Lizzy and Lissa break down the hidden costs – financial and otherwise – of gym memberships. From sneaky fees to the mental cost of unused memberships, they uncover what you’re really paying for. Plus, they share smarter ways to stay active without overspending.
Lizzy and Lissa break down the hidden costs – financial and otherwise – of gym memberships. From sneaky fees to the mental cost of unused memberships, they uncover what you’re really paying for. Plus, they share smarter ways to stay active without overspending.
Main Topics
00:00 Introduction
01:08 Running The Numbers Segment
02:42 Personal Experiences with Gym Memberships
06:32 Home Gym vs. Gym Membership
09:04 Different Gym Options and Preferences
16:57 Deal Breakers in Choosing a Gym
24:09 Bougie Gyms
26:43 Specialized vs. General Gyms
29:26 Social Dynamics at the Gym
40:26 20 Cents Segment
References for Statistics
https://athletechnews.com/u-s-fitness-facility-membership-hits-record-72-9-million/
https://www.exercise.com/grow/unused-gym-memberships-percentage/
Lizzy: I pay $30 a month for my gym membership, but $160 a month for my yoga studio membership. What about you?
Lissa: I just canceled my gym membership, so $0 a month.
Lizzy: Freebies.
Lissa: I know.
Lizzy: All right, are gym memberships worth it?
Lissa: Let's talk about it. Welcome to Net Net with Lizzy and Lissa where we analyze hidden costs and empower you to make your own damn decisions in life. Each episode covers a different facet of life and at the end of each episode, we each give our takes on whether we think something is net positive or net negative.
Lizzy: I'm Lizzy, a strategist and consultant with almost 20 years of experience in finance and investing.
Lissa: And I'm Lissa, a personal finance expert and a certified financial planner. We're best friends who talk about money-
Lizzy: And everything else.
Lissa: Are gym memberships worth it?
Lizzy: First up, running the numbers on gym memberships.
Lissa: According to the Health and Fitness Association, 24% of the population in the United States had gym memberships in 2023. Finder.com reports that number being closer to 32% of people. So I'm pretty sure it ranges from one in three people, one in four people have a gym membership. That feels right in my groups.
Lizzy: That feels lower than what I thought.
Lissa: Really? But I think you're around a lot of like-
Lizzy: I'm around a lot of athletes. Yeah. Okay. Finder.com also says that 44% of gym members, spend less than $30 a month on the gym. The second-biggest portion of members at 30% pay over $90 monthly. That's a big-
Lissa: Right, so you pay either a little bit or a lot-
Lizzy: Or a lot.
Lissa: Right.
Lizzy: Actually, that feels like that tracks. It's either the bare bones-
Lissa: YMCA like-
Lizzy: Yeah. Straight forward or you're all about it?
Lissa: Exercise.com reports that up to 67% of gym memberships go unused while the remaining 33% go to the gym regularly.
Lizzy: I believe that.
Lissa: Yeah, that sounds right. And it's not like you never use it, it means you pop in once, like just-
Lizzy: Infrequently. Yeah.
Lissa: Yeah, infrequently.
Lizzy: Interestingly, they also say that 20% of gym goers are consistent for more than a year. And on the other end of the spectrum, 20% of gym members pay and never go.
Lissa: Right. Okay, so there is that spectrum of like-
Lizzy: Okay, so there's this normal distribution-
Lissa: Yeah, going frequently.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Going frequently, and are all about it
Lizzy: All right.
Lissa: Well, we know there is more to life than numbers and statistics, so let's talk about it. Are these gym memberships worth it?
Lizzy: All right, Lis, you recently canceled your gym membership.
Lissa: I did.
Lizzy: So let's hear about it.
Lissa: I was frustrated. Lots of frustration here.
Lizzy: Rant.
Lissa: Okay. The main source of frustration was that they raised the price every year, the last two years in a row in January. And it wasn't insignificant because this wasn't expensive gym membership. So the numbers I had are when we first signed up, my husband Allan and I, there was a monthly rate and we got a discount because it's near UCLA. I'm an alumni. And so, we started off basically paying $280 each, per month. That's why I engineered, if you heard the woo, woo, that's where that came from. So 280 a month. Granted, I have the AMEX Platinum Card, which gives you about $25 back a month of a credit for this specific membership at Equinox.
That's where the gym was. And so that's what we started out. And we felt like if we go enough times, it'll pay for itself. It's a nice big clean gym, for me personally. There's a basketball court, there's a swimming pool, a nice big clean one, which I use. And they have classes, ones that I liked, yoga classes, HIIT classes, right? So if I take enough of those, it kind of matches your 160 a month membership, right?
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: But then what happened, why I ended up canceling was, after that first year ... No, immediately after signing up, they were like, "Oh by the way, that UCLA discount is actually going to be increased ... it's going to be reduced, so your membership is going to cost anywhere between 25 to 40 more per month for each of you." So we're like, okay, fine, whatever. Now, we're paying 305 a month each.
Lizzy: Okay.
Lissa: Right? So then after that first year they raised it and it became around 322 each.
Lizzy: Okay.
