by With gyms soon re-opening across the country, it’s time to re-evaluate your physical fitness: Is a gym membership worth it? To answer this question, you’ll have to determine the value of your membership. This guide will provide you step-by-step instructions on how to determine the value of your membership and other fitness alternatives.
Contents
Determining Value
What’s more worth it? A $40,000 car or a $20,000? A $20 sandwich or a $10 sandwich?
Price is only one part of the equation. These questions are impossible to answer without knowing WHAT you’re paying for.
Value should be calculated from two things: Satisfaction and Price
Value = Price (in dollars) / Satisfaction (in stars)
Let’s say that the $20 pastrami sandwich provides 10 times the satisfaction that a $10 chicken sandwich.
Value of Pastrami Sandwich = $20 / 10 stars of satisfaction = $2/star
Value of chicken sandwich = $10 / 1 star of satisfaction = $10/star
It’s clear that the pastrami sandwich is a better value. You only need to pay $2 per star of satisfaction vs. the chicken which costs $10 per star of satisfaction.
Note that satisfaction is a very subjective metric. While the $20 sandwich costs the same amount of money to everyone, it will provide a different level of satisfaction to everyone. I might rate it 10 stars, while someone else might rate it 4 stars. Geez… tough critic!
For satisfaction related to a sandwich, many different things might be considered including:
- Taste
- Appearance
- Texture
- Speed to order
- Customer Service
- Nutritional Content
- Etc.
Now let’s move on to what we really came here for. Is a gym membership worth it?
Gym Membership Value
Remember the formula for Value:
Value = Price (in dollars) / Satisfaction (in stars)
First lets calculate the price of a gym membership.
Unfortunately, most if not all gym memberships charge a monthly fee. It’s not like a pair of shoes that you buy once and forget about. You have to pay… every… single… month…
On top of the monthly fee, often times you’ll have to also pay an initiation fee and an annual fee.
Here are the typical fees charged by some big gym chains across the country:
The initiation fee is just a one-time fee. If you join a gym for three years, you’ll only pay the initiation fee once, but you’ll pay the annual fee every year and the monthly fee of course every month.
I compared the monthly cost for a 3-year membership, including the one-time initiation fee, and the recurring annual and monthly fees at several big-chain gyms:
For the sake of example, let’s say that you often utilize the classes at 24-hour Fitness, it’s close to your home, and you’re satisfied with their weightlifting equipment. Overall you would rate it 8 stars in satisfaction.
It’s value would be calculated as follows:
Value = Price (in dollars) / Satisfaction (in stars)
Value of 24 hour fitness = $52.56 / 8 stars = $6.57 / star
On the other hand, Planet fitness is far from your home, you don’t have friends there, and the music is too loud. You would rate it a 2 in satisfaction.
Value of Planet Fitness = $13.39 / 2 stars = $6.70 / star
It looks like even though 24 Hour Fitness is more expensive, it leaves you quite satisfied and provides you better value. But it’s a close call!
We’ve just compared the value of two different gyms. But what are the alternatives to a gym?
Alternatives to a Gym
Buying Weights
Do you have space at home? Are you able to do what YOU enjoy at home? That could be calisthenics, yoga, weightlifting, etc.
For example, I usually go to the gym to lift weights. Right before COVID, I realized that I could save time and get in more workouts by purchasing my own bench and weights. The bench cost me $88.11 and the weights cost me $277. In total, this set me back $365.11.
The weights come with a 2 year parts warranty and the bench comes with a 1 year warranty. But with proper care, I’m optimistic that they will each last at least 3 years.
If that’s the case, my monthly cost to own this equipment over 3 years is $10.14 a month, cheaper than any of the aforementioned major gym chains!
Buying a Stationary Bike
Maybe it’s cycling that sparks joy in your life and you have space at home for a stationary bike. Peloton has grown immensely in popularity lately, so I will use it in this next example.
