I used to belong to a gym for years up until I became an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. On average, I went to the gym 3 to 4 times per week. Unlike now where I workout at home 5 to 6 days a week. It makes me wonder if having a gym membership could actually work against some people.
Joining for the New Year
Many people join a gym in the hopes of finally getting into shape and losing weight. A majority of new members sign-up right around the new year but I was once told by a personal trainer at my old gym that many of those new sign-ups stopped going around March or April.
Too Easy to Procrastinate
It is easy to become dependent on the gym. Knowing that you are a member can lead to procrastination because each day you don't feel like working out, it's too easy to put off going to the gym for another day. Excuses such as you don't feel like driving or you can go any time can slow progress.
No Motivation to Go
Most of the time, going to the gym can be tough. After spending a long day at work, sometimes the last thing you want to make time for is going to the gym. That is a big reason why I only worked out 3 times per week rather than 5 or 6 the way I do now. I wasn't motivated enough to go before work and was often too tired after work.
I workout at home now and use programs like P90X to stay on track. A lot of people prefer home gyms. They don't have to be fancy either. Often just basic equipment like a bench and some dumbbells can get the job done.
You may disagree and say that home gyms can make people just as lazy. How often do people buy the latest exercise machine on television only to end up selling it on Craigslist or Ebay a year later because they never used it? I think it all comes down to a matter of what will get you to exercise the most.
For some people it's going to a gym and for others it's the convenience of working out at home. Which do you prefer?
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There’s really no cut-and-dry technique. Some people prefer the gym because they can be totally focused and in an environment conducive to their goals; other people prefer the solitude of home. The bottom line is getting up and DOING it – no matter your location. Thanks for the food for thought, and keep up the good work.
I totally agree with you. It only matters that you take action and exercise! Thanks Stephanie!
It’s actually the reverse in my country. When people sign up for gym memberships, they usually take them seriously and squeeze out every last day they can, since they want to make the most out of their spendings.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that when they’re actually at the gym, they work out properly or efficiently, or even renew their memberships after one month. Oh well.
This, I believe, is the responsibility of the gym manager / owner, though. If the people like the place, and feel that they can truly enjoy themselves while working, they’ll keep coming back.
It’s like that article concerning Starbucks a while back. It’s overpriced coffee, for crying out loud! But that’s not really the point; Starbucks usually goes out of its way to make the ambiance of its branches extremely appealing to its target consumers so they keep coming back. I believe gym owners / managers should do the same.
I see what you mean, Noel. If the user experience isn’t good then many members won’t come back as often.
I know people that won’t work out without a gym. As is obvious from this article some people work out much better with a gym. I am a fitness trainer and so know how to get in a good workout at home with very little equipment, but I enjoy going to a gym.
Hey Nick, yup, it’s all about preference. I enjoyed the gym but it seems working out at home has worked out better for me in the long run so I save myself some money in gym fees.
I also prefer working out at home with minimal equipment. What would you consider the “essentials” for these types of workouts?
Hey Eartha!! I used to work in the corporate office for a very large gym that all of you have definately heard of and probably been inside of at least of of their facilities. I can tell you when I worked for this corporation it was known that about 80% of all gym members will not come back after the first 2 months of signing up. Behind closed doors this business tried to bank on getting a lot of your money up front and then they hoped you would keep your membership active even when you weren’t coming to the gym by telling yourself, ‘I’ll get back to the gym next week.. or next month’. If you think about it for a moment it really is a great business model because people are literally paying you for nothing.
I totally agree. In fact, I fell into this a few years ago. The idea of working out in a gym to me was motivating. However, I did come to realize that I wasn’t using my membership and that I was actually paying for something that I could do free of charge. So I canceled my subscription.
But I do admit that this reflects my own personal feelings. Others do get to the gym religiously and do get their money’s worth.
Hey David – that makes sense how the gym would try to get a bulk of the money up front from the people who quit after a couple of months. It is like the members basically gave their money away.
As a personal trainer working out of a gym environment it has been interesting to see different peoples inspiration and motivation (or lack of) towards exercise.
More often than not it makes no difference whether the exercise is at home or in the gym, if the reason to perform it isnt powerful enough the long term motivation will be lacking.
before paying to undertake any exercise program, or before forking out for equipment, take the time to truly analyse what you would like to achieve….question this further why is it important to you, how will you feel when its achieved?
A strong emotional reason to exercise will serve to keep you motivated when the going gets tough and a good trainer will ensure the program matches the enthusiasm to bring you awesome results
good luck whatever form of exercise you choose
Nathan
I agree with Stephanie. It doesn’t matter how you do it as long as you just get up and go for it!
I also agree. The membership just makes me feel like I have to go otherwise I am wasting money. Sometimes I would get to the gym all pumped up to workout and there are so many people there or everyone is using the machine I wanted to use. It gets frustrating. Now a days I don’t have the time to commute to the gym.
I just workout at home with my TT workouts and I have a exercise ball, pullup bar, pushup bars and a bench. It works for me. Using bodyweight I find I have less ongoing aches and pains that I had before from overdoing it with the machines.
@Nathan – Hey, I really appreciate your comment and what you say is very true.