For the past five years, I've had a love-hate relationship with my gym membership. I love being able to go into any of the gyms in the city, especially when I desperately need to use the bathroom, and I love having access to amenities like a sauna and steam room. But what I don't love is the incredibly expensive bill I receive every month for what I consider to be average facilities.
I know I sound like a gym snob, but if I'm investing in a membership, I want to feel like I'm getting my money's worth. My favorite style of training is Olympic lifting (i.e. power cleans [1] and hang cleans) and the gym I go to only has two locations in all of New York City that have the area to do this style of training, and they aren't close to my apartment. Additionally, they have a rule where you can't drop the weights, which is necessary when you do Olympic lifts, and it truly irks me.
There's nothing wrong with machines, but I rarely use them and prefer to train with free weights. I also love to do functional training like sprints, sled pushes, and ball slams [2], and most gyms haven't updated their equipment or workout areas to accommodate this style of training. Yes, having a membership and somewhere to train and shower afterward is absolutely handy, but when I think about how I'm spending my money, my membership never really feels worth it.
I've been contemplating getting rid of my membership for the past two years, but I kept it because I didn't feel like I had any other alternatives to working out. Since the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit, I've gotten a lot more resourceful and creative, and I've realized I don't need a gym membership. When I think about it from a financial perspective, I'm still paying the same price for a membership when I have limited access to the gym, I can only train for a specific amount of time and days a week, and, for now, I can't use the "luxury" amenities. Definitely not worth a couple of hundred dollars when I have basic equipment at home [4] and can work out whenever and for however long I want.
Sure, I'll miss doing barbell power cleans, but I can also do them at home with dumbbells or a kettlebell. As a certified trainer, I'm capable of making up my own workouts whether it be a 30-minute dumbbell workout [5] or a bodyweight ab workout [6]. When I want to do yoga or a low-impact workout like Pilates [7], I either use the Nike Training app, the Sweat app [8], or simply do YouTube workouts [9].
The landscape of businesses seem to change every day due to the pandemic, especially in the wellness industry, and I prefer to support independent studios, gyms, and trainers by taking their classes on their respective digital platforms [10]. Plus, for independent trainers, I know they'll get 100 percent of the money made from each class instead of having the gym take a portion of income from each class or session.
I'm not saying I'll never step foot in a gym again, but until we have more information on the coronavirus and it's under control throughout the US, I will be safely and happily working out from the comfort of my home — and saving money while I'm at it.
If you're like me and want to train at home but aren't sure were to begin, I recommend trying the following workouts:
- A four-week muscle-building workout plan for beginners [11]
- A four-week workout plan to lose weight and build muscle [12]
- A four-week workout plan to get back in shape [13]
- A 20-Minute HIIT workout [14]
- A 30-minute yoga-flow and meditation [15]