Lissa: And then, this last January, they're like, we're raising it again, so it was 340 each. And so, there's two of us.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: And we weren't going as frequently as we thought we would.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: So now, we're paying almost 700 between the two of us in gym memberships. We were like, got to cut that out, our wedding is coming up, we got other expenses.
Lizzy: Too much. Yeah.
Lissa: Not to mention I have a home gym.
Lizzy: Yes, you do.
Lissa: So there you go. That's why we canceled it. I was just annoyed by it. It was more the principal, because they didn't offer ... there was no new amenities. And here's another annoyance with this particular gym. The reason Allan really liked this gym was one, they have a cafe on the downstairs and they have a rooftop area where you can work out outside.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: For at least half the year last year, the rooftop was closed and since we joined, the cafe was closed. They finally opened. And it's not a free cafe, you're still paying more money, but it was closed that entire time. They were remodeling it.
Lizzy: Yeah. No, I'd be hot.
Lissa: You're not giving us more amenities, but you're charging more to keep up with inflation. That doesn't add up for us.
Lizzy: Yeah, no, that's crazy. Yeah.
Lissa: And it feels weird, because it's like, you're paying that much for a gym, I hope you're making enough money as it is in your income-
Lizzy: Yeah, sure.
Lissa: To justify it. So I felt kind of being like we were being nitpicky, like if we have it like that to be going to this kind of gym-
Lizzy: No, you want to get a value for it, especially if they're increasing the price.
Lissa: Yeah. It was the principal for me, so I was like, no, cancel.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Done.
Lizzy: Okay, so you touched on it a little bit, but what to you initially justified the high price gym, especially relative to having a home gym, that you had invested money into?
Lissa: Right, so during the pandemic is when I invested in making half of my garage a home gym. And I spent $3,000 on that, on equipment, on painting the walls, on getting a BOSU ball, random things like that. And it's great. All that equipment is mine. I own it. I have a bench. I have barbell, dumbbell, squat rack, I have everything.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: And part of going to ... Getting the gym membership was when Allan moved here, he really felt like he wanted to be out, because he works from home and he's new to the city. He wanted more opportunities, not so much to make friends, but just to be out-
Lizzy: Out of the house. Yeah.
Lissa: So I was like ... and he loves working out, so I'm like, that's one area that you could do. So, when he was getting his gym membership, I was like, well, that'd be fun if I come with you. Plus, I realized something about myself as much as I have this home gym and I do play basketball and things like that, I am very motivated from a fitness perspective when I'm in company with other people in yoga classes-
Lizzy: I'm the same way. Yeah.
Lissa: I do yoga videos on YouTube at home, but it doesn't compare to being in a room of people doing the same thing.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: So I found that out about myself. So Allan was like, "Well, get a gym membership too" and so I did, a little reluctantly because I was like, now we're paying double, but there is the upside that we can go to the gym together. I can take classes that I didn't have access to before. And so, that's what justified it. Plus, having the income for it.
Lizzy: Yeah, of course.
Lissa: It wasn't going to break our budget.
Lizzy: Yeah, and you are the type of person that's going to use a lot of the different amenities of a gym, like taking the classes, using the pool, and it's not just a weight room, right?
Lissa: So anytime I went, I would shower there. I use a lot of conditioner in my thick hair. I would just use half the bottle of conditioner.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Because at home, I'm like, "Well, I might as well use the product that's there."
Lizzy: Right.
Lissa: I used it up.
Lizzy: And I also would say if you're going to shower at the gym as part of your regular routine, a nice gym.
Lissa: Clean gym.
Lizzy: Yeah, a clean gym, not nasty showers or with nice toiletries.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: That does make a big difference.
Lissa: Yeah. So that's me. Tell us about your $30 gym.
Lizzy: Yeah, so I have had a gym in my home, my family home, I've lived in my whole life. The weight room, living room-
Lissa: The living room is a weight room.
Lizzy: Is a weight room. It's been a weight room my entire life. So being active, lifting weights, that has been a thing my whole life. But for a long time, I've known about myself, I don't like to work out at home. Not my thing. I will do it if I have to, but I like getting out of the house, going to the gym, being around other people who are working out. It energizes me. Even if I don't engage with them. That's by far my preferred-
Lissa: Sometimes you don't want to engage.
Lizzy: Sometimes I don't want to engage with them. God, I get asked about my tattoos every time. But yeah, I like that environment. And so, I've learned that about myself and accepted that about myself. I had an LA fitness membership for years and years and years. I got the higher end membership when I lived in Irvine because there was a per year-
Lissa: Like a premiere signature. Yeah.
Lizzy: Signature, signature. Yeah, and at that time, one, it was legitimately a really nice one and it came with perks and towel service and all this stuff. Now, that is meaningless.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: But yeah, I've been an LA Fitness member for a million years, but the closest one to me was 15 minutes away. It just became a little inconvenient. And so, I recently joined a crunch that's a little closer, very close. And what I was looking for this time was actually different. I'm not a big class person. I'll take them sparingly. Although they have some cool ones that I've never seen at other gyms, like more CrossFit style, because they have a huge outdoor workout area.
