How much does your gym membership cost?

[musey]

FI and I are looking for a new gym. Up until recently, we''ve had gym membership "included" with various things (family plan, college tuition, work) so we don''t have a clue what we''ll be looking at as far as membership fees.

We have an LA fitness very close--about a 15 minute walk away, which would be incredibly convenient. They haven''t officially "opened" yet so we haven''t gone in to check out their pricing.

Where do you go (especially if it''s a chain)? How much has it cost you (intro fee, monthly dues, etc.)?

We live in LA, if that makes a difference. Thanks for any advice!

 

[divergrrl]

My old gym, which was more of an all inclusive athletic club (really nice, pools--indoor & out, bar, restaurant, rockwalls, wellness studios, physical therapy, 9 basketball courts...really a small city) was $170 a month.

The gym where I teach is a neighborhood type gym & I think our dues are $34 a month.. no frills though...no daycare either

So...I have a 24hour Fitness membership for when I want to go work out on my own & dh is at work so I can drop my son off at the child care there...it''s $29.99 for all clubs, but I got a deal... My dh has a membership there too for all clubs & his is $16 a month...grandfathered in a million years ago.

HTH

 

[monarch64]

Hmm, well I don''t know how helpful my response will be but I''ll break it down for ya anyway. DH has a membership at the local YMCA for $40/month. I had a membership for a year at a non-chain, women''s only gym that I paid $175 up front for, and then $80 a month, which included all classes offered and everything else like machines, weights, etc. They also offered child care on certain days and times, and a lot of other perks.

Bally''s is a big one around here, (chicago), as well as X-Sport, as far as unisex gyms. I know Bally''s offers $19.99 a month memberships but you have to pay a membership fee up front (never bothered to find out how much it was), and I''ve read a ton of bad reviews online for them. X-sport fares only slightly better.

Do you have a local Y that''s close to you? I don''t even know if they have YMCA''s on the west coast...but honestly it''s the most feasible option around here for couples. We do have a local chain called Cardinal Fitness, where you don''t have to sign any contracts, and you pay only $19.99 a month for singles or $31.95 for couples, but the gym only has treadmills, ellipticals, cycles, and free weights, along with locker rooms/showers. Very bare bones but a good deal nonetheless if that''s all you''re looking for.

 

[labbielove]

FI and I live in Western NY, and we just joined a club 1 mile from our house.
It''s the same as a prior poster described- kind of like a country club without golf (they have tennis instead)
Normally i would say "who would pay so much to work out", but honestly, over the years I''ve belonged to every 3 month for 99/, 40/month club there is and I figured at this point in my life if i want to go where they have free towel service, giant steam room, jacuzzi and a restaurant then dang i deserve it.

all that said we pay 178/month as a couple. singles are around 102. we had the entry fee waived (not sure how much it normally is) and the month of june for 10, so for the first year it''s about 20/month more than the sweaty club 2 doors down from our house with communal showers.

 

[Dee*Jay]

The HH goes to a big club downtown. The club has special rates for corporate affiliations so the initiation fee was waived (I think it would normally be $1,000) and he gets a reduced monthly rate of $165/month. If I were to go too I think the total would be something less than $165 X 2, but not much less (like $300 ish or so).

This club has everything though (except golf, since it's in the middle of the city). Both indoor and outdoor pools, a VAST aerobic machine area, lots of weights and nautalis equipment, classes galore (spin, yoga, etc.), a physical therapy division, tennis courts, two restaurants and a lounge, a clothing shop, a spa and salon, you name it.

 

[AsscherGirl]

My fiance and I both workout at the college we attended. He works there now, so he can go for free & I pay $180 a year ($15 a month)! It is SUCH a steal. There are some annoyances (closed on the weekends in the summer except Saturday 10-2, closed for 2 weeks at the end of the summer while they gear up for the new school year, dealing with the college kids and their extremely late hour schedules, i.e. gym is super crowded at 10pm!), but the cost is worth these annoyances. I get my pick of 4 gyms, they are always updating the equipment, there''s about 3 pools (one olympic sized), and I could pay to take classes (like $10 per semester), but they don''t really work with my working schedule since they are geared for the students.

