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Fitness: The Most Bang for Your Buck

The Beach Season is here! This is a questionable time in the fitness industry – people made their New Year’s Resolutions, which commonly included getting in better shape, exercising more, etc. Gyms and health clubs love this time because memberships spike up. However, the gyms count on the fact that they can oversell memberships because the actual use of the facility may only stay busy until the Spring when all those well-intended resolutions start to fizzle.

In a three year study, economists at the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University combed through 8,000 gym-membership records in the Boston area and found that about 80 percent of the members with a monthly contract were paying significantly more than they would have if they had gone on a pay-per-use basis. That’s because the members had overestimated their gym usage and went fewer than five times a month, on average — far less than they had initially projected.

The result: an average user paid $17 per workout, even when a $10 pay-per-use option existed. And that added up. Members were losing on average $700 over the life of their monthly or annual gym contracts.

Now that warm weather is upon us, and given the current economic situation, people are re-examining how they spend their money. While there are the people who actually use their memberships, and people who will continue to waste their money on memberships (even the cheaper memberships that are available), many others are tightening their finances and dropping that monthly or annual fee.

At the same time, many gyms – both large and small – are at risk of going out of business. The problem is that most people still need to exercise, and do have the desire to do so, but don’t know where to go.

Here are my recommendations of how to save your gym fee best by creating your own gym at home. The numbers are estimations, but should be pretty close and will save you money and time (the two most precious commodities these days) in the long, and possibly short, run. So, depending on what your gym costs would be for you/your family/etc., here we go:

The free to $25/year membership

This is for all you college students who are used to having access to a gym at school and then you graduate and find out that now you have to pay for things. It is also for those people who have belonged to certain gyms forever and are paying a minimal fee at this point. One of the best pieces of equipment anyone can use is completely free: your own body. It is amazing to me how many strong looking people who lift a lot of weight cannot even handle their own body weight. Just for fun one day (and because I’m kind of a geek), I spent 10 minutes thinking of as many different types of pushups, pull-ups, and squat variations that I could. In the 10 minutes, I came up with 21 different pushups, 11 different pull-ups, and 19 different squats. Over the course of my fitness career, I have done countless other variations of those, as well as other types of exercises. The point is that bodyweight training is one of the most useful, functional, and simple fitness training you can do. It involves minimal space and equipment, and can be done anywhere at anytime.

Depending on where you live, work, or choose to train, you can perform bodyweight exercises using whatever is found in your environment – stair climbing, jumping over furniture, pull-ups from I-beams in a basement, etc. These are all great options and don’t cost a thing. If you have a few extra dollars to spend, I suggest a jump rope ($5-$10) found in any sporting goods store, and a flexband (~$20) such as one found through Jumpstretch, Inc. (www.jumpstretch.com). Additionally, no matter what type of exercise you are doing, everyone should own a foam roller to promote the recovery process (see Health and Leisure December 2007) – $10-$20 at Perform Better (www.performbetter.com).

$10/month ($120/year)

Many gyms are now offering these greatly reduced membership prices compared to some of the other “Globo-Gyms” out there. While these certainly offer people the opportunity to waste less money, $120 per year is still a big waste if unused. For the money you save, I would recommend purchasing the items stated above (jump rope and flexband) – $25, and a kettlebell – found nowadays in various places. The kettlebell is one of the most well-rounded and versatile pieces of equipment you will find, that also conveniently fits in a closet, under a bed, etc; and requires minimal space to use. The other benefit of the kettlebell is that amazing fitness results can be achieved in a relatively small amount of time (< 30 minutes per day).

$20/month ($240/year)

Now you have an extra $120 (remember, you are buying all the things listed above for $120) to use to add something unique to your home gym. The TRX Suspension Trainer from Fitness Anywhere (www.fitnessanywhere.com) is basically two adjustable nylon straps with handles/loops on the ends. It can be hung from a door (great tool if traveling) or ceiling support, and can be used to complement all bodyweight exercises for any part of the body. While similar items exist that cost less, the TRX was developed by a Navy SEAL and has been around long enough to set the standard by which the other competitors continue to chase after, but have yet to catch up with. I told you that you have an extra $120 but the TRX retails for about $150 – do yourself a favor and spend the extra 30 bucks.

$30/month ($360/year)

This one is very simple, now that you bought all the stuff above, use the extra $120 and hire a personal trainer who can teach you how to use all your new toys. Just make sure that the trainer is actually knowledgeable about all this equipment. As this article is about getting away from the gyms, most gym-based trainers do not use this equipment and therefore are not necessarily experts on training people with it. The $120 will generally get you 1-3 sessions with a trainer – a good start to get you going safely in the right direction.

$50/month ($600/year)

One of my favorite pieces of equipment is something that most clients think I am crazy for having. A Battling Rope is a large diameter (1.5-2 inches) rope ranging in length from 30-100 feet. The downfall of this equipment for a home gym is that you need enough space for at least half of its length to be laid out without obstructions, and if you choose the manila rope (the more common type) it can tend to “shed” and requires vacuuming after each use. The benefits however, are AWESOME! Endurance and strength are challenged like no other when performed appropriately. Ropes generally range from $100 to $250 for 30-50 foot ropes depending on where they are purchased (www.immortalusa.com or www.artofstrength.com are two recommended sites). Depending on which you choose, you may have some money left over (you had $240) – use it for another personal training session or at least a DVD on the ropes.

$100/month ($1200/year)

An extra $600 goes a long way. This is where more of the “typical” home gym items should be purchased if you feel it is necessary: Dumbells/barbells with plates, medicine balls, stability balls, etc; or additional pieces of the previously mentioned equipment can help fill any voids in your exercise program. Another option is additional training sessions to help show how to fill those voids without additional equipment being purchased.

While many people picture home gyms including items such as treadmills, bikes, stair masters, or large “Universal” pieces of resistance equipment – I personally don’t initially recommend them for home gyms for a few reasons: they are big, expensive, and cannot be used for multiple functions. This article is about getting the most bang for your buck, therefore equipment should be more reasonably priced, not take up a lot of space, and every piece I mentioned buying serves multiple fitness purposes, including strength, endurance (cardiovascular and muscular), flexibility, balance, speed and agility, and last but not least – weight loss. If you want the other stuff, that’s up to you; I would recommend waiting until the following year to buy it if you really feel the need.

Additional resources that provide most of this equipment are:

1. Wateman Fitness Equipment – located in Livonia, MI which will give you further savings on shipping (www.wateman.com)

2. Power Systems (www.power-systems.com)

Good luck, and have fun.

For more information on home gym setup, or personal training utilizing all the equipment mentioned, email Bob at bob@functional-strength-training.com, or visit his website at www.functional-strength-training.com.