Life Time Fitness partners with Medicare programs such as Renew Active, One Pass Medicare, SilverSneakers, and FitOn Health, offering a basic membership plan called Limited Access. Many of their clubs are included in various Medicare fitness benefits, such as Renew Active, Silver and Fit, SilverSneakers, and FitOn Health. Effective January 1, 2024, Life Time Fitness offers membership pricing tailored to preferences, with prices varying based on factors like location, membership type, and benefits.
Lifetime Fitness has launched its ARORA programming for seniors, offering discounted memberships about 10% to people 65 and older. However, LifeTime Fitness does not offer verified specific senior discounts, but they consistently provide diverse promotions to their valued customers. Seniors using health insurance benefits to pay for a Life Time Fitness membership will only be allowed to workout at certain times starting from January 1.
Currently, seniors enrolled in Medicare health insurance plans don’t face time limitations and can visit any Life Time club at any time without restrictions. Some health insurance providers offer a fitness reimbursement program to eligible members, which may be available to some members.
In summary, Life Time Fitness is limiting access to some seniors on Medicare starting January 1, and its membership pricing offers a variety of options tailored to preferences. However, the upgraded membership fees may penalize members based on age, as the upgraded membership fees are prohibitive for many seniors.
📹 How To Get The Best Deal At Your Gym | TODAY
This morning on our Consumer Confidential series, we offer an inside look at gyms and answering questions like how to pick the …
Can you use silver sneakers at Lifetime Fitness for seniors?
Medicare Providers Life Time partners with Medicare programs like Renew Active®, One Pass Medicare, SilverSneakers®, and FitOn® Health. The club is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a. m. to 3:00 p. m., Saturday from 2:00 p. m. to close, and Sunday all open hours. Members can access all ARORA Aqua classes with a reservation, and the club offers various amenities and services, including studio classes, workout floor, relaxation spaces, social events, workshops, and a coffee club during limited-access hours.
The Signature Membership offers full-hour access and additional benefits, including Signature Group Training, early registration for studio classes and ARORA programming, pickleball open play access, and more. The Signature upgrade cost varies by club, and more details can be found at the in-club Concierge.
How to lower gym membership fee?
Negotiate with gym staff to lower monthly prices, waive fees, and explore discounts for students, military, or seniors. Consider sharing a membership with friends or family with similar fitness goals to save on costs. Some gyms offer wellness programs or membership discounts as part of their benefits package, so check with your HR department. If your employer doesn’t offer a wellness program, consider your health insurance. By doing so, you can find the best gym for your needs.
Is Red Bank expensive?
Red Bank, a city in the New Brunswick-Lakewood Metro Div. metro area, ranks 43 out of 273 in the US for cost of living. According to C2ER, the cost of living in Red Bank is 113. 8 of the national average, making it one of the more expensive cities in the US. Monthly expenses in Red Bank depend on housing, food, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and other miscellaneous goods and services. Household composition and home ownership status can also affect monthly expenses.
How much is Red Bank Lifetime membership?
Middletown/Red Bank Life Time memberships are available with a waiting list. Membership costs around $219/month, with different packages for seniors and families. Day passes are also available. Life Time has different membership rates for different locations and has not revealed exact Middletown prices. The lobby features a soaring lobby with flowers on either side, and a salon and spa on site for hair, facials, and massages. The spa/salon is open to non-members.
How to negotiate lifetime fitness membership?
To save money on your Lifetime Fitness membership, consider signing up for a longer-term membership, taking advantage of promotions or discounts offered by the company, and finding a friend or family member who is also interested in joining. By following these tips, you can enjoy the company’s offerings and save money on your membership.
One of the most important decisions for founders and early employees of startups is whether to make an 83(b) election. This election allows them to pay taxes on the fair market value of their stock at the time of grant, rather than at the time of vesting. This can result in significant tax savings and lock in their equity value, especially if the company grows rapidly and increases its valuation.
This section explores the benefits of making an 83(b) election from different perspectives, such as the founder, employee, and investor. It also provides examples and scenarios to illustrate how this election can affect your tax liability and equity value.
