Ok the headline of this post is kind of a joke. In a perfect world there should be no cost to fitness. Of course this isn’t a perfect world, and we have to make do with what we have. I like talking about different ways for people to meet their fitness goals without sacrificing their financial ones.
Fitness is not just about physical fitness
Part of overall life fitness should be a healthy mix of physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial fitness, among others. The trick is paying appropriately for things that provide value or progress towards that fitness.
When it comes to physical fitness, my 10 years in the Marine Corps has exposed me to an immensely huge array of fitness levels. You’d think all Marines come into the service in top condition, but that’s not always true. I’ve trained Marines who couldn’t do a single pull-up, to ones who can run 3 miles in 16:00. The training required differs in scale but not necessarily in methodology.
With the new year having gotten into full swing, I’ve been hearing a lot of the usual “new year, new me” resolutions. Gyms make a killing during these first 3 months of the year because of this. They benefit when you get a membership and don’t show up. Despite all the flair, and all of their promises to help you get into the best shape of your life… there is actually a lot of built-in inconvenience in an attempt to keep you from coming back, while encouraging you to continue renewing your monthly membership.
How much is physical fitness costing you?
From $10/month at Planet Fitness, to a $150/month membership at a CrossFit gym, people find lots of different ways to justify their expenditures on fitness. I’ve found through my experience that people are far more willing to pay for gym memberships than they are to pay for healthier food choices. This is insane to me.
I’m not against getting a gym membership. But like I practice with investing, spending, and saving… you always put your money towards the greatest value or return. If you’re going to pay for a gym membership, you’d better get what you pay for out of it.
I’m a CrossFit fanboy, but not a CrossFit salesman
CrossFit gyms offer some intangibles that other globo-gyms don’t. The CrossFit community is notoriously (and even obnoxiously) supportive. For those who thrive in a group environment, there are few fitness groups that inspire progress as much as CrossFit gyms. For others who are more private and don’t like all of that flair and flail, a CrossFit setup at home is considerably cheaper than a membership to a gym that doesn’t get used over a year.
A basic home gym setup for CrossFit can be less than $1000 easily and can deliver exponentially better results than a membership to a gym that you don’t use. Many of the globo-gyms don’t offer the same quality of equipment. They focus on making exercise easier, which is completely counterintuitive.
I intend to write more about fitness in general but will leave it at that for this post.
The greatest growth comes from within
As a black belt, and as an instructor for the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, I’ve seen that the best gains and greatest growth in physical, mental and character fitness and discipline are not gained through a membership you have to pay for.
My advice is to never pay for a gym membership that does not get used. If you find yourself skipping more than 1 session without valid justification (“I had a long day” isn’t valid justification), then you need to cancel it as soon as possible. There will be multiple benefits to doing this.
- The money you’ll save on your unused gym membership can go towards debt, savings or investments.
- You can replace an ongoing expense with a single one time expense (or several smaller ones) to outfit your own home gym which caters to what you want or need.
- Canceling an unused membership may encourage you to spend on value, and pay for a membership that encourages, rather than discourages, your attendance and progress.
For many people, a membership to a high end gym is cost prohibitive. This shouldn’t be seen as an obstacle, but as a challenge to overcome. There are many workouts that can be done with no, or next to no equipment. And in most cases they are every bit as effective, if not more effective, than workouts you can do at a globo-gym on thousand dollar equipment. The same can be said about CrossFit equipment. Although there are some smaller added benefits, there is nothing hugely special about the expensive CrossFit gear.
Can’t afford a gym membership?
If you can’t afford a gym membership, challenge yourself to work out at home! Check out what you can do with just a pull-up bar! If you’re paying for a membership that isn’t getting used, explore other gyms. These gyms should encourage you to attend, and provide actual value to your life.
I’ve never paid for a gym membership in my life. If I look back at my life and think of my 25th year as the year I started really caring about fitness, then to date I have saved over $8,000 in gym membership fees (assuming an $80/month cost). Over $13,000 if we’re talking your usually CrossFit gym membership. With that extra money invested over the same period of time, I’d be looking at over $20,000. That’s a down payment on a house. Or a car bought for cash.
The point is… pay for value. If you’re not paying for value, stop paying.
How much are you willing to spend on a gym membership?