Holy crap! Gym prices!

[jtroster]

My employer negotiated a corporate rate at Goodlife Fitness. I pay $320 per year. The usual rate is around twice that.

[jjchen330ci]

I am currently paying $52/month at NYSC,

I need to look for cheaper gym......

[lipripper]

I pay nothing and I have a life membership anywhere I decide to go. I'm retired military. I go to the local Army post and use one of the many gyms they have there. Anywhere I travel, if there is a military installation, I can use the gym. One of the bennies of serving for 20 years!!

[Corbi]

A few weeks back it was closed for Labor Day, so I went and worked out at one of the cities (17,000 population) other gyms for a $5 one day fee (there are 4 gyms in town, the rec center, the "glamour gym" I’m about to talk about, a Snap Fitness which is mainly cardio and machines, and a Curves for women).

Which town is that?

I live in a town of about 35,000 people(suburb of Milwaukee)...and the highschool is good sized, decent football program. I always wondered...since taxpayers pay for the school, why couldn't they open up the weight room and let the community pay a nominal fee to use it, as a way to pay for new equipment and to build more support for the whole community.

I live just north of Madison, use to live in Kenosha, and the highschool in my tiny little village of 900 lets us use the high school weight room since we are the ones paying for it.

^^^this^^^I cant stay motivated at home either.

Same here, have tried it and hate it. Actually brought my bench and a few other things to my gym at work since I never use it at home.

[grubman]

Which town is that?

Shawano

[RRRAAAYYY2]

My family is at the YMCA, $50 a month, though we are getting a discount, normally $90 a month for a fmaily. $28 an adult I think. Includes all classes and programs.

[SirPat]

The Rec Center charges me a $25 membership fee per year and I pay an additional $25 for unlimited use of the weight room per quarter for a total of $125 a year.

These types of prices can ruin things if you have to move When I 1st went to gym to help get in shape we got a special... $8 registration and had to go at least once a month or pay the registration again.. while great at the time it really did not help when i moved country and every one I looked at was around or above $60 a month

The older gear and that it has been around for ages and likly has no debt helps keep nice low prices so cant really be compare to average gyms out there..

This new gym wants $49 a month (that’s $588 a year!).

Not too bad.. the average for the ones i checked up until a new local one opened up around me was about $700-$1000 a year and some were not even well equipped.. thanks to all that I was a couch potato of 10 years.. No ways i was paying those prices.. The new one is around $400-$500 depending on what you want, the lesser if your don't want all the added classes as covered..

Still cant compare that to what I was paying 1st time round but then that was out of this world even at the time.. now with the shape I ended up getting myself into i.e. bad! in the $400s for the last year has been a reasonable amount for the benefit i got.. and if the pain is gone by tomorrow from playing stongman the last few weeks I will wander down and pay for another year..

[loneviking]

I'm at a Fit for $10 gym with a $19 monthly that allows me to bring in a guest (my teenage son or one of my early 20's daughters) with classes and unlimited tanning. The gym and equipment has been there for years, so I don't have to worry about it going out of business...unlike the Golds gym that came into town and closed within a year! I find it interesting the difference in membership prices for 24 hour fitness. There's two of them close to me, both charging monthly of 29.95 plus a sign up fee.

[pastorgbc]

Gold's Gym, Marlborough, MA. I signed up four years ago for a 2 year commitment at 29 bucks a month. The commitment is up and they have kept me at the same rate.

It is the best value going.

Having said that, 49 bucks a month for working out is well worth it. I know people who spend 10 bucks a pop for bacon cheeseburger and fries, 8 bucks for a martini, 4 bucks for a beer, etc., and there is not a whole of complaining going on about that. It is all relative; if you don't spend the 49 bucks a month on a gym, what are you going to spend it on?

Ray

[winnicandle]

Oh yeah... one other thing that I will NEVER understand is why most gyms are so against daily (or weekly) drop-ins.

I remember going to a couple of gyms and looking at the price for just ONE DAY and they wanted $20! Are you fakking kidding me??

Why not charge people $5 or $10 for one day and maybe $25-30 for a week. Give you some time to try it out.... would also give people on vacay and business travellers a decent option too.

I travel a lot...and $20/day is the norm at most larger gyms. Smaller ones are just harder to find.