What is code grey at Lifetime Fitness?
The text offers detailed information on safety and security protocols, emergency response procedures, and the implementation of specific codes in response to various critical incidents, including active shooter situations (Code Silver) and assaults/violence (Code Grey).
Is the SilverSneakers program being discontinued?
The footwear item designated as “silver sneakers,” which accounts for a mere 15 percent of the total number of monthly visits, will be discontinued.
What is the cheapest month to join a gym?
Andrea Metcalf, a certified trainer and health coach in Chicago, suggests that gym membership discounts are typically available later in the month, particularly in January or any month of the year. Fitness clubs may need to increase sales to meet quotas, leading to lower rates. Additionally, summer is a good time to lock in a good annual membership rate, as gyms often reduce fees to attract new members.
How many times can you bring the same guest to Lifetime Fitness?
Individuals who are not members of the club may utilize a member guest pass on a single occasion within a sixty-day period. However, should the same individual wish to make multiple visits within the same sixty-day period, a one-day membership must be purchased. Should further information be required, the club’s front desk staff will be pleased to assist. Alternatively, the guest pass details can be viewed.
Which gym is best for seniors?
The article provides a list of the best gyms for seniors, including YMCA, Crunch Fitness, Life Time, Planet Fitness, Anytime Fitness, and Snap Fitness. It also highlights the importance of finding a gym with excellent senior programs, as well as tips for visiting a gym before making a decision. The research includes gyms with multiple locations across the country, but it’s also suggested to check out local facilities with excellent senior programs.
Does Lifetime Fitness have red light therapy?
A monthly membership fee of $199 provides access to a range of services, including personalized treatment plans and a variety of therapeutic modalities such as peptides, hormone replacement therapy, intravenous drip, cryotherapy, sauna, red light therapy, and others.
📹 Why Gym Memberships are a SCAM
At the beginning of every year there’s a predictable surge of gym memberships, only for those same people to stop going all …
Another story to add to your cancellations: I deployed overseas with the Army National Guard in 2015 so I put my gym membership on hold for a year. While overseas I was in a severe, nearly fatal bus crash and was put into a post traumatic amnesia state for about 14 days, then in a wheel chair for another month. During this time, the gym tried to reactivate my membership, but did not contact me (I think they mailed a letter only). My credit card had been replaced while I was deployed and the number was changed. My phone number and email had not changed, but I got no contacts from the gym that way. The gym eventually forced the payment through somehow through my old credit card number that was no longer in service. My bank told me there was nothing they could do (I guess those contracts). When I eventually got my mind back together and realized what was going on, I tried calling them to cancel and of course had to go through the whole “send us a letter” crap. They were in NC and I was in the hospital in MD with limited access to the information to get them and an inability to sign paperwork due to my right side being messed up from the injury. I called them and spoke with their membership department multiple times and they refused to admit wrongdoing on forcing payments through or trying to help someone with extenuating circumstances. The IRS gave my wife an extension on getting our taxes filed (I was working on them overseas when I got hurt). The IRS was more helpful and understanding than this freaking gym.
As a former personal trainer who actually really cared about their clients and had the proper education, I can confirm that gyms are so shady and completely burned me out. I felt like a salesperson more than a trainer and had no work life balance because I would spend time texting my clients advice outside of work, unpaid. I’m no longer in the fitness industry lol Memberships were so so shady
I’m 63 years old, have had a membership at 24 hour fitness for the past 8 years, and feel like I completely get my money’s worth out of it. I don’t work out on the machines (booooring), but I spend on average 11 hours a week going to the various group fitness classes…body pump, body combat, pop pilates, yoga, zumba, and u-jam. These classes keep me much more motivated than if I tried to go it alone, but that’s just what works for me. Frankly, I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in and feel fit enough to go another 63 years!
There are a lot of people who genuinely love going to the gym who are not “gym bros” or have unrealistic body or societal pressures. It’s just one way of getting in physical activity using various machines and tools that most people cannot afford or have space to keep in their homes. There is nothing wrong with the actual gym.
