*UPDATE* To get a gym membership or not...

[CrysisMoon]

So today I went to one of the gym in my area to find out a little bit more about the cost of a membership, because right now the enrollment fee is 50% off, and they offer a number of classes I'd like to take. So here's the break down:


One of the biggest pluses about the classes for me was that all of them, except the aqua fit classes are drop-in. So it'll work out with my ever changing work schedule. And hopefully eventually school schedule.

They also have a women's only area, and the equipment is all the same as the co-ed area upstairs. So I can get my sister to come with me and create a workout plan, once I'm a little more confident in that area.

Turns out the enrollment fee is on top of the actual member ship. So the enrollment fee, if I sign up before the end of the month is 109, as opposed to 218. The bi-weekly cost of the membership itself is 29.32, so like 60 a month.

As far a canceling it works, I'd still have to say the full 12 months, or I can put it on hold. Or I have the option of transferring the membership to someone else, like my mum or my sister. I liked this aspect, because my sister got locked into a gym membership at a different gym, and had to pay a hidden fee, plus another payment.

Now the only thing I have to do, is try and find out how to work it into my budget, which includes saving up my tuition.

Thoughts and idea's are all welcome. Also anyone who's had experience with a gym membership input would be much appreciated!!

Edit:
Ohh! something I completely forgot to mention, is that they also have options for a short-term membership and a trial membership. I just emailed them asking about the costs and contracts for those as well. I forgot to ask them about that while I was there. I will add the information for that once the get back to me!

UPDATE!:

So I got an email back, and as shitty as it is, they don't do free trial memberships in my area's locations, so there's that. Though they do have short-term memberships that range from 1 - 6 months. The only kind of crappy part is the cost, as it's an average cost of 120/month, which needs to be paid up front, whicwas using h is fine. I'm going to try and find out why it's so expensive, and then go from there.

Read the above if you want to know a little what I was going on about a little while ago.

So I've finally gotten around to making a decision, and thus in turn updating here.

Long story short, I'd been waiting to find out whether or not I was going back to school in September. The good new is, that I got accepted. The really shitty part, is that it looks like my tuition got jacked up almost a grand. So what I originally thought was only going to be close to twelve thousand dollars for two years of schooling, had now shot up to about eighteen thousand. That's not counting the bills and such I already have to pay. Things like my car insurance, cell phone bill, and health insurance. Plus I may be completely taking over my sisters car in September, which will tack on about another 200.00 for car payments.

On the plus side though, because there is always a silver lining to these things, my sister introduced me to blogilates. The best part? It's free! Part of me really hates how perky she is, but at the same time I love it. There's all sorts of different videos for you to fallow. I'm working on the beginners calendar right now. I had initially started with the 30 day thigh slimming challenge. And within three days, I could barely walk down the stairs and I had bruises. This is coming from some one who danced for almost nine years, but it's been about three since I stopped, so I was using muscles I hadn't used in a long a** time. Thank god for tiger balm. So I stopped, gave it a few days, and started the beginners calendar on Sunday.

Other things I'm going to work on, are cutting all the really shitty food I've been eating out of my diet, I'm also working on cutting back my bread to like, twice a week. Drink water, lots of it. And once the weather warms up a bit more, start walking to work again, I kind of miss that.

So yeeah...There's my update. Looks like Movati will just have to wait until I'm done with school..Or win the lottery. Whichever comes first. emotion_kirakira

[oArisen]

Ill be watching this thread closely aswell because I'm wanting to join a gym as well, just finding the right one is so hard and at the right price even harder, I wish you luck in your predicament

[CrysisMoon]

xEquilibrium

Ill be watching this thread closely aswell because I'm wanting to join a gym as well, just finding the right one is so hard and at the right price even harder, I wish you luck in your predicament

Ohh! something I completely forgot to mention and will add in a few, is that they also have options for a short-term membership and a trial membership. I just emailed them asking about the costs and contracts for those as well. I forgot to ask them about that while I was there.

[oArisen]

Fallen-Pottery-Angel

xEquilibrium

Ill be watching this thread closely aswell because I'm wanting to join a gym as well, just finding the right one is so hard and at the right price even harder, I wish you luck in your predicament

Ohh! something I completely forgot to mention and will add in a few, is that they also have options for a short-term membership and a trial membership. I just emailed them asking about the costs and contracts for those as well. I forgot to ask them about that while I was there.

Fair enough, trial membership is probably the smartest move, that way you can see if you actually enjoy going or weather you just never go xp

[CrysisMoon]

xEquilibrium

Fallen-Pottery-Angel

xEquilibrium

Ill be watching this thread closely aswell because I'm wanting to join a gym as well, just finding the right one is so hard and at the right price even harder, I wish you luck in your predicament

Ohh! something I completely forgot to mention and will add in a few, is that they also have options for a short-term membership and a trial membership. I just emailed them asking about the costs and contracts for those as well. I forgot to ask them about that while I was there.

Fair enough, trial membership is probably the smartest move, that way you can see if you actually enjoy going or weather you just never go xp

Yup, and this way I can see if it works with my schedule. Yay for working two jobs! xD And yay for having a personal trainer for a sister, who can answer and give me advice on these types of things!

[Srintella Tiagara]

I would do the trail membership first just to see if you like the gym or not. That would be me though.

I need to join a gym also.

[Lady Vizsla]

I would say if there's an area around your neighbourhood where you can run or do some form of physical activity in your house, then you should save the money towards your tuition.

[CrysisMoon]

Srintella Tiagara

I would do the trail membership first just to see if you like the gym or not. That would be me though.

I need to join a gym also.

Either that or the short term. I want to try for at least a month, that way I can see how it works with my schedule.