A basic Peloton stationary bike costs $1895 and comes with a 1 year limited warranty. You are also REQUIRED to purchase a $39 a month membership to have access to their classes.
Let’s assume you take good care of the bike and it will last you 3 years.
The monthly cost to own this equipment over 3 years is $91.64 a month.
Buying Individual Classes
Another thing that is rising in popularity are fitness classes in which you can pay per class. I will use the pricing of Barry’s Boot Camp in this example.
I’m looking at the Barry’s Boot Camp pricing for the Marina in San Francisco.
A package of 50 classes will run you $1450. That works out to $29 per class.
Let’s say you can get the same physical activity with a gym membership as you would with 3 Boot Camp Classes.
This would cost you $87 a month ($29 x 3).
Source: Barry’s Boot Camp
Going to the Park
What if I told you there is a magical place where you can get in a good workout for FREE? Yes, without spending a dime!
The place is called: Your local park!
You can bring your yoga mat and do yoga, you can find a track to do some jogging, you can do calisthenics on the pull up bars and the dip bars, all while inhaling some fresh air.
It’s kind of crazy to think that such a magical place exists and that it’s free!
Sorry to burst your bubble, folks. But nothing in this world is free.
You are already paying a membership to this park without realizing it. Your tax dollars paid for the development of the park and the continued upkeep and maintenance of this park.
You’re already paying for it. Might as well use it!
Satisfaction
Now that we’ve explored the many gym alternatives, we must assign Satisfaction ratings to each.
As I mentioned earlier, Satisfaction is a very subjective metric. But it’s also the most fun to determine.
Here are just a few factors that can be considered in your Satisfaction rating:
- Exercise experience (i.e. Is it fun?)
- Cleanliness (Are the facilities clean?)
- Quality of the Facilities (Do they offer the facilities that you need?)
- Workout Effectiveness (Are the workouts effective in achieving your health goals?)
- Time Effectiveness (Do I have to wait in line?)
- Social (Can I socialize with friends there?)
- Distance (Is it close to where I live/work?)
- Safety (Are the facilities safe?)
- Motivation (Are you motivated to use the facilities?)
If 10 stars is the highest Satisfaction rating, how many stars would you assign the gym? How many stars would you assign the park?
Here is how I would personally assign Satisfaction ratings to my various options:
I gave my Local Park 2 stars. Although I appreciate the smell of trees and the fresh air, it is sorely lacking a lot of weightlifting equipment I like to use. Furthermore, a good park that I like to go to is 15-20 minutes away, not exactly time efficient.
I gave buying weights 6 stars because it does not include more advanced equipment like a barbell, squat rack, a pull-up bar, or dip station.
I gave a gym chain 9 stars because it includes pretty much all the equipment I could ever use. The downsides are lack of cleanliness and distance from home.
I’ve never tried Barry’s Boot Camp or Peleton, but they both look like fun. I arbitrarily assigned them an 8.
Remember that these ratings are completely subjective and will vary from person to person!
Based on my ratings, it looks like buying weights provides the best Value.
Yes I know that the park could be considered technically “free” since it is a sunk cost, and I wouldn’t have to pay extra to use it. But I think it’s noteworthy to point out that it is a “free” membership that you have no choice but to pay for!
Putting It All Together
A gym membership used to be the primary way to improve your health. But as consumers become more budget conscious, and people are presented with more options to get fit, it’s good to ask the question: Is a gym membership worth it?
The easiest way to come up with an answer is to take the cost of the gym membership and divide it by the amount of Satisfaction derived from the gym membership.
The best value is the one that provides the best (i.e. lowest) cost to satisfaction ratio.
Try comparing the value of a gym membership with the value of other options available to you. You might be surprised with the results.
Your physical fitness is just as important as your financial fitness. It’s clear that you don’t need a lot of money to maintain a good level of fitness.
Will you always choose the one with the best value? That’s for you to decide!
Let me know your thoughts!
What do you think? Is a gym membership worth it? Do any of the alternatives provide a better value?
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