I pay less than $300 per year for membership at one of the big national chains. And as someone who gets in the gym at least 4 times a week if not daily, I think that’s a bargain. Most folks will never amass that kind of equipment in their homes., or even have room for anything equivalent. For me, folks need to just walk in the door to get my nod of approval. Just show up. Start light and easy. Make it easy enough that you want to return. And work your way up from there.
I was a Planet Fitness subscriber, I sent the letter they demanded, then hired a lawyer who also sent a letter, then filled court proceedings judged in my favour when they failed respond and show. My credit union finally got fed up and took action which strangely was more effective a threat than my lawyer or the judge. Today I don’t exercise. I bike, hike, practice archery, basically build challenges into my every day life. I’m a week short 66 and I owe it to this change in perspective and way of life.
I cancelled my Planet Fitness membership within the grace period of their contracts, and even though I never got an access tag (so I could not even physically go to the gym), I was still charged for a year. Now after all of that I still have lawyers calling me every 4 months demanding me to pay money owed to Planet Fitness. Absolute SCUM of the earth – they owe me money but they try to collect money of me
This is why I love my gym. Im super restricted on options due to my disability. When the super pricey gym here found out I was being discriminated against, they got me a MASSIVE discount (which I know is not their MO). And when blood clots killed my lung, they suspended my membership- the new GM doesn’t allow the discount I have on my account so they didn’t want me to cancel and lose that. So it’s been suspended, with zero fees, for 2 years. They even let me come in once and do a class for free just to see if I was ready to return. There was zero judgement or pressure when I wasn’t ready to do it. They might be pricey but they actually give a fuck and that makes them worth it.
I lost 50lbs with a membership at a small women’s gym, it was great because lots of women would sign up and just never go (weights were always available) and I got a lot done. The classes were the most popular and they were pretty great. I switched to another gym when I got a new job, and it was so crowded I couldn’t get anything done and I had to quit. Now I do workout articles at home and that’s what I recommend if you have the space and you have a bottom floor (no one complains about you jumping around). Doing a workout went from taking a couple hours (driving there, finding parking, finding a locker, changing, waiting for a machine and then reverse…) to now I’m done in 30min and I didn’t even have to shave my legs.
Be been a gym rat for years. Started when I was 14. It took me well into adulthood that not everyone was like me and that many gym goers need help and are very susceptible to gym industry scams like making you feel bad and hoping you don’t show up while taking your money. Over the years I’ve noticed that most, not all, trainers have a disdain for any member who doesn’t hire them. And the members who know what they’re doing and may be less likely to hire a trainer, the trainers and by extension the gym actually loathes them because they don’t bring in any other money than their membership payments. My gym used to push training packages so much, they would purposely hide certain equipment from the gym floor and claim it was “speciality equipment” that was only accessible if you signed up for training sessions. Real grimy shit. I’ve learned to pretty much dislike most trainers because they’re dicks and only look at members as potential dollar signs or nothing at all.
I actually feel like I’m getting great value out of my gym membership. I belong to a local YMCA and I feel like it’s been a real game-changer for me. I’d argue the problem with people isn’t so much the gyms itself, although getting out of contracts can be tricky at times but I think it’s just a lack of follow-through on their commitments. I was getting close to 300 pounds (topped out at around 290) and decided I had to make some serious changes. So I joined the Y and decided to start working out all the time. And I’m down to the low 250s as I actually have kept up with my commitment and I ran some 5K races last year for the first time in like forever. I basically went from being a couch potato to a gym rat. It’s the only place I can swim as I don’t have a pool, running it’s tough to do it outside in the winter due to the short days, and I live in a small apartment where I don’t have room for a weight set. Also, I feel like I don’t want my money to go to waste so initially that also helped motivate me to go to the gym.
As an “old guy with physical issues” I support gyms like Planet fitness! I do NOT join for any unrealistic goals but rather to use their equipment like treadmills to help me keep my “issues” at bay! I walk with a cane now BUT at PF I can walk on the treadmill, watch tv, and work out safely! In canada in winter, the outdoors is not always an option! Thank gawd PF exists!