Lissa: Okay.
Lizzy: That was a big selling point. They have basically a half football field. They have sleds-
Lissa: Yeah, sleds.
Lizzy: And all that functional fitness stuff. And I've been using that, which has been really cool. And they have interesting, it's like tiered membership. So the minimum is like 10 bucks a month, which is so affordable.
Lissa: You can go-
Lizzy: So I think ... I can't remember exactly, I have the $30 one, which includes the pool and the outdoor area. And so, if you just want to use the weight room, I think it's 10. If you want to do classes, it's like 20.
Lissa: But unlimited visits?
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Okay.
Lizzy: Isn't that cool?
Lissa: That's really cool.
Lizzy: I thought that was great. You can kind of pick what you want, 10 bucks a month. Anyone could afford that.
Lissa: I mean, we were paying for Equinox, we could have a whole classroom of people get this membership.
Lizzy: Right, yeah, and it's nice. It's not-
Lissa: It's a sponsored gym membership.
Lizzy: It's not amazing. It's not the newest, but-
Lissa: It has what you need.
Lizzy: It has what I need. I mean the equipment is really good. They have a lot of interesting machines that are cool. It's not sparkling clean, I'll say that.
Lissa: Right.
Lizzy: But it works.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: Yeah, that's my gym membership. And then, I have a yoga studio unlimited membership. I may cancel it. I was going, taking double classes. So back to back Ashtanga yoga and then Yin, a couple of times a week. And so, it justified the unlimited. Because I've been so busy, I haven't been going hardly at all. And so, I may just cancel it and buy a class package. But I will pay for ... Generally pay for a yoga studio like this, which is kind of different than a gym yoga class that's more fitness-based. This is a really beautiful environment and they have incense and it's more like the kind of spiritual aspects and I really appreciate that. And they have great teachers. So that's why I pay for that. That's probably the most I've paid for ... I've paid for yoga studios in the past, but somewhere around there, like 100 to 200.
Lissa: So yeah, you have some regular fitness costs.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: So obviously off-topic to gym membership. I also do pay a Peloton subscription every month, because I have a Peloton at home, which gives me that option. And I believe Allan has a fitness app that he pays for. It's very low subscription cost every month, but it has hit workouts on it because he's very motivated by that. He could be at our home gym or at the gym, but he'll do the workout.
Lizzy: If he has a program.
Lissa: If he has a program.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: So there's that too. So we did have more than just a gym ... regular monthly cost. We had other fitness related costs too.
Lizzy: Sure and I've done that too, not currently, but I've often done paid for this person's program to follow their workouts and that kind of thing.
Lissa: Which is interesting if we're talking about our gym membership's worth and and there's that stat of how ... like 20% go completely unused, people just keep them or forget about the subscription and don't ever go. It's like ... Is it because they have other fitness things they're paying for and going to, like they-
Lizzy: Or are they inactive, right?
Lissa: Are they inactive.
Lizzy: I'd be curious to know that, right? Are they going for a run? You can be active for free.
Lissa: Yeah, or just busy.
Lizzy: Or just busy or out of the habit.
Lissa: Which makes it ... We will get to it at the end when we tell you our takes, but it's such a relative subjective decision of whether or not your gym membership is worth it. But I am glad that we actually have the, kind of the different ends of the spectrum of a premium luxury gym versus a community small gym that has everything you need.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Because-
Lizzy: And I have looked at Equinox recently.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: There's not one close to me now, but an area I was going to move had one right there. And it's something I've definitely considered, but my thought was because I'm not a big class person, it just didn't ... So much of the cost comes from things I wouldn't use or the value. I guess that for what I need it for personally, it would mostly just be paying for the nice place.
Lissa: Right.
Lizzy: There is something, I will say, I'm sure about clientele, right?
Lissa: Right, yeah. We get celebrities at our gym.
Lizzy: Yeah, and just being surrounded by presumably other well-off people.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: If that's the kind of people you want to meet.
Lissa: There could be a need for networking.
Lizzy: Networking or if you want to date someone.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: That's definitely different. There's a gym chain, there's only a handful of them called John Reed. There's two here in LA and I think some in Texas. One of my good friends is a member there. And so, I went and worked out with him and it's like a nightclub. It's cool.
Lissa: Really?
Lizzy: It's designed like a cool hotel, Airbnb. There's a DJ. It's all dark and there's lights. It is really cool. But the interesting thing is because it's a premium membership, I think probably less than Equinox, I want to say like 180 or 200. Apparently in that particular one, you tend to get people who are very fit. So there's a lot of very, very fit people, which was important to my friend. You wanted to not be the biggest guy in the gym. And I get that, from a motivation standpoint, but it also has a lot of influencers. Because it's kind of flashy. It's very Instagramable. So a lot of people there are-
Lissa: There's one in Santa Monica, right?
Lizzy: There's one in Santa Monica, yes.
Lissa: Okay. So, we looked that one up. When we were trying to figure out what gym to go to. We didn't actually go visit.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: But we wanted one that was in the middle of the $30 and the 300, but the problem was proximity to our place.