There is a NYSC right by my house and they charge over $60 a month and it is a tiny place. I belonged to a gym near my old house (not a chain) and that was $35 a month, but was also small and very basic.

I can''t believe all these gyms with Restaurants! I dont'' think there''s anything like that where I live!

 

[Sundial]

I workout at our local community college and it only costs $230 a year. There is no pool, but they have a gymnasium, walking track, climbing wall, and a large workout facility with lots of machines. They also offer classes at no additional charge.

 

[musey]

Date: 6/22/2007 7:37:43 AM
Author: labbielove
Normally i would say ''who would pay so much to work out'', but honestly, over the years I''ve belonged to every 3 month for 99/, 40/month club there is and I figured at this point in my life if i want to go where they have free towel service, giant steam room, jacuzzi and a restaurant then dang i deserve it.

Ohhhhhhhh, steam room, I''m so jealous!!!

Thank you for your feedback. I think we''re going to go check out the pre-sale booth at the LA Fitness today and feel out their rates. And I''ll have to ask if they have a STEAM ROOM

haha

 

[Rod]

We belong to LifeStyle Family Fitness, which is big in Florida, Ohio and now the Raleigh, NC., area. They offer month to month deals, which I think is really good if you ever decide you're not happy and want to leave. They often have signup times in which there is no enrollment fees, but I think when we joined we didn't join during one of those time and the upfront fee for the two of us was around $175. Our monthly fee's are about $90/month for two of us.

ETA: Our gym does have really top flight equipment, a sauna (no pool, but hey, we're in Florida and everyone has a pool they can use down here) and a fantastic location right in Old Hyde Park Village (upscale shopping and dining options abound). Make sure you spend enough to get really good equipment and amenities that will keep you going and working out.

 

[jcrow]

we're in louisiana and it's $82 for a family membership of 2. this includes lots of indoor/outdoor pools, classes & men's & women's gym + several coed gym areas. they also have tennis, a bar, and food to order, etc for extra. they are always on top of the new trend and improving the facilities.
the sign up fee is $250. and it's not a chain. for one membership it's $52.

 

[Mara]

my gym membership is $9 a month. i've had it since i was 19 and it's a lifetime membership of $9 a month. i think i paid like a $80 signup fee or something WAY back when. it's a local gym and there are only like 3 of them all over this area, actually maybe only 2 now since i think one of them (a womens only version) closed recently. i think sometimes about getting into a more modern and upscale gym but then i think well $9 is unbeatable. plus i only go to the gym like 2-3x a week since i am trying to do more things outside of the gym as well. i never have been into the gym environment, unnatural cold air and people sweating on machines is just odd to me, esp when people have this whole 'social' scene thing going on there too. i just get in, do my stuff and get out. who knows, maybe one day this gym will go out of biz and i'll be forced to find something with more options. this one doesn't have pool or sauna or anything, it's just a big weight room, a big aerobic/class room, a big machine room with treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, stairsteppers and a few other random items with TV's and then another big weight machine room and then a spinning area for classes in the back. it has a daycare, locker rooms etc. but that's about it. it's very basic. i think that i'd pay up to $50 a month for a really nice gym but more than that i would have a hard time paying i think. there are some really posh ones out here that do have the whole restaurant and smoothie bar, tennis courts, basketball courts etc etc inside, but i would never use any of that stuff. plus they are so expensive!!

oh the other thing is that my gym is like a 10-15 min drive from home and about a 10 min drive from work. i like it for that reason as well but if one opened that was within a 10 min walk or a 5 min drive i would be seriously tempted as sometimes i just don't have the time to go drive 15 min each way and i could get so much more done within a shorter time period if i didn't have to make time for driving etc. so i might pay more for something super close.

 

[Skippy123]

I belong to Sports and Wellness here in NM the main company is called Wellbridge. They have 5 gyms in the city that I can go to. They have swimming pools, racquet ball, basketball, yoga, pilaties, spin, steam room, tennis, and classes.

