fit where I live.

A yearly fee of €275 to use equipment I want doesn't seem like a rip-off to me.

rubadub

Depends on the use you get and if it would suit you or not. I have only been to a gym once! there was only 1 guy in it at the time and he was using a 25kg plate I wanted for shrugs, he kept it with him the entire time, kept going back to it. That would drive me mental, and this was basically empty.

Some gym reports I hear here are crazy, no squat rack, no barbells! dumbbells going up to tiny amounts. But it those peoples fault for signing up.

I prefer working out at home, I can cook & eat during a workout, watch TV etc, not have to wait on anybody etc.

Each to their own, I also prefer watching DVDs at home than going to the cinema, but do go still to the cinema, sort of same idea, paying cash for better equipment but it is not yours and you have to go at their times & rules and possibly suffer fools. I did like certain aspects of the gym, i.e. sauna, pool, steam room & equipment I never used before.

If the gym was cheap enough with equipment I wanted and was very close by I would probably join. I have a "thing" against contracts too, so would prefer a pay as you go one.

RHunce

i had a few weights at home that were just thrown in the corner and whenever i felt like it i'd use them (which wasnt often)

but when i'm paying the gym membership i feel obliged to go as it would be a waste of 380e a year, 2 months in and i have been going three days a week like i said i would

cowzerp

I've weights at home and much prefer going to the gym as once you get off your hole and travel you tend to make the most of it!

when training at home its too easy to get comfortable when home and away comes on, now that was a joke!

Most gyms prices are not expensive when you break down the price per session if you train regularly.

Vegeta

I train at home and with a dedicated partner I find it just as good as when I trained in a decent gym.

Davei141

I think it all depends on the quality of equipment you have at home. I have a squat rack, bench and plenty of weights in my shed and wouldn't swap that for a gym membership to a really good gym, even though they cost roughly the same amount

cardio,shoot me

For me the gym is way better value, No way couild i afford a squat rack/bench and dumbells and plates!

Vegeta

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

For me the gym is way better value, No way couild i afford a squat rack/bench and dumbells and plates!

How much is your membership? Must be quite small

cardio,shoot me

400 euro a year.

Vegeta

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

400 euro a year.

So about 2 and a half years membership gets you some decent kit and its yours to sell if you ever wanted to.

Its a tough one to call though, there are somethings a gym are very handy for

cardio,shoot me

well a powerrack alone can be 500+ ,weight plates are very expensive and so are dumbells .

Vegeta

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

well a powerrack alone can be 500+ ,weight plates are very expensive and so are dumbells .

Who you telling, I did go 50/50 with my brother though so that cushioned the blow a lot

cardio,shoot me

well i was just sayin

IrishCathal2008

Penrose wrote: »

I personally have been working out for 2 years with my own free weights and I am very fit and strong. I previously had a gym membership but I was always waiting around to use gear.

Does anyone else think its a big ripoff?

Gyms are a rifoff, but we still go there.
The pub is also a ripoff - and we go there too.

For people in a built up area, the gym is really the only option.
Personally, I would prefer a run in the country.
Gyms are a convenience and a bit of comfort for the winter.

d'Oracle

I'm pretty sure PAYG is working out at over a grand for me......

But if I bought a yearly I would get 450.
Im enjoying it, so Its cool.

RacoonQueen

gearoid_healy wrote: »

Not if you use it. I use the gym 4/5 times a week and can't complain. Grand to do your own bit outside (I also like to run a few times a week) but I like the variety in the gym. Not to mention pool, steam room, jacuzzi, etc.

cowzerp wrote: »

I've weights at home and much prefer going to the gym as once you get off your hole and travel you tend to make the most of it!

when training at home its too easy to get comfortable when home and away comes on, now that was a joke!

Most gyms prices are not expensive when you break down the price per session if you train regularly.

(2) on both of these plus I enjoy the social aspect of the gym and I really enjoy being there, I spend enough time at home so it's nice to get out for a few hours. I run 5/6 times a week and use the gym 3/4 times a week, on average. I also have some equipment at home which I used regularly for about 3 months then stopped using so the gym membership isn't really that much of a 'waste' considering I go at least 3 times a week and always spend at least 90 minutes on the gym floor before I even think about swimming/sauna.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

It depends a lot on how much you use it. For me it is great value, I try to use it every day, for 2 hours a day. It is 53 euro a month, has everything you need and more... there are machines there I have never seen before, I have no idea what they do :P

There is a swimming pool, a sauna and you can get assessed every month to see how you are doing. I have one tomorrow morning which I hope I get good feedback from.

The equipment in the gym is too expensive to keep at home, plus you need a lot of room. I enjoy the gym to an extent. Cycling for 25 minutes can seem like an hour. I don't enjoy the cardio as much as I used to. The weight training is very interesting for me... The mirrors tell me my muscles are nice and toned

The value I get from the gym cannot be compared to anything else I spend my money on, even food from aldi.

I rarely exercise outside of the gym. In the gym I find there is a lot of motivation, from people you do not know or even talk to. The instructors are great and are always at hand if you need to know anything. There are also a lot of "free" classes involved like spinning, included in the price.