I also find that by just being nice and asking for a deal on the 2-3 days that I am in town often gets me a 3 day pass for the same $20...or a guest pass etc.

My gym is $69/month but I feel its well worth it. Good free weight area w 3 power racks, large sepearate cardio area, clean lockers, showers, steam shower, sauna, pool, etc.

No desire for a home gym at all, I actually enjoy getting out and going (most of the time..)

I pay about 10K/yr for health insurance with a 3K deductible....$69/month is nothing for the health benefits I get out of it. I see poor obese people all the time with iPhones...you know thats more than $69/month!

[Corbi]

Small gym in Venice Italy was 20 euro's a day!

[djflex]

Most gyms are really not that expensive if you put in context.
for instance if golf was your hobby, greens fees are like 60 bucks a round. Think about that!

La fitness was like 589 for me cash paid in full for 2 years. If it is a stable framchise always ask for the paid in full rate...

[Slackadjuster]

$36 a month at gold's....4 or 5 I can go to in the immediate area.

[donniedarko13]

Rather train at home. Have 600 pounds in Olympic weights and 400 ish in standard. Paid $200 for all of that over time.

[jayluk4600]

I train in 3 places. well 4. I like fresh faces or more like if I see the same &*%! &@%&$ everyday I may end up smacking one of them. One gym is 13.95 a month it has great equipment but way overcrowded during peak hrs, my main gym is 24.00 a month and has alot of equipment and is rarely overcrowded the third is my sons Highschool gym (pretty good just old weights) I train with the baseball team and my son, well the ones that are not in a sport at the time lift and the last is my basement for cardio.

Best to mix it up for me. Keeps me entertained.

[Brackneyc]

I train at home. I have everything I need, except I'd love access to a leg press. Going to buy one hopefully in the next year, and Ill be good to go. Training at home has been the best thing I ever did for myself. Not everyone can (due to space or motivation needs). I don't mind every once in a while hitting a gym. But for the most part, the best thing to come from those visits is a confirmation that home training is the best move I ever made. At 4:00 am, my body appreciates not having to drive anywhere to get the work in.

[cowboybiker]

Aspen Fitness. 10 bucks a month but he's competing with Planet Fitness across the street.
Got plenty of free weights and benches.
Need another smith machine cause everyone wants to bench with it

[partsbook]

Local Rec Center is $26/month for entire family. Lots of db's, free weights, racks, smith machines, weight stations, cardio, racquetball, 2 full bball courts, etc. Great deal for all the amenities offered but some people still grumble.......

[optigrab]

My muscles won't grow with rusty weights. Luckily, my neighborhood association gym coupled with a bench and set of dumbbells at the house are working fine for me at the moment.

[fittofattofit]

You guys in the states are lucky.
In Australia, a full service gym starts at around $800 per year plus a $50-$100 joining fee!
Why anyone that signs you up to a 2 year contract needs to charge a 'joining fee' is beyond me.
A gym with a pool starts at around $1200 per year
I travel a lot and single gym visits are $20-30 in most cities, and even $10-20 in small towns
The difference is that the minimum wage in Australia is $15.51 per hour so that staff costs are more, but if you have a job, you can earn the membership in just over an hour.
Gyms make their money out of people who sign up and never go, so I figure my membership works out as good value for money at around $3 per visit

[Coryh11]

sucks man, the gym I work at is $27 a month..
Old school gym with everything you could ever want, three weight rooms, one cardio room, one areobics room, heavy bag tires sledge hammers any and every machine and wait for it 200lb dumbells.

also offer classes 7 days a week and a day care center by far the best gym in town for hardcore, if you want cardio well go to Planet Fitness.

[MadJasper]

Nope.... You're not a cheap ass. The gym I go to know used to be that type of gym. Memberships would range between $450 and $550 annual. It was a metrosexual gym before the term metrosexual became popular. There was a Gold's Gym, that later became just "The Gym" that was a little leas money but they served donuts and had no juice bar. Of course there was the Y, as in Y do old men like to stand around naked in the locker room. There also another gym that opened that focuses on more affluent middle-aged men... translated to no real gym equipment.

The Gym now charges $99 a year, opens for 4 hours on Saturday and is closed Sunday. They haven't purchased new equipment in years nor have they maintained any. Last time I was there, a carabiner broke and a v-bar fell on a guys head resulting in stiches. The carabiner was worn in half.