I’m a personal trainer at an Anytime Fitness and my branch actually has a great owner who is despised by corporate because he refuses to charge people maintenance fees, cancelation fees, and all kinds of sketchy fees for late payments etc. I can confirm, there are many locations who will lock you in and charge you absurd prices to get out of a contract, but thankfully integrity is still at play at some gyms.
Your whole article was good but the end felt like a strawman. I’ve been going to the gym for a long time and trust me, not once have I encountered the “stereotypical gym bro”. Most people I’ve met are really chill and helpful. And going to the gym IS a good idea, but not to become like the rock or Chris Hemsworth but to stay healthy and keep your body engaged. As long as you don’t set unrealistic expectations, the gym life won’t disappoint you.
As a certified gym rat, I’ve had my fair share of shady gyms, but it usually involved trying to cancel memberships and the gym making it as difficult as possible. I currently go to a slightly pricier gym but I love it and wouldn’t trade it. They offer a lot and those who take advantage of it make the most of their membership cost. It really becomes worth it if you can make going a habit, but spending monthly memberships on literally anything you don’t use is a waste.
I’m a trainer at a family owned gym. I treat all my patrons like family and inspire them to reach their personal goals. The owner has never instructed me otherwise. We care about our patrons and develop relationships with them. My advice to people looking for a new gym is to join a local mom and pop gym that can help you achieve your goals best. 💪🏿
Last year I thought I applied to be a personal trainer at la fitness and it instead turned out to be personal trainer salesman position. I went through the training and quit after two weeks because they literally teach you how to guilt someone into buying a personal training plan. Also when you first sign up for a membership you are given a “free” consultation. I was asked to cold call members and tell them there was a hold on their account and that they needed to come in. The “hold” was literally to tell them they haven’t used their free consultation and essentially try to sell them a training plan. That whole experience ruined wanting to work in the fitness industry, I’m still passionate myself but that’s when I realized how corporate everything is.
I loathe gyms. My wife was pressured into signing up for a year membership at a local gym but she tried to make the best of it. She ended up getting sick from a chronic illness and couldn’t work out for a while. I knew we had to pay the fees for the rest of the year but when it came to the end, they told us I had to call on the exact day it expired and let them know we didn’t want to renew otherwise they’d renew her membership automatically. I couldn’t give a request in advance. Some of these gym owners are so slimy.
It seems like there was a lot of targeted points to the big chain gyms. It’s worth highlighting local and small gyms. I’ve been lifting for over a decade now and my favorite places have always been local rec centers. They usually have competitive rates, well equipped gyms, pools, and not a lot of cooperate oversight.
Being too embarrassed to set up or continue with personal training sessions is exactly my experience at several gyms after I joined, in at least 4 different countries. One gym salesperson completely humiliated me and brought me to tears using high-pressured sales tactics similar to timeshare sales–thankfully, I came to my senses and didn’t join that gym.
I had memberships with Gold’s Gym and Planet Fitness. When Gold’s raised their rates, I went to Planet Fitness. Never had an issue with either place…used the facilities regularly and attended throughout the contract. Canceling was easy because the signed up time had passed. One just needs to be cognizant of what they sign. Currently with the Y…no contract, no membership fees outside of the monthly fee.
Not saying that you have to be swole/strong as hell…but strength training and being somewhat strong is super important to a healthy life and studies will prove this. There’s benefits to strength training that you can’t get with other forms or exercise and there’s benefits in the other forms of exercise that you can’t get with strength training. There needs to be a balance. And you can achieve all of this without a membership to a big box gym. Those suck for the most part.
I had a gym membership at Anytime Fitness for a year after my favorite local gym shut its doors during the lockdown. It was a Goliath effort to cancel it because my grad school tuition made it impossible to keep up with the fees and they sold them in 2 year increments so monthly and one year was not even an option. What I realized over time was that I missed the community and the workouts were the icing on the cake. Now I’m doing yoga classes and I dusted off my DDR mat and I couldn’t be happier! The one benefit I can say from going to the gym is I got more confident about my strength and my cardio’s much better. Otherwise, it’s so obvious the big ones are only after your money. Unless you have some serious dedication and have good (read: genuine) support, it’s not worth it.
