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Original poster

Pro's and Cons of joining a GYM?!

31 replies

SweetSnowflake · 07/12/2007 20:30

dp wants to join local very swish gym, costs a LOT each month..i am fat, he is slightly over weight, both of us have parents with weight/health related probs, so i know better eating and excersize WILL help, but at this price and the fact we do absolutely nothing now(although i walk a lot but thats it), would it be worth it, would i be dusting my membership card of this time next year???

OP posts:
Maidamess · 07/12/2007 20:32

It may make you go! Or it may give you a massive guilt trip for paying but not going.

If you get a copy of the programme of classes and book into the ones you fancy doing, you will be more inclined to go regularly.

I think classes over puffing away alone on the machines is best, for me anyway.

moondog · 07/12/2007 20:35

Whether it is a good or bad move lies entirely in your hands.
If you go regulalry it's not a waste.

If you don't then it is.

Original poster
SweetSnowflake · 07/12/2007 20:36

i was going to aqua aerobicsin the summer and i loved it, but if thats all i can make there(i work strange hours sometimes) then it a bloody lots of money for one session!?
I DO like this kind of thing but to be quite honest im lazy and th thought of it sends me packing, i just dont want to sign up for a years worth and not go, we have an excersize bike sat growing mould in the garage!

OP posts:
Original poster
SweetSnowflake · 07/12/2007 20:37

thats the thing as a lazy non excersizer who wants to go but has no will power i wonder if im kidding myself by thinking if i pay /join ill go???

OP posts:
Maidamess · 07/12/2007 20:37

Are you sure there are not more classes you could do? If not, then don't join, go for long fast walks with your family. Its freee!

PuppyDogTails · 07/12/2007 20:39

I'm rubbish with gyms - I've joined 5 times in the past and never lasted more than 4 months (even though paid for 12). I'm disgraced at the money I have wasted.

Original poster
SweetSnowflake · 07/12/2007 20:40

the gym have lots of classes, but from the bits dp has told me lots of them finish around tea time?..bit daft!, but i could use the gym/sauna/pool till whenever, dp says i should even go to chill out in sauna steam rooms after work for an hour???

OP posts:
fishie · 07/12/2007 20:40

my friend's dp has had a gym membership for 5+ years which he never uses and they are skint. i would KILL HIM if it were me. that said, i have swimming membership which i do use. suggest you agree in advance a number of visits by deadline and see how you go. if is expensive make sure no penalties for cancelling.

moondog · 07/12/2007 20:40

Sweet,if you are as you describe yourself,then be honest.
It's a waste of cash.
Set more realistic goals.
A walk twice a week?
No more buying crap food?

Louandben · 07/12/2007 20:42

If you think the fact that you have paid lots of money for the gym will make you go, think again, thousands of people will tell you they fell for that theory and end up paying the equivalent of £40 a visit. You have to be committed to getting there regularly for your health and using the time to get fit and lose weight if that is really what you want to do. Do you like doing the kind of exercise they have on offer? If you really hate gyms/classes/pools and prefer being outside then you simply are not going to stick to regular visits. Find another activity you can do together, even if it is just more walking, to improve your health and fitness.

On the plus side though, if you do BOTH commit to it, the two of you agreeing to go together should be a great incentive to making sure you get there (if one will make sure they get the other off the sofa when they dont feel like going) and will probably be great for your relationship, not just your health and appearance! If you manage to keep up a routine for a few months then the resulting improvements and the way you will feel is likely to be enough of an incentive, exercise does end up being pretty addictive, if you do it regularly enough you will be surprised how you miss it if you skip a session or stop.

Gyms usually have special offers on around this time of year, can you get just a limited membership without signing up for a years payments? maybe best to do that and try a few sessions before you fully commit. Talk to the manager maybe, see what he could sort out in terms of trial membership.

expatinscotland · 07/12/2007 20:42

do they have a creche? i think you'd be more likely to go if they offered creche services.

i used gyms A LOT in the US, but they were cheap as chips and had really long hours - there's even a chain called 24 Hour Fitness which is exactly that.

but i always avoided the rush hour between 5-7PM.

Maidamess · 07/12/2007 20:42

I agree moondog, Sweet it sounds like you are talking yourself out of going before you've even started. Save your money to buy lots of lovely new clothes when you've lost weight by your own means.

Original poster
SweetSnowflake · 07/12/2007 20:43

i know moondog, thats why im delaying and umming and ahing..i do REALLY want to do this, would be nice for me and dp to do something out of the hosue together, but honestly, id kick my own arse if i didnt use it and im 75% positive i would lose will power as i always do on diets!

OP posts:
JinglyJangly · 07/12/2007 20:43

Can't you find a Gym that is cheaper???

I live in an area where there are lots of private Gyms and also the Council Gyms/Leisure Centres which are great and FAR cheaper. I pay £19 a month for a Timezone card which means and I can go to the Gym as often as I want BUT in certain hours, i.e. 8am-4pm Monday-Friday & after 3pm on weekends, which works out great for me.