Now the metrosexual gym is $25 a year membership fee and $20 a month with a pool. The equipment is maintained and the annual fees result in new equipment ever year. The metrosexuals have left (mostly).

There's also a number of 24 hour gyms and Crossfit gym.

Now, I’m not one of those guys who constantly runs around complaining about the price of things…I realize things cost money and you make your own choices where to spend it. But I must be living under a rock!

I work out at the local rec center. The gym is a little dirty, the weights rusty, the bar knurling wore out and the paint is chipping off of the equipment (some of it fairly archaic)…but other than a standing calf raise machine, it has everything the average lifter could desire (along with a healthy dose of character!).

A few weeks back it was closed for Labor Day, so I went and worked out at one of the cities (17,000 population) other gyms for a $5 one day fee (there are 4 gyms in town, the rec center, the "glamour gym" I’m about to talk about, a Snap Fitness which is mainly cardio and machines, and a Curves for women). All the equipment in this gym is pristine, it’s spotless, the weights are all coated in plastic, and it has a good selection of modern machines.

I was a little irritated by the constant chatter of the little old ladies there, but there were also a few people who were kind of serious about their workouts as well as a few attractive women (I’ve never been sure if that is a distraction or a motivator??).

In any case, I wasn’t entirely sold on the gym…but I did think it might be fun to switch around every now and then for a change of scenery and to keep things exciting, so today (after my workout at the rec) I went over there and asked about a membership.

The Rec Center charges me a $25 membership fee per year and I pay an additional $25 for unlimited use of the weight room per quarter for a total of $125 a year.

This new gym wants $49 a month (that’s $588 a year!). This includes aerobics classes and a discount on massages and tanning. I asked if they had a different rate for people that just wanted to use the weights and was told there wasn’t one.

Call me a cheap ass but I’ll stick to the dungeon! What does everyone here pay? Is that price as crazy as it seems to me, or have I just been spoiled by the rec?

[jamacdon]

I pay $50 per month, and that includes everything, including the pool. I only use weights and occasional cardio, but the price is worth it to me. Tons of equipment, racks, benches, dumbbells to 130lbs.

[kevin7117]

Another thing to consider is to asking if they have a "your work place i.e. verizon" discount. Sometimes they do and will discount it for you that way. Or ask around at your workplace. Sometimes good discounts can be found that way. Another would be through your health insurance company especially if they focus on "preventative" rather than dealing with issues when they come up.

[Dencio]

damn...I pay $70 in mine....maybe I should take off 2 mos a year or sumthin...unfortunately they dont modify your membership ....well @ that price I should workout more often and make the most of it

it has rock climbing...squash...bb courts...indoor pool...massage rooms
dbs (10-130lbs) lots of bp/squat racks...etc /// precor and hammer > more...all I need I guess for variety
also they have some of those strong man sleds...sometimes they pull out a huge tractor wheel in the parking lot for someone to flip...but rarely seen someone training

[Shivah]

I got in during a special at a Pure Fitness in Arizona. I found out later they were trying to pump up the membership so they could sell to LA Fitness. So I got in for no initiation fee, $19 a month, and a $25 "processing fee" a year (cough bullsh*t cough). I'm now at a really nice LA Fitness.

[queloque]

I pay $349 a year. I pay up front every year to Golds Gym. Thats comes to about $29 a month. I have the government employee discount here in the Washington DC area. I can go to about 16 Golds Gyms in the area.

[MontyMagpie]

Call me a cheap ass but I’ll stick to the dungeon! What does everyone here pay? Is that price as crazy as it seems to me, or have I just been spoiled by the rec?

Home Gym. I don't have as much equipment but I can do the basics.

[stereosteveo]

Yeah only decent gym here is $39.95/mo.
I keep meaning to make time to ask how much they would charge for use of the leg press machine only, but I think I already know the answer...

[MrEggs]

My Gym (Egg Fitness) is $89/month + $450 signup fee, BUT, they give you 1 dozen free eggs when you show up in the morning. Add the eggs I bring and I can have 2-3 dozen eggs every morning for that price. It's not a bad deal at all.

They have a good space behind the machines where I can plug in my hot plate to cook the eggs, so I don't have to eat them raw. But they're good eggs, you could eat them raw if you wanted.