My father-in-law is a retired body builder but he still goes to the gym daily. He was looking to change gyms for a change of pace and had one owner tell him during the tour they didn’t want him to sign up because he would actually use the gym LOL… they said they only wanted people who would flake out.
The only scammy aspect about gym memberships I’ve encountered is ending your membership. One gym made you jump through hoops, submitting a written form, delaying processing until the next automated payment date. Another gym promised I could end the membership if I had to move. What they did was try to delay me enough so I actually had to move before I cornered them into giving a refund. But I was persistent and got the right person at the right time. I was a student at the time and every penny counted.
The basic message of this article: Don’t join a gym if you don’t plan on using it. Save time, and skip to the next article. My spouse and I have been going to a quality gym in Philadelphia for 15 years. There is a focus on health, and they offer many quality products and services to support our health goals. I would recommend a quality gym to anyone, contrary to the message of this article. We pay a little more then a typical gym but it’s totally worth it.
As someone who goes to the gym as well having previously worked in the “health and fitness” industry which has nothing to do with neither health or fitness but instead it’s all about selling you the latest BS trends and memberships. I can honestly say that this article is on point! My advice for those who want to improve is to find an activity that you enjoy and go for it as feeling that you have to do something that you don’t enjoy is a guaranteed route to failure. Another tip (bonus) is that results take time so be patient, be realistic with your goals and DO NOT get caught up with what others are doing, just do you!
Hey, I have a B.S. and M.S. in Exercise Science, multiple certs and multiple years in this industry. I have two things to add here: 1. Even if personal trainers have a certification. Most trainers will still have no clue what they’re doing and even if you’re paying $80 a session you’re not getting your money’s worth. 2. Resistance training is different than a healthy lifestyle. If you want to look aesthetically pleasing it’s required. If you want to not get sarcopenia it’s required although biking is great too. If you want to reduce osteoporosis it’s required. If you want to reduce chances of injury and be harder to kill it’s required. People need some level of intensity in load bearing activities. ACSM guidelines for healthy adults is 2 days a week of resistance training
I was fat as a kid. When I was 19, I began working out. By the time I turned 22, I was a N.A.S.M certified personal trainer, and shortly after being certified, I joined the Army. I was a trainer for many years, until one Planet Fitness experience. Once they began giving away free BAGELS and PIZZA at the front desk. I knew it was over for me. They also told me that, because I was bodybuilding, I was “too intimidating”, and was not allowed to workout at the gym…excuse me, WHAT?!? They told me some old woman complained about me working out near her, and she felt “scared”. 😂 What a load of crap. This was when they still had “lunk alarms”. I quit training, even though I got into it to HELP PEOPLE get fit and live healthier lives. I took college courses in nutrition, kinesiology, exercise science, and more. I want to start training people again, but the gyms now are even worse. Building up clients without the backing of a professional gym or company is extremely difficult. Even doing it within the gyms is tough.
I found 90% of what I did at the gym was the elliptical machine, so I just bought one and put it in the spare bedroom. I mounted a TV on the wall, added a yoga mat, some basic free-weights and a pull-up bar, and it’s convenient enough that I actually use it quite a bit, at least in winter. For example today I warmed up with a 20 minute guided yoga routine from Apple Fitness, did an hour on the elliptical while perusal a movie, and then wrapped it up with about 20 minutes of free-weights, and I didn’t even have to put clothes on (sorry if that’s TMI). Well worth the investment, I hope to never be without a home gym again.
This is why one should only buy a gym membership if one knows what they will be doing. That is, one should have a personalized workout program you know you will stick to, with specific, attainable goals, and you have concluded that the gym will allow you to accomplish said goals, therefore using the gym itself as a means to an end instead of signing up to only find out you don’t what you’re doing. This makes for long term success at any gym.
