Are your gym memberships worth the money?

We recently came across an article that wrote out a lot of reasons why a gym membership is not worth your money, and to nobody’s surprise, Fringe Fam, we have some things to say about it because we couldn’t disagree more. We know the beginning of this year is still heavily focused on  “New year, new you” self investments, and we couldn’t argue more for a gym membership being one of the good ones. We seriously disagree that a gym membership is a bad investment in any regard.

First, let’s chat about what we’re talking about when we say “gym membership”: it’s not a globo-gym, big-name gym membership, although the article we read is talking about gym memberships in that sense. We’re talking about local CrossFit or training gyms. The ones that have educated, helpful coaches, with well-thought out programming, and awesome communities to boot.

The article makes a lot of sense for someone who invests poorly into a globo-gym or big-name gym that doesn’t come with all of the perks of a gym membership at one of your local training or CrossFit gyms… and we’re not talking about free tanning, or free candy and snacks at the door. Let’s take a look at some of the claims from the article by The Hustle.

“What makes a gym membership a poor investment is your lack of commitment.”

This might be true in some cases of big-name gym memberships. This is actually what globo-gyms do to make their money. They want you to pay a “lower end” monthly fee, and because it’s not a “large investment,” not use the membership you pay for and allow your money to be used to keep their lights on and pay their bills, while continuing to have enough space for everyone that does use their membership every so often.

So, why not find a gym that not only does exactly the opposite and encourages commitment, but also makes you feel like you genuinely want to be there… all of the time?

A good CrossFit or training gym environment will make you feel like you’re a part of the family, and the people there, coaches and athletes, will actually try very hard to make you feel that way. When you’ve got that kind of genuine encouragement and support behind you, your lack of motivation and lack of commitment disappears. 

You make friends, you make family, and you make your life better in more ways than just that. You’ll want to go just about every day. The workouts are not easy, but you experience just how much better they are when you’re working so hard alongside your friends - collectively.

“It seems counter-intuitive, but big-name gyms don’t want us to work out.”

… This is exactly the problem with big-name gyms, among others. When you find a gym and a community that comes with it, it’s exactly the opposite. Your local CrossFit gym doesn’t charge just $38, but probably 4x that if not more for a monthly membership. Think about it… the more you pay for something, aren’t you more likely to utilize it than something you’ve purchased at a lower (much lower, in the case of a big-name gym) amount?

This is intentional. Not only is it supposed to be motivating to you to actually get into the gym, but your coaches and local gym owners know how valuable your time is. They fill that time with awesome workouts that challenge you and bring about healthy competitiveness amongst your friends, and make you better physically and mentally. 

These workouts, the hours spent with your friends, making gainz for yourself and surrounding yourself with likeminded people also just so happens to come with awesome results if you stick to it. Not to mention the relationships, confidence, mental clarity, your longevity… the results and positives that come out of a membership at a gym like this are truly endless.

While it’s sometimes hard to look past the amount being drawn out of your bank account every month for your monthly fee, it’s also hard to look past all of the positives that are actually coming out of that membership.

You’re likely getting good coaching, with good programming (taking that stress off of your own back), with good people around you. You’re not walking into a globo-gym and mindlessly hopping from machine to machine, performing reps that you’re not even sure are giving you any results with a gym membership at a quality local gym.

You get an hour (or more) of time for you, while challenging yourself and in turn, growing, building confidence, and sending your health into a positive direction.

Sure, you might pay per month what your gym membership costs in food and drinks (junk, that is), Netflix, video games, etc, but it’s really hard to argue that the former is really better for you than a gym membership with all of the benefits above.

Spending money on your gym membership is hardly a waste - you’re paying for an investment in yourself. This is one of the best kinds of investments you can make especially in today's world when health, fitness, and caring for yourself is extremely important. Investing in yourself is priceless when you look at the short and long-term benefits.

When you've got your very own barbell, a rack, a bench, and other equipment set up to call your own in your home, your safe and comforting space, you're likely going to want to use it because you'll be proud of it. When you've designated a space in your home or garage for you, your work against gravity and the other monsters forcing against us every day, you're going to want to get in there and go to your personal pain cave. Trust us.

All of this might sound counterintuitive considering how gung-ho we are (we really, really are) about the Garage Gym Revolution, but trust us… this is hardly the case.

Not only do we supply our amazing Fringe Fam with the equipment they know and love for their very own garage gyms, but we supply box gyms, too. If the Garage Gym Revolution is not for you, and you cherish your relationships at your gym, your community, your coaches, your time away from your own home to get some therapy and a good sweat in, support your local CrossFit or community gym, not that big globo-gym that doesn’t give a rat’s rear end if you show up or not. We support community gyms, big and small, and that includes your own personal garage gym, too.

Ready to get started on your own pain cave and join the Garage Gym Revolution? We can help! Send us an email at team@fringesport.com, chat with us on our site, or message us on social media. We'll guide you through the process of making a garage-gym investment in yourself and creating your own space to put in the dirty work.

As always, lift heavy, lift happy :)