Lizzy: Yeah, it's not quite a ... Yeah.
Lissa: It's like, okay, we save a little bit of money, but now, we're spending an extra 30 minutes in the car. It's just-
Lizzy: To me, proximity is the biggest indicator of whether I will use it. For the longest time, I lived literally across the street from my gym, actually, like actually, walk out my apartment across the street.
Lissa: Right.
Lizzy: Either that or going on my way home from work. Those were the periods I was most consistent, because as I have no excuse, I don't have to get in the car. It feels far away. It takes extra time. So that's a huge, huge factor.
Lissa: Yeah. No, I completely agree. Because even the one that we were paying that was really expensive on a good morning and afternoon, seven minute drive, max.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: When there's-
Lizzy: Parking though.
Lissa: Yeah, parking. We'd actually have to pay $2 for parking at a time.
Lizzy: Yeah. That's a factor.
Lissa: It's a factor.
Lizzy: It's a factor.
Lissa: It all adds up.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Yeah, but like you said, for me too, there was the intangibles that I feel more motivated around others. Another upside to some bougie gyms, not all, because I've been to other equinoxes and sports clubs, but is ... I felt like I never had to wait for a machine. Maybe it was the time I was going, but even then the machines were always clean.
Lizzy: Yeah. There's definitely probably something to that. Definitely, probably. Because for example, if you are part of an LA Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, like a big mass gym, a couple of phenomenons. There's the after work rush, 5 PM is the worst time to go. But there's also the more recently, like the 3 PM freshmen in high school. It's like six young guys who don't know what they're doing, that are all working in together, so they're going to have a machine for an hour.
Lissa: Right.
Lizzy: You're not going to get as many of those younger people paying 300 bucks a month. Yeah.
Lissa: In higher tier gyms. One other thing that I just thought of as well is city versus suburb, because I'm thinking about where my sister and mom live and when we go to visit for the holidays, sometimes Allan or I will pay for a day pass at a gym, 10 bucks, whatever. But it's a nice gym and there'll be an LA Fitness that I'm like, this is nicer, better, cleaner than the Equinox we're paying $300 for.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Without a doubt.
Lizzy: It's a big difference.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: Suburb gym ... I mean, I'm in the suburbs and my gym is not amazing.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: Aesthetically it's not amazing. The equipment is very good. Yeah, like I said, the Irvine LA Fitness, gorgeous. Brand new, clean.
Lissa: Yeah, and I think that just goes to the congestion in the city of more people coming through and using it, like more wear and tear.
Lizzy: More dense area.
Lissa: Harder to keep clean.
Lizzy: 100%. Absolutely. That's a great point.
Lissa: So I'm not tied to the brand Equinox and it has nothing to do so much with luxury for me. But if I could get those same amenities in a $30, $50, $100 gym with proximity to my house, I'd probably check it out for sure.
Lizzy: Going from the one LA Fitness that was so clean and nice to then moving and going to ... in a very dense area. And it also was a big gym, but we just get like, the windows would fog up with sweat. And I was going there when COVID happened and it took me so long to go back after things opened up because it was just that feeling of all the germs are going to be in the air. It was kind of gross.
Lissa: Right.
Lizzy: And I would use the pool there. I know ... That's a big thing if you use the pool or if you use any wet facilities, you want them to be clean. I trained for triathlon swimming in that pool and it was fine, but you have had experiences.
Lissa: Gosh, I have a pool story. So I don't want to put any company brand on less, because I can't even remember if it was like a 24 or LA fitness, but it was ... I know of the gym, I can see it in my head. I go through swimming phases. So every couple of years I'm like, all right, next couple months I'm going to get fit by swimming, because it's good on your knees. It feels nice. It's very meditative. And so, I was going through a swimming phase and some of these gyms, in order to clean it, they just pack it with so much chlorine, so it smells when you walk in. And then, you think it's clean because it's chlorine. And there was one time that I knew I shouldn't have used it. For some reason, it had kind of like a yellowish tint.
I knew better, but I was like, I got to get my workout in. I knew better. And then so after that, I won't get into the details, just know that I got an infection of sorts and I couldn't pinpoint where did I get this, because I had gone nowhere else but the gym that past week. And I'm like, okay. So I went to the doctor, I had to take antibiotics, get rid of the infection. I'm like, I'm 99% certain it was the pool. And because of that, that's kind of why now, if I'm vetting a gym, I vet the pool.
Lizzy: Yeah. It's a great indicator.
Lissa: It's a great indicator for me of whether or not I want to go to this gym and that. It's funny that I use that as an indicator, because I don't use the gym. I use it one or two months out of the year. It's not like I-
Lizzy: The pool, you mean. Yeah.
Lissa: Yeah. Not the gym, the pool.
Lizzy: But it's representative of their standards of cleanliness.
Lissa: Yeah. So that's why people gasp when ... I don't share that often that "Oh, we spend 200, 300 on a gym."
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: A lot of people have their own opinions of what that means and what that looks like. But I'm just like, "Look, I know my standards of quality and what value it brings to us." And look, we made the decision that it's no longer valuable to us.