Been working in gyms for nearly 6 years. Notes: – Many gyms focus on personal training as a source of income as profit margins on monthly memberships are slim. This is mostly true in big box gyms that are franchised to local owners, in which case most of the monthly dues from membership are paid out to corporate ownership & overhead. This is where additional dues are added, like sign-up or annual fees. – Due to the above note, I’ve noticed that the predatory behavior of gym marketing is less focused on profiting off of inactive members and more focused on getting people in the door. The more people who enter, the more likely they are to spend money on the secondary or tertiary offerings. Classes, tanning, personal training, apparel, drinks/snacks, etc. – Membership cancellation requires a signature. This can be done in-person or via letter in most gyms. I didn’t think this was weird at all. This is so your crazy relative or s/o can’t call up and cancel your membership without consent. The “reason for cancelling” thing is a performance metric, not bullying. Management keeps track of how many people cancel and their reasons in an effort to find weak points and improve them. Source: I’ve used these reports – I disagree with the claim that gyms tailor their curb appeal to people who won’t use the facility to it’s real extent. I feel like the dressed-up facilities that feel more boutique-ey are equally incentivezed to keep people using their services as the big box gyms I mentioned above.
I’ve worked at a number of gyms and health clubs from your entry level gyms like Planet Fitness to your higher end gyms like Lifetime. And all of them have had some sort of shady business practice in how they charge their members and make canceling memberships as impossible as they can. But what’s equally as true is how much that isn’t an accurate reflection in the gym itself. That front desk employee that you think is doing everything in their power to keep you as a member really doesn’t care if you want to stay or not. Those policies come from the top of the chain. Your employees making minimum wage that just need a job are only doing that because they have to or they’ll be fired. So, the next time that you have a problem with your gym and how it operates, please be sure to direct that anger at the appropriate party. Don’t make the poor person that’s just there to scan you in feel like hell because someone at the corporate level won’t stop charging you. They literally don’t have the power to stop those payments. I’ve worked at gyms where they started revoking the power of those employees to do so because it “was making it too easy for people to quit”. They just want to do their job and go home. Yelling at them won’t fix anything. My best piece of advice for those struggling to cancel their membership and stop payments would be to either correspond with corporate/customer service via email or by calling and recording the conversation (make sure you check the laws in your region and if you have to inform the other person on the line if they’re being recorded).
The end is the best advice. With the exception of a select few, lifting weights ISN’T fun, and while you kind of need a good gym to really work everything, for the rest of us, there isn’t really anything in there that you need. You don’t need an elliptical, just walk faster and on hills. You don’t need a stairmaster, you just need stairs. Live actively, don’t eat tons of crap, and you’ll be healthier and enjoy it more. I recently rekindled my love of running. Rain, shine, snow. Don’t care. That and yoga. I wish I didn’t have bony, wimpy shoulders. But for the hours and hours it would take me away from family just to look slightly less lanky and maybe have an easier time pushing a door open, it’s just not worth it.
I was a gym member for at least 2 years and loved it and enjoyed it while my health was at its peak. My health declined some time this year and kept getting constantly sick, so I stopped going. I had different issues with gyms tbh but the last paid gym I had was nice but the gym needed refurbishments. My work gym (which is free) is a lot nicer, but I haven’t been going due to not knowing anyone.
Gyms are fabulous for older folks! My husband and I are senior citizens and we love our local gym. Working out has kept us strong and flexible and have maintained our cardiovascular fitness. We’re aghast at how sickly and overweight our contemporaries are becoming. Since we’ve been gym rats, we have zero increases in medication doses and NO additional new medications. At our age, this is a giant accomplishment. It is worth every penny for this alone, but there’s also the community component. We’re working out with friendly young people and it’s nice to be around fitness-minded folks. I can’t think of any downside.
I just heard an ad for a gym that said “there’s still 11 and a half months to accomplish your New Year’s resolution!” 🙄🙄 Also noticed target immediately switching their advertising from comfy cozy Christmas stuff to health conscious, meal prepping exercising stuff. They even switched the advertising on Christmas Day afternoon!