[CrysisMoon]

Lady Kariel

I would say if there's an area around your neighbourhood where you can run or do some form of physical activity in your house, then you should save the money towards your tuition.

Right now with all the ice everywhere, running is off the table. Plus I can't run worth s**t. Tuition shouldn't be to hard to save up for, so long as I keep my spending in check and stay on budget. I have a subscription I think I'm going to cancel for the time being. It's only like 20$ a month, but it's an extra twenty that can stay on my visa. And I'd like to try and get my lower back sorted out, and work on strengthening that.

[Lost Icyis]

I like going to the gym because for me I feel less distracted and more in the mood when I have a specific place to go to to work out. Usually if I don't feel like exercising, if I at least put on my workout clothes and bother with driving to the gym I'm not just going to loaf around and waste my time and money when I'm already there, you know? Or if I haven't gone in a while, knowing that I'm paying for that membership and not putting it to good use helps to get me back to it. Plus seeing other people working out or going with a buddy can help motivate you.

There's nothing wrong with working out at home and of course it can save you money but usually with a gym you'll have a lot more resources available to you and its a place solely dedicated to exercising. Plus if the weather isn't great cardio is always easier in the gym if you don't have your own machine.

I think one of the biggest cons about joining a gym is if you're locked into a membership and stop going, it really is a waste of money. I'd definitely do the trial if I were you and see if it's something you feel like you're actually going to incorporate into your lifestyle regularly. If it's something you keep up with in my opinion it's well worth it. Just ease into it.

[Leithia]

I would highly suggest shopping around for a gym, especially at this time of year, before purchasing any memberships. I went to several gyms when I purchased my memberships, and got trial days at all of them, before I bought mine. The one I decided on was a 24/7, free classes, and with a purchase of a 3 year membership, I got a 4th year free, and NO enrollment fees. I essentially paid less than $100 USD per year for my membership. They don't have a pool, or a sauna, or anything "fancy" but their equipment is all top notch. Their classes tend to rotate too, they have spin, zumba, cardio kickboxing, and a yoga class just to name a few. The staff is also very helpful and if anyone is interested in being shown how to properly use any equipment, they all know exactly what they're doing.

[flauterfli]

def go for the trial membership (: so you don't have to pay a hefty amount at once and then pass it on to someone who may not use it either. you can probably pay a day-use fee to try it out a few times first anyway.

gyms, like sports, just really depend on the people you're with and the equipment available to you (are the perks worth forking over cash when you could do similar work outs with your sister at home? - for me totally yes, because I have little self-motivation and I like to be social!)

the best gym I went to was a very small free one through my church. sure, the equipment was donated and it was mostly old ladies there but the instructors were licensed and super friendly. one was a retired personal trainer and was volunteering her time. awesome. plus I felt pretty damn good about myself because I was the only college age woman there and not hugely out of shape :') (no specific classes were offered - I just ran on the treadmill for an inordinate amount of time, because I have knee issues that act up on normal turf or sidewalk, and lost weight that way)

personally I'm going to take college elective activity courses after the pregnancy to lose weight, because they'll still count towards my prereqs and are covered by grants/scholarships so

[CrysisMoon]

flauterfli

def go for the trial membership (: so you don't have to pay a hefty amount at once and then pass it on to someone who may not use it either. you can probably pay a day-use fee to try it out a few times first anyway.

gyms, like sports, just really depend on the people you're with and the equipment available to you (are the perks worth forking over cash when you could do similar work outs with your sister at home? - for me totally yes, because I have little self-motivation and I like to be social!)

the best gym I went to was a very small free one through my church. sure, the equipment was donated and it was mostly old ladies there but the instructors were licensed and super friendly. one was a retired personal trainer and was volunteering her time. awesome. plus I felt pretty damn good about myself because I was the only college age woman there and not hugely out of shape :') (no specific classes were offered - I just ran on the treadmill for an inordinate amount of time, because I have knee issues that act up on normal turf or sidewalk, and lost weight that way)

personally I'm going to take college elective activity courses after the pregnancy to lose weight, because they'll still count towards my prereqs and are covered by grants/scholarships so

Sadly it turns out they don't do the trial memberships any more at locations in my city. And the short term is about 120/month. My sister doesn't live at home anymore, and she's in a full-time, intense program, so getting her to train me is a bit harder and I work almost 7 days a week. Plus all I have at home is an elliptical, which is currently in my parents room, which is weird for me to use. I find the equipment kind of intimidates me, a fair bit actually. But I've been wanting to take some sort of class to kick my a** into shape, because I'm sick of feeling like general crap all the time.

My main focus right now, is to try and sort out my lower back. I almost broke my tailbone when I was a kid, and it's been a recurring problem with my lower back ever since. And with both my jobs requiring me to lift either heavy boxes or big awkward dogs, it's almost a constant pain. So I need to work on stretching it, and then strengthening it. They offer a number of yoga classes, including the anti-gravity yoga, which is supposed to help realign your back, and reduce the pressure.

I'm thinking I may fork over the 120 for a month and see how it goes, as opposed to spending almost 1000 over a year.

[Revana_Blay]

Be careful with this. I pay $60 a month for my membership, but that doesn't lock me to one gym. I have mates that train at other locations of the same brand around town so sometimes I might go to their locations to train with them.

Even better, is the brand is international. After my first month, I was able to go to any location internationally and train at the original cost of my membership. The gym is also 24 hours, so I can go and have a midnight workout if I want....and I have done this a couple of times.

Also check out upfront purchase. Sometimes gyms will provide this option at a discount and it would be worth borrowing (from family) the money to bankroll it.

[Slutty_Eddie]

Visit the gym at the times you will work out, and see if it's too crowded for you or not.