Lizzy: Right. Well, that's the other thing I was going to bring up is, I've kind of loosely had this rule in my life that there's within reason and not putting myself in debt, but there's two things. I'm not going to worry about my spending on, books and fitness.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: Assuming I'm utilizing it, but I will spend on my health, I'll spend on meal prep if I want to. I'll spend on fitness equipment, on recovery. Because there's nothing more important than your health. And so, I wouldn't put it past myself to pay for a more expensive gym if I thought I would get value out of it, personally. And so it comes back to your budget and spending aligned with your values and your lifestyle.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: If you have a very active lifestyle, and that's really important to you, by all means. And so, I think that's why you see that extra 20% that pays 90 or more, that are going to go to a CrossFit gym or an F45 or a specific olympic weightlifting gym or-
Lissa: Because that's what you like, that's what motivates you-
Lizzy: It's your interest, your hobby. Yeah, you want to be around like-minded people.
Lissa: Which is ... Now, it's making me think, this is the very premise of Net Net, our podcast, is that you get to decide what's valuable to you.
Lizzy: For sure.
Lissa: Because gym is one of those things throughout my life, because this isn't the first time I've gone to Equinox. Back when I started working, making six figures for the first time, I started going to a nicer gym in Equinox as well paying, I think it was 180, at the time. That's why I'm like, it's crazy how much it has changed. So it was like ... But still that was top tier. That's very expensive for a gym. And I remember different friends like, "What the hell? I could buy a new pair of shoes with that." And I'm like, I get that.
Lizzy: You could if that was what's important to you.
Lissa: Right, and so it's just now that I have a better understanding of people's own financial money stories, we're all coming from different areas and people can judge and think what they want. But I am confident in my financial decisions, and that's why it makes it tricky because for other people ... It makes it tricky in what I share and don't share. I'm very transparent. I'm saying it on this podcast, but I ... In the back of my head, I'm like, "Oh, I hope people don't-"
Lizzy: People are going to have their preconceived notions or their associations with that.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: And what people think of you is none of your business.
Lissa: I have another thought to share about bougie gyms.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: This is qualitative observation from just one person's sample size. I feel like people are meaner because ... It's a mix. I've seen mean people as in they know they're paying so much for the gym.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: And so, if there's one towel on the ground or something out of whack, they're like, "This is ridiculous. This is whatever," or one weight is not racked ... Put back on the rack and out of place. It's like, this is ridiculous. I'm paying 300 for a gym, right? You get more of that.
Lizzy: Yeah. I don't like that.
Lissa: Yeah, I don't like that either.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: I can see where it comes from, but you don't really get that, at a more busy gym that you're paying for-
Lizzy: Your expectations are lower.
Lissa: It's just like, all right, where the hell are these 25s, I'll find them, whatever, this is-
Lizzy: And that's a trade off.
Lissa: Yeah, it's a trade off.
Lizzy: There's gym etiquette.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: And standards and that you're kind of part of a community in a gym. And the more you take care of it, the better off everyone is.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: Yeah, that's definitely a spectrum.
Lissa: So your yoga membership that you're thinking of canceling, do they have a system where you can pause the membership?
Lizzy: I'm not sure. It's just a small studio.
Lissa: It's month to month kind of thing.
Lizzy: Yeah, it's month to month.
Lissa: Okay.
Lizzy: So yeah, I mean, I could talk to the owner. She texts me like, "Hey, you haven't been here." And that's the other thing. It's a small business, so I want support that. But yeah, I think I'll still continue to go. I've kind of been waiting to see if now that my schedule lightens up, if I do get back in the routine, but I tend to be kind of streaky with things.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: I'll like-
Lissa: Go a lot.
Lizzy: Go a lot in one thing and then switch it up.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: That didn't remind me though, I think to some extent people perceive the cost of a membership differently for something that's more specialized, like a general gym versus a Pilates studio or martial arts or very specific activity, which is interesting. Maybe because it's like those other ones, you're getting instruction and the facility versus just paying for the facility. Yeah, I don't think you get as much judgment. If you say, I pay a couple hundred bucks a month for jujitsu or whatever.
Lissa: Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.
Lizzy: Boxing.
Lissa: Yeah, that's very interesting too. And again, it goes to, if F45 is what drives you or if a dance class is what drives you ... Because I've paid dance memberships too, and it's a very different kind of workout. But obviously, if I want to do strength training now I got to figure out where I do that.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Supplement that, but if that's what motivates me, I'm going to do it. And so, I feel like it's the same with these specialized gyms that cost more. On the perception part, I wonder why that is. It's just-
Lizzy: Yeah, I think maybe there's, to some extent, probably a difference of this is a hobby or a thing that you do versus a place you go to get a workout.
Lissa: Broad general gym to workout. Yeah.
Lizzy: Yeah, and I think some of that is why you see a difference with people who are like ... they identify as like I lift, right?
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: And so they might be more likely to pay for a certain kind of gym, like a weightlifting specific gym, like my younger brother did that for a long time, because that's their interest and a part of their lifestyle versus "I'm just going to go get a workout in." Yeah.