The private Gyms are far more expensive- almost double.

How much do you have to pay at the Gym you are going to?

expatinscotland · 07/12/2007 20:44

you have to explore to find a form of exercise that works for you.

have you tried some classes?

martial arts, yoga, pilates, swimming, etc.?

there's a whole world out there!

fishie · 07/12/2007 20:48

sweet it is very important that you take exercise and really quite a lot of it.

but i don't think going to the gym makes one lose lots of weight, that is only achieved by eating frugally. [glugs wine]

what would you prefer to do? be honest with yourselves. your dp may prefer to eat lettuce and you would rather go on treadmill, or opposite.

expatinscotland · 07/12/2007 20:52

a combination of sensible eating and exercise is the way to lose weight long term.

but really, you'll only stick at exercise if you find something you really enjoy.

my ex H absolutely HATES gyms, but is one of the fittest people i know. he just prefers outdoor sports of all sorts in any sort of weather as exercise.

for some folks, it's team sports or martial arts or yoga.

JinglyJangly · 07/12/2007 20:54

fishie - I agree that going to the gym doesn't necessarily mean you will loose weight. Personally I go because it makes me feel good.

The OP needs to find a particular exercise/sport she likes. So many people commit to the gym - only to go for a few weeks/months and never to go again.

Original poster
SweetSnowflake · 07/12/2007 21:01

Hi Guys..here is the gym concerned..www.jjbfitness.co.uk/gallery/index.php, for the times id be able to use it, its £32 each(maybe not a lot to some people but double it and its a hell of a lot to me!), it is cheaper off peak but cant get there then which is annoying tbh cos most of thier classes are dring the day?? work that one out?

There are local gyms run by council too, dp thinks this one looks fab and other ones locally are really tatty compared to this?

I do really like the look of it, i could make one or two classes through the week as mondays and tuesdays i will be free during school hours, then they ahve step(which in my fitter days i used to love) and splash(water aerobics) which i also love, plus treadmills, etc in gym..i really shouldnt be so fat, i do enjoy this kind of thing, think im in a rut..

and big selling point, ive just discoverd is that you only join for 6 months!, after initial 6 months you can leave giveing on months notice, so not as bad as i thought?
and it seems we could take dd to, so their pool is so much nicer than our local old one

OP posts:
JinglyJangly · 07/12/2007 21:08

Listen - it doesn't matter if the council run Gyms are not so nice as the expensive one your DH likes. They all have the same equipment that does the same job.

I only use the treadmill the cross trainer & the bike, I sometimes go on the rowing machine. I recommend you do some weights/toning too.

I am pretty sure there are some Gym instructors that post on this site so hopefully someone will come along and give you some advice.

Original poster
SweetSnowflake · 07/12/2007 21:12

thanks JJ...think his thinking is, we've just got back from centereparcs and i went for some treatments, i work long hours and really lvoed the massages and 'healthy' side of it all, as he and i both know i really do need to lose some weight,over 4 stone i think he's trying to make it as nice and experience for me as poss..hes just said theres not point doing it if im gunna think of it as a chore, but i dont, im quite excited but i dont know how long that excitement will alst?

OP posts:
Blondilocks · 07/12/2007 21:15

You need to work out what you'd do if you paid & went & then figure out if it's worth the money. E.g. I worked out that if I did 1 gym session, a class & a swim a week then it'd be cheaper for a membership than for each individual thing.

Only thing is I then decided that with overtime & work I wasn't likely to be able to go as often as I liked so it wasn't worth it :S

When I went to the gym it used to be on the way home so going really didn't feel like it was any effort at all. I also really enjoyed going.

I think if I paid for it then it would make me go. But now I just run & do step & dvds, so maybe you could try getting the exercise bike out if you already have one (I find doing it in front of the tv helps make it seem quicker!)

Also the gym I looked at did a deal if a couple joined so maybe that is worth investigating?

Original poster
SweetSnowflake · 07/12/2007 21:18

yeah dp forgot to ask about couples member ship and do you normally pay a joining fee?

think i would go on a monday during day to a class, one night through week to gym with dp and either class again or swimming(not a swimmer tho) with dd and dp sunday, so three 'classes' a week

OP posts:
fishie · 07/12/2007 21:18

sweet i am completely seduced by that pool picture. six months, if you can afford it, go do it. join, join now! (can i borrow your card?)

my local leisure centre has had a gym refit but crikey the pool, changing rooms and other facilities are direly bad and we are in olympic2012land. considering i pay for it already in council tax and subs is a disgrace.

JinglyJangly · 07/12/2007 21:18

So what are you going to do SS? Are you going to join a Gym (the posh one your DH likes) or the council run one? OR are you going to try something that YOU really want to do? i.e. Aerobics, Swimming etc

Can I just say that you don't have to feel intimidated by joining a Gym (I know some people are). I think a lot of people have this perception that people that frequent the Gym have super toned bodies and its SO not true.

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