I know I could walk around the Scottsdale mall or Arizona mills but I'd rather not. And if I don't get a gym membership, ill be in my room all day miserable.
I could ask on FB to be someone's plus one using their buddy pass but that would be awkward, I'd rather not need to depend on them to go and I'm not looking to socialize.
It was 90 here last week (wasn't even March yet!).
Anyone else super frugal that uses a gym membership?
Zero room in my home for equipment.
Really tight on money but I think I'm going to get a gym membership. I live in Phoenix and soon it'll be 120 out. Malls, ECT are not a good alternative to me.
byu/IDoNotHide inFrugal
Posted by IDoNotHide
15 Comments
Being frugal and going to the gym are compatible. Being frugal and paying for a membership you don’t use is not.
Sure, I have a Planet Fitness membership. $150 a year. It’s clean and everything works. Loud though if I had one criticism.
Make sure you really, thoroughly read the cancelation policy before you sign up.
I do. I live in a very cold place, so I have the opposite problem. I’m all about outdoor exercise until it feels like -20*F. Nope. The way I see it, it’s an investment in my health.
keeping fit can save you money in the long run.
Start off with some free trial offers, classpass usually has a promo and you can use credits at gyms.
Any community centers or colleges near you with gyms? My local community center does $20 per year for the gym and it’s nothing fancy and small but does the job fine.
Callisthenics? If you’re trying to be cheap, you don’t need a gym for that. Just buy a door frame pull-up bar and some adjustable weights, hit that prison workout regimen, and you’ll be good to go!
There are some gym options where there’s no attendant or staff on site, with very limited amenities (e.g. no sauna, only a couple shower stalls if any, etc.). They’re normally priced around $10-15 per month which are fairly reasonable and inexpensive.
But otherwise, it depends on what you’re doing and need. If it’s weight lifting, calisthenics are not a bad option to do without equipment and progression exercises (e.g. pushup -> archer pushup -> one handed pushup) help match heavier weights and what I did for 2 years during the lockdowns here (my city never had the rolling lockdowns, so things were mostly closed from the summer of 2020 to spring 2022).
For cardio, jump rope is one of the better options for the space constrained, but calisthenics can also achieve it too if you chain exercises together and go to exhaustion (pushups, then when your chest is tired switch to prisoner squats, etc, and rotate).
But if your issue is you want to be outside your place, there isn’t much of another option besides a gym.
Be extremely careful about where you choose to go. I’ve heard horror stories for years that it’s practically impossible to cancel your gym membership without deactivating the card in the best case scenario. A lot of places won’t even accept canceling with a death certificate.
Az Mills is great for cardio, just walk the circuit, take a break in front of legoland or in the food court, do the circuit again. Comes out to be about 2km per round.
I play Pokemon go and for the big event days (we just had two 8hr days this weekend), there are groups walking around from gym to gym for raids. It’s pretty chill too. Go hunt some Pokemon at the mall! 😹🤷🏻♀️
If you have a planet fitness in your area they are cheap and effective!!
Getting a gym membership is frugal. Pay for prevention now or pay more for treatment later.
The Y can ve spendy at full price, but I believe they have a “scholarship” program where they give a discounted rate if you qualify for it with your income (basically a sliding scale).
Being frugal and going to a gym are NOT compatible. Running outside is free. Hiking is free. Curling with bags of heavy things is free. Situps, jumping jacks, burpees, squats, yoga, and any YouTube workout you can find online is free. You don’t need to spend money to exercise well.
try eon! my sister used that gym when she lived in phoenix