Lissa: Yeah. Okay. Financial costs, we've dug in a lot on ... The financial cost of gym memberships. It can range, and what you get out of it, it just varies. But what are other costs to go-
Lizzy: I have one just top of mind. Because I haven't been going to this yoga studio, I feel guilt. I feel like the other day, yeah, on Tuesday, I was going to go. And then, I just wasn't feeling like it. I had been moving into my new apartment and busy day. And I felt so much guilt that I was wasting money and that I should go, and that sucks. That's lame.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: And for what? It's my choice. It's my money. I have a plan of ... I may cancel it, but yeah, that added pressure that for me makes me push away from something.
Lissa: Yeah. Interesting.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: So guilt. Top of mind, I think you mentioned this earlier. So I like going to the gym. I love using different machines and I prefer it to not be busy. So it's not so much about the people, just the environment. Because if I'm at a gym, I do not want to talk to anyone. I don't want you to come up to me. I don't want a man to come up and try to tell me I'm using wrong form. And now, I think it's interesting because if someone is using really bad form that might get themself hurt, go ahead. Correct him or her, correct them, or maybe leave that to a staff member to do. For me, I'm just like, that's a cost for me too, is being somewhere in public where someone can bother me. Whereas when I work out at my home gym, I like the privacy of it, but I'm a little less motivated.
Lizzy: Yeah. I get that it doesn't bother me that much-
Lissa: To talk to people.
Lizzy: Yeah. I like kind of this middle ground where I like when I see the same people and there's a head nod or "Hey, how are you?" A real quick acknowledgement. I like that kind of sense of community, but not ... I don't want to be talked to.
Lissa: Do you being hit on?
Lizzy: If they're cute, I don't mind. It depends.
Lissa: Okay. I guess it's relative,
Lizzy: It's relative, right? Sure. Although that is a thing of are you going to date someone at your gym? Because then what if it doesn't-
Lissa: Work out.
Lizzy: Work out, and you have to see them at your gym, right? So that's a faux pas, I think. Yeah.
Lissa: It is one of those interesting things in life in general where people who are single who say it's hard to meet people. And it's like you can meet people wherever you live with common interests as you. And the gym is usually one of those. Yeah, similar to me. It's like I had met people in the past that I ... Because we play basketball, so I've met people playing basketball, but when it comes to gym and lifting, I personally don't like that. I'm like ... I mean, I want a wall up.
Lizzy: I've been hit on a lot at the gym.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: And usually, it's like a subtle one.
Lissa: Like, "Hey, that's a cool tattoo in your arm.
Lizzy: That's the most ... Almost every time I go to the gym.
Lissa: What's that that tattoo, Liz?
Lizzy: Yeah. Who's your artist? Can you tell me? Can I see it? Yeah, and sometimes maybe that's genuine, but most of the times it's not.
Lissa: Yeah, we don't know.
Lizzy: Recently it was like a, "Hey, you're doing yoga, what are you doing? I'm working on this and can you tell me about it?" Which I get, it's hard to talk to people.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: So I've been hit on a lot. I don't think I've made ... I've made a lot of friends at the gym through basketball, like a regular gym that has a basketball court. Very good friends.
Lissa: Well, that's the easier social environment to talk to people.
Lizzy: Yeah. I don't know that I've made any though from lifting. I've lifted with those friends-
Lissa: Yeah, because what are you going to do, like all right, I got to go do my next set over here.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Bye see you in a bit.
Lizzy: Bit. And I've made acquaintances where we nod at each other and I've had people come up to me and stuff. Yeah, I don't think those have ever translated to friendships.
Lissa: All right. Yeah, I'm surprised we're this deep into the episode, but haven't touched on the cost of time.
Lizzy: Yeah, for sure. Well, I guess there's kind of two things. There's exercise versus not. And I think we're assuming this is someone that's going to exercise somehow. So then it's like, are you going to do it at a gym or in your home or outside or some other way?
Lissa: Right.
Lizzy: But there's probably is added time in a gym, transportation.
Lissa: All right. We did touch on proximity-
Lizzy: Yeah, proximity, so getting to and from waiting for other people to use. I've had that for sure, especially-
Lissa: Waiting for equipment?
Lizzy: Leg day waiting for a squat rack.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: My gosh, I have an hour ... I've had to change my workout. Okay, I only have an hour and I have to wait 25 minutes to get on the squat rack, which you don't do that at the end because it's the hardest one.
Lissa: Right.
Lizzy: Yeah, that is a cost for sure. That is a cost.
Lissa: Well, I wouldn't say I laugh about this, but something I think about too is gym going culture especially, it's very prevalent now globally, but especially in Westernized countries where we are very stagnant and you have to seek out exercising. Whereas if you're in a walking city or if you live in a country where you do more of walking, manual labor and things like that, gyms aren't the culture. It's very interesting that we carve out time of our weeks to go to the gym-
Lizzy: To be active.
Lissa: To be active.
