I went to visit a new gym they just opened where I live and it seemed terribly expensive. The place is incredible, I really liked it, but you need to buy a membership of $750, and then pay each month about a hundred bucks. How much does going to a good gym cost where you live?
The best/closest to me I believe costs about $800 for a year by me if you're a resident, I however am right outside of town so it would cost about $1,500 yearly I believe. It was a donated facility though to the town, of which now has a more non for profit atmosphere to it..
For that kind of money why not buy some training gear yourself and train at home. A couple a dumbbells...30 to 50$, and a bench for bench pressing. I have seen very good equipment in the form of a all in so to speak training station for about 800 to 1500$ combined with the dumbbells you have everything you need basicly...accept for the view of possible hot girls doing leg exercises and stuff But it is more comfortable to train in the comfort of your own home having the time and space to your own convinience.
I agree edz, that's what I usually do...But there are many reasons for a gym, equipment you simply can not buy for home use 'unless you're a multi millionaire with tons of room' conveniences, trainers, etc. Gyms are very nice for the wide range of quality equipment they offer compared to what almost any home owner can or does have. My suggestion, do both..
Well... the main reason I want to go to the gym is that I am going crazy beeing stuck in the house all day... at least this will give me an excuse to go out
I pay $65/ month @ a resort. Water costs me $.055/gallon so I probally save money each month by cleaning up there.
Yes the equipment is good but my expierence with these machines that it's mostly the pullies that do the most work for you, for instance bench pressing sitting up in one of those machines i can do 90 kilo's easily but try to do that with a long bar on a bench you would really see and feel the difference. Much of these machine exercises are static exercises in contrast to working with dumbells that are dynamic exercises and you're really doing the work and not the machines. It really depends on the room that is available for fryman to place a working station with a bench and room to exercise. I'm only working with dumbells for quite some while now and i like it. To gain muscle like fryman wants ii would really go for dynamic exercises such as dumbell exercises instead of spending that much money on an subscription but that is my situation. I have the room for a workstation if i wanted to place one and am satisfied with the results i am getting with dumbbel training.
My wife and I pay $1,200 per year for a full membership w/ raquetball courts, pools, rock climbing and stuff. I think I've gone about six times in the last year or so. But fryman, if I were in your shoes, I would try to negotiate w/ them. Most of those places will come down a little bit if you play hardball. And really, the only thing you should be concerned about is the quality of the female members. I would go to the gym a lot more if I was single.
6 times? lol... that's why gyms are such a good business I am going to a very crappy gym right now, but I do go every single day. The problem there is that the instructor doens't know anything about excercise and the equipment is really old, so I am upgrading to a better gym. And since it is the best one in the city I am sure the girls that go there are pretty nice...
Most have free weights, machines are excellent for toning areas hard to hit with dumb bells/free weights. Bikes, rowing machines, steppers and others are what I was mainly talking about with machines.
Free weights on your own is a serious no no. With the exception of light weights there is not a lot you can do. Free weights are much better though as you can not cheat with them. I am right handed, and my right arm is far stronger than my left, because of this I can cheat without knowing on a fixed weight machine Oh & the totty at the health & raquet centre is deffinitely top totty
I used to go to a gym down the road. I think the normal membership is something like $40 a month or something. They were switching ownership and my friend and I both joined at the same time. I just talked to them awhile and we ended up joining but only had to pay $25 a month. When my friend moved I stopped going very much. I then just bought some stuff for my garage and work out there. I get a lot better workouts in my garage. I can yell, not wipe the equipment down, listen to whatever music I want as loud as I want, and puke in a bucket. What is your main objective of going? Is it to get stronger, more muscle, less fat, better shape?
There is a risk of injury in many free weight exercises, squat, military press, even hardcore curling...I don't usually have a spotter either, but it is a good idea to have a lifting partner not only for safety but for motivation...
You can get a real good workout using free weights without a spotter. You should be hitting something in the range of 3-4 sets and depending on your goals anywhere from 6-15 reps. You should be using a weight that will allow you to do this. If you're really looking to build more muscle or strength though you'll make much better gains with a spotter because you can skirt that line much closer.