As I have bad knees, it is almost impossible for me to get involved in most sports. Most activities that I would like to do are pretty expensive, like rowing and rock climbing. Great for you but wow are they expensive.

It is nice to go to one place and have an unlimited time to do as you wish, you get to exercise your whole body. Get a program written out for you also.

I love the gym

chuck eastwood

I built a smith machine in my shed, god bless e bay and i borrowed a few bits from work. had a load of dumb bell's but finding a decent bench for less than 200 and olympic weights for less than 250 was a pain. chin bar is a bit of heavy wall pipe through the rafters. tredmill cost about 1100 but gf paid half.punch bag and skipping rope. job done. little bit of enginering know how goes a long way

devereaux17

when i have a class job when im older i'll definetly have my own weights room, seriously the ammout of money i waste getting the bus/dart into the city to go gym is insane. its a bit stupid for me going to gym really, if i had dumbells in my house, a bench and a few other things thats basically all i do at the moment. if i was stronger and more serious about training then the gym would be a must because the diversity of equipment.

i like the gym, i've got mates to go with when I want and i can go alone when i want too. I like doing my exercise away from my home.

chuck eastwood

I'm still a member of a gym , love just getting out of the house and i train with my brother there to. cant beat the pool and sauna after a work out but when i'm short of time i just pop out to the shed and do a bit. the gym i'm in is only half a mile away but 170 quid for 3 months

cardio,shoot me

Chuck fair play, that thing is awesome! how much it cost you to put it together and such?

itsallaboutheL

@ Chuck

Man that's pretty damn impressive!! Can it be used as a normal rack?? is the smith weighted or counterbalanced??

Have you any idea what the max weight capacity of That bench is?? it looks for much like one i bought and i wouldn't trust it as far as i could throw it

rubadub

If building a shed (or even house) from scratch you could incorporate all sorts of stuff into its design. No stairs in the house, just a climbing wall, rope & a batpole

itsallaboutheL

rubadub wrote: »

If building a shed (or even house) from scratch you could incorporate all sorts of stuff into its design. No stairs in the house, just a climbing wall, rope & a batpole

[ghey] You're My Hero [/ghey]

LightningBolt

Would love a home gym but living at home with parents kinda rules that one out at the moment. For now I'm happy enough to use my gym. It's big, lots of space, heated/cooled properly and has lots of mirrors so I can admire myself. I don't think I could fit enough mirrors in my home gym.

jacool

a good gym should be like a good partner
well-equipped, cheap and easily accessible, without crowds of other people waiting to jump on something you're trying to build up a sweat on

I like the gym because of the steam room, sauna, jacuzzi bits as well as all the machines i couldn't have in a rented house.
best gym ever was at work which i just incorporated into every second work day. currently if i get home and get comfortable i'm in trouble. that would be the plus of having the stuff at home, but for now, the gym is the solution for me.

Roper

I think you should re-title this topic "Gyms are bad value".

By and large they are. If you pay and are one of the 70% who don't use the gym regularly, then they are really bad value. If you pay and then use it regularly but at peak hours and have to queue for everything, then they are bad value. If you pay and recieve no attention from the staff and as a result just train away with very little change in your health or fitness, then they are a waste of money.

I would say that for about 90% of people who sign a direct debit to a commercial gym, gyms are very bad value.

chuck eastwood

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

@ Chuck

Man that's pretty damn impressive!! Can it be used as a normal rack?? is the smith weighted or counterbalanced??

Have you any idea what the max weight capacity of That bench is?? it looks for much like one i bought and i wouldn't trust it as far as i could throw it

the weights themselves i cant remeber, standart olympic bar. 2 pillow block bearing 25 quid each on e bay( 80 quid to buy here) . the hooks are made from half inch steel plate, pure hard ship trying to shape them. the angles of the hooks are very important as the bar is so near to the up rights. 2 inch aluminiun square with 28 mm hole to hold the main bar. The two black up right's are used in factories to support cable trunking. I "borrowed" those;);). I'd say it could hold up on a ton. the hooks are dam strong. very easy to build with a little know how

floggg

No, gyms are neither a rip off or bad value.

The problem is that some people are foolish with their money. Last time i checked, gyms are voluntary, and they normally let people have a look around before they join. In my book, if you are deciding to shell out a monthly membership fee you should have a look around and ask:

(a) do i like the facilities;
(b) do i like the services offered;
(c) can i afford this; and
(d) is the fee justified; and
(e) will i actually attend on a regular basis.

If the answer to all the above is yes, then you will be more than happy to pay out your monthly fee because you feel you are getting value for money, and know you will make the most of it and enjoy your time there.

If you answer to any of the above is no, then you shouldn't join, so don't.

Personally, i think of all the things i spend my money on, i think the gym is one of the few things that is actually worth the fee. I mean lots of people spend more on skinny mocha-frappe-chino-lattes each month on the gym.

people need to take responsiblity for their spending. gyms only charge as much as people are willing to pay. So clearly lots of people out there think the price is worth it. i know i do.