Lizzy: Right, so this is long since stated, but when I lived in Barcelona in 2008, 2009, yeah, it was very much that it was a little unusual. There was a gym chain and it was very nice. That was probably my first nice gym, but it wasn't very busy. There weren't young people. Yeah, it was kind of abnormal because you get so much exercise just living in the city.
Lissa: Walking, carrying your things. It's your strength training-
Lizzy: My gosh, seriously.
Lissa: Up and down hills.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Up and down stairs. Yeah, so I just think it's a big-
Lizzy: It's a big cultural difference.
Lissa: Very big cultural difference, but interesting to think of yeah, having to actually carve out time if you want to exercise and be fit. And then, the time that it takes to get there, do the thing. For me too, it's like showering after, do you wear makeup this day? Not that day. Are you going to sweat it off? Is it going to go in my eye? So it determines how often I wash my hair and when. So there's a lot of implications.
Lizzy: For sure.
Lissa: Not like, this is just a part of life. I'm not saying one way or the other that it's like-
Lizzy: It's just a thing.
Lissa: It's just a thing that you have to think of.
Lizzy: It's interesting, my relationship with that has shifted over time. So for many years, I was a gym rat. I was in there every day. I was super fit and it was part of my lifestyle, but it was very, very important to me. Next to work, it was probably the most important thing. And some of that changed for different reasons, but a lot of it was the pandemic, and not having access to a gym or sports, sports leagues and having to prioritize other ways to be active. And then in the past year or so, where I've been living in a different place, my routines changed a lot, I am more inclined to work activity in throughout my day, having a dog helps. Just going on lots of walks and that kind of thing, and being comfortable with that.
If I don't make it to the gym some days and being like, "Oh, well, I still got a lot of steps." Most of the time, the days I burn the most calories or get the most steps are the days I'm cleaning or doing errands.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: That's like most active.
Lissa: But I guess it depends on where you ... We have the privilege to choose where we want to be active, because I used to be like that too. I'm like, "Oh, today's workout will just be cleaning the house." But I don't like how that feels on my back sometimes.
Lizzy: Yeah, sure.
Lissa: So I'd rather outsource the housekeeping.
Lizzy: Sure.
Lissa: And then go to the gym and do it that way, which is kind of funny. But it's just-
Lizzy: Your life, your money, your choice.
Lissa: Are you a morning or evening gym person?
Lizzy: I have been both. For my most active period when I was such a gym rat, I would go immediately after work. And I looked forward to it all day. So that was my motivation. And then, it was part of my routine, so I didn't go home and sit, which is, that's the hard part, getting yourself to have to go back out. Then, I got into a morning period. They always say it's better for you in the morning. And I really felt the benefits of that for a long time. Right now, my routine is afternoon. I'll go for a walk in the morning.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: But I might switch that up. I went for a run this morning with my dog. I felt amazing after. And I'm like, "Oh, yeah."
Lissa: Yeah, endorphins.
Lizzy: Yeah, endorphins.
Lissa: This is random, but a gym experience that I just remembered was when Allan and I went to Uganda, in Kampala. And we went to get massages at this Buji gym that his cousin recommended to us. And it was towards the end of our trip and I'm like, "Oh my God, why didn't we come at the beginning of the trip? Because if I knew about this, I would've gone every day."
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: So basically when you book a facial or a massage treatment, you get access to the gym so you could come earlier. And it was like a time slot thing too. So when we went, we only had 15 minutes to actually do weights, so we didn't make enough time in before the treatments, but it was a gym to ourselves. It was like they time slotted it so that you're not really interfering ... No one else interferes with your workout and is brand new equipment, and it was really nice. And I'm like, yeah, but maybe it's because the culture there is not so much gym going.
Lizzy: Yeah, interesting.
Lissa: And so for the few gyms that there are there, it's less people. So it's kind of weird.
Lizzy: So coming back to what you value in a gym experience. So as I've mentioned, weightlifting is big in my family. Bodybuilding has just been a thing I grew up with. And so, we have this half joking dream that will probably happen one day, of starting a gym.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: But it's funny, my dad and my brother are very into old school 70s weightlifting. They bought all these vintage weights. I don't like them. It's like the steel plates.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: I don't like them, I feel like I'm going to smash my toe. I want the bumper plates. But anyway, so they have this dream for this gym that's kind of a business except they just want to break even because they don't want to have very many people that go there and use their gym.
Lissa: Yeah, but you got tax write-offs in there. You got a a couple of fights-
Lizzy: My dad is like, I'll do this in my retirement.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: So they want to times share it. So everyone that's a member has a key, but it's only-
Lissa: Specific time.
Lizzy: Yeah, you block your time.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: You have the gym to yourself, but I don't like that, because I want to be around the people.
Lissa: Around the people.
Lizzy: But for them-
Lissa: Do you like the randomness of who-
Lizzy: Yeah. I like the energy. Yeah. It's different war, like don't touch my shit.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: I want to have this commercial gym that no one is at.
Lissa: I think there's room for both. And if they don't start that business, I think I might.
Lizzy: I know, I just put it out there. I am telling them I want to do it with them.