My good friend is an aerobics insturctor so when I started it cost $30 a month which is unheard of for this gym and it goes up $3 each year for the monthly membership so now I pay $45 a month. I goes up for members to so I feel it isn''t good for members who are loyal. Regular members pay $60 a month.

 

[mrssalvo]

we belong to the Y and it''s $89 a month for a family which is 2 adults and any number of kids 18 and under. it includes membership to any Y in the city and well as special guest rates when traveling. The Y i ususally go to has an indoor and outdoor pools, gym, indoor track, huge floor for machines and another huge floor of cardio equipment. Childcare is also included for up to 2 hours a day. The Y''s in my area are by far the most popular places to workout and the most kid friendly with tons of activities for them. Any type of specialty classes are extra, i.e pilates, bootcamps (with trainers) etc.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

ZERO! I work out at home with hubby and the dogs. I also love to dance, jog and play tennis.

 

[Mara]

mrs salvo that just reminded me we have a Y up the street from us! i am checking it out online, i wonder how much it is. it is huge, they have indoor and outdoor pool, all these fitness rooms etc. interesting! i could walk there in less than 10 min. we visited the Y in maryland when we were visiting greg''s dad and it was so nice, and we laid out at the pool and stuff too. hmmm.

 

[cellososweet]

i pay $27 and dh pays $32. Mine was originally $32, but i get $5 off for every person that i refer. So, I "referred" my husband. Haha. And they said that it was ok.

I paid $100 as a sign up fee ($50 for each). It was the best deal I found.

I live in Long Beach and was going to do Bally''s, LA fitness or 24 hour fitness. Then I saw the Enrollment fees and I was appalled ($200 for one of them. Geez, for $400 for both of us, we could hold out another month or so and just get a darn elliptical trainer at home!).

My gym is Club One (It''s frog''s fitness in Long Beach). Don''t discount the smaller gyms because they don''t have a pool or a sauna or a steam room. Our has none of the above and honestly I think that''s what keeps their membership costs so low. Also, I love to swim, but never do it because my hair is a nightmare and I don''t have time or energy to screw with it that often. So, for $27 a month in the L.A. area and still having great hair, who needs a pool. And besides, I know plenty of people with one if I really had the desire to swim. Or, I could go to the lovely, clean beach (rolls eyes. haha).

HTH!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/22/2007 10:50:13 AM
Author: Dee*Jay
The HH goes to a big club downtown. The club has special rates for corporate affiliations so the initiation fee was waived (I think it would normally be $1,000) and he gets a reduced monthly rate of $165/month. If I were to go too I think the total would be something less than $165 X 2, but not much less (like $300 ish or so).

This club has everything though (except golf, since it's in the middle of the city). Both indoor and outdoor pools, a VAST aerobic machine area, lots of weights and nautalis equipment, classes galore (spin, yoga, etc.), a physical therapy division, tennis courts, two restaurants and a lounge, a clothing shop, a spa and salon, you name it.

Holy Guacamole!!! I just saw this. That price is insane

Here I thought my gym was expensive for a person at $60-$75 a month depending if tennis or racquetball is included. Hopefully at $165 a month he gets a few free haircuts in the deal

 

[deliciouspear]

I was paying $12/mo at the local rec. center. There are a few around town (can go to any of them w/ the membership) and they have an indoor pool, weight machines and minimal cardio equipment- not luxurious. I recently let my membership expire because I dislike working out at the gym and rarely went.

Instead, I signed up for an annual membership at a yoga studio. The company has three studios that are all fairly close to my apartment (one w/in walking distance). It comes to about $90/mo but my work reimburses almost 1/2 so my out of pocket expense is about $45/mo. I love it! I go way more often than I ever went to the gym and get a great workout; especially with the power and hot yoga classes. It is also great way to unwind after a long work day.

Other than that I like to find free ways to exercise outside like tennis (at a local park) and running. Lately I have just been doing yoga and tennis.