Lissa: I mean, not that there's scarcity, there's room for that in every market.
Lizzy: All right, all right, we're going to join forces on this. Yeah.
Lissa: All right. Any other thoughts on costs to gym memberships besides ... I think financials is a big one and-
Lizzy: Cleanliness.
Lissa: Yeah.
Lizzy: It's like, the germs just in general.
Lissa: Germs, right?
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: My infection, but gym is a place where you can go to ... Where you might get sick because you're in a shared space, but it's a space where there's fluids coming off the body.
Lizzy: Yeah, sweat, and people are breathing heavy.
Lissa: Yeah, right.
Lizzy: Yeah. It was always interesting when people were wearing masks at the gym-
Lissa: But you're still sweating.
Lizzy: You're still sweating. Yeah, your sweat is all over stuff.
Lissa: Yeah, but I guess that's just comes with life, right? You go to the grocery store, you're going to run into people, but it's just an additional, I think heightened probability because of the heavy breathing for the bodily fluids. Shared space. Yeah. All right.
Lizzy: All right.
Lissa: 20 cents?
Lizzy: 20 cents.
Lissa: 20 cents is the segment of the show where both Lizzy and myself, Lissa, each get 60 seconds to give our two cents on today's topic. Whether it's a net positive or net negative for gym memberships. Where does 20 cents come from?
Lizzy: So you get the opinion of two dimes, you all?
Lissa: Two dimes. All right. For you in your life at this moment in time, Liz, are gym memberships worth it?
Lizzy: I am net positive on gym memberships. I pretty much always have been in my adult life, because I tend to go for affordable gym membership. So even if I have a period where I am focused on something else, like training for a triathlon, I was outdoors or doing some other activity as my priority, it feels affordable enough to me to have as a backup that I can pop in once a week or it serves a purpose to just have it. And then, there's been periods obviously when I'm very consistent. So I think the benefits for me of the motivating factor is the biggest thing, versus a home workout or any other iteration of that. And I just enjoy that experience.
Lissa: So net positive gym memberships, even if there are months you don't use it, you just like having it there regardless.
Lizzy: I like having it there. Yeah.
Lissa: Okay.
Lizzy: What about you?
Lissa: This is funny because I think if we go back on all our episodes, I probably have way more net positives than Liz, but gym memberships, I told you, we just canceled ours right now. So at this moment in time for the foreseeable future, let's say next three to six months, minimum net negative.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: Because we don't have time to go, we're planning our wedding. We have a home gym. We have our other apps, I have the Peloton app, Allan has his HIIT app, and we are finding our motivation in different ways. I took a random hip-hop step dance class this week.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: So I'm doing other workouts that don't require me to pay a gym membership. But I will say that this is only net negative for right now. I fully foresee us going back to a gym, when we find one that works for our needs. The Proximity, because I think we might move after the wedding. So finding a new gym, a good one that fits all of our needs. We'll be back at it, but right now, we're saving this money and still getting our fitness in. So net negative.
Lizzy: All right, I like that answer because again, it's this point in time, what works for you with your given lifestyle, and this is evolving, we can all change all.
Lissa: And I like your answer because a lot of people feel guilty when they're paying for this monthly membership and they're like, "Dang, I haven't gone in two months. What a waste, what a waste, what a waste." At the same time, if that can motivate you to go more often or just having ... that you go through phases where six months you're on, six months, you're off. But it makes you ... It's easier to just keep it. There's lots of different scenarios.
Lizzy: Yeah, and you can pause. FYI, we don't know.
Lissa: Okay. Quick thing. I meant to mention this earlier. Another thing that piss me off with the bougie membership that we had, to pause, unless you had a medical reason, you were still charged, I want to say 30 or $40 a month-
Lizzy: That's a lot.
Lissa: Like $30, like a whole gym membership of another place.
Lizzy: Yeah.
Lissa: So it was a lot. It wasn't just like a $5-
Lizzy: Yeah, someone like five or 10 to pause, which is nice if you know you're going to be traveling for a month or just life is crazy, you don't have to go through the process of canceling signing up again.
Lissa: Yeah, they have an initiation-
Lizzy: Initiation fee. Some of them.
Lissa: Anyway. That annoyed me too. That's why it's a negative. Yeah, all right, so this is what we think right now in our lives at this moment in time, Liz is net positive for gym memberships. She probably will be forever, maybe. I'm net negative right now, but let us know what you think. Wait, what's my mind-
Lizzy: Yeah, nobody make that-
Lissa: Nobody can make that decision, but you, what do you think? Are gym memberships worth it?
Lizzy: Hit us up. Let us know what you think. DM us on Instagram at Net Net Podcast or email us at high@netnetpodcast.com. And if you want to follow us individually, here's where you can find us.
Lissa: I'm at Wealth for Women of Color on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
Lizzy: And I'm at live_well_lizzy on Instagram and TikTok.
Lissa: All references, statistics and resources mentioned can be found in our show notes. This podcast is for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only, and should not be constituted as financial advice or health advice. Remember to always do your own research, consult a professional as needed, and feel empowered to make your own damn decisions.