I’m self conscious and not a gym kind of person myself. I hated the weight room in my high school gym class (actually I didn’t like gym class growing up anyway because it was heavily focused on sports and we didn’t get to listen to music much. I prefer working out on my own. My go-to workouts are walking, dancing, and hula hooping. I also started a couch to 5K program a couple of months ago (just participated in my first road race on Thanksgiving). I like listening to music when I work out as it helps motivate me. I also like shooting hoops and kicking a ball around casually/for fun as a workout (just don’t care about all the technicalities of the games, can’t do a layup, etc.). While I’m not a fan of strength training, that is also something that can be done at home, in a park, etc. using your own body weight, dumbbells, etc. I also have driving anxiety so don’t drive much and the nearest gyms would require me to have to drive to them. I can do other kinds of workouts at home or elsewhere in my neighborhood within walking distance.
If you are in the USA and qualify for Medicare, you probably qualify for Silver Sneakers. That means free gym memberships at many different gyms. I really enjoyed my experience at the gym, but be sure to use hand sanitizer between every piece of equipment that you have to touch! After picking up a nasty virus, I have gone back to using my home exercise equipment.
I worked in the fitness industry back in 2016 as well as workout at the gym. Gym memberships are not scams, personal training memberships are. Especially given how most gyms tie your personal training program to your membership. Thus you cannot cancel the personal training membership without the cancellation of your regular membership. Not to mention if you do your research and stay dedicated you will get results.
I feel that this is why crossfit gyms can be so successful: pricier subscription, but more structured, with what is virtually a personal trainer relationship, and a strict cap on how many times per week you can go (depending on subscription). Also, the workouts are quite different every day (less boring than regular gym), within a theme lasting several weeks. The ‘small class’ nature of the sessions makes quite personal relationships between other goers in the session, and offers encouragement and accountability. It lends some competitive nature if you even want to indulge in that as you try go a bit further, faster, and harder than your new friends. At twice a week, my regimen is simply Tuesday and Thursday late afternoon. It’s a highly doable commitment to high intensity low rep workouts, with a cost that incentives getting your money’s worth. Then after 6 months, you start to visually notice those 2 hours per week benefits. You feel them from month 2. I often want more sessions per week, and find myself actively trying to NOT increase to the three times per week or unlimited subscriptions.
I feel like you missed the boat here. Yes the business model is to have many subscribers who are not users… but this should be clear to anyone who’s given it a minute of thought. If you indeed use the facility, you are getting GREAT value, because all of the non-users are subsidizing your cost. Your advice at the end of the article is backwards, only very serious gym-goers with specific goals should go to the boutique gyms (powerlifters, CrossFit/f45 type thing, true bodybuilders) these are more expensive because the clients are serious and therefore use the facility, so they can’t accept as many members. If you use the gym it’s great value, if you don’t, it’s not – no different than anything else
I work at a gym and honestly, the way we operate is very focused on getting people to come back. My biggest advice is: GET A PERSONAL TRAINER. Significantly more people succeed when they start with a trainer. Yes, it is expensive BUT it’s like putting your kid into a sport – you’re teaching them (or yourself) a life long skill AND paying someone to hold you accountable to actually stick to your fitness goals. If you let us help you, it’s not shady. But yes, we make most of our money off on no shows and it breaks my heart
I worked out twice a week at a gym in the UK for a year near work and never spoke to anyone, it was boring. Everyone was intent in their zone. I decided to resign and handed a letter stating this in an envelope to the owner and walked away from the desk. She denied ever receiving it and I had to pay for longer before they graciously allowed me to leave. Jeez. Now, age 70, I work out at home and it’s a lot cheaper and easier.
Bit of a a controversial opinion but it isn’t a scam if it’s entirely your fault for not committing to the membership. I love the gym, i love working out, if you signed up and become one of those people who the gym profits off and don’t go, I’m sorry but that’s your fault I do sympathise with how hard it can be to cancel the membership, but that’s with quite literally most things. Just go to the gym, no scam then lol. Pretty simple
This is why you should really avoid exercise plans or memberships that don’t charge a fixed monthly subscription, or offer highly discounted rates for longer memberships. The incentives are just not there for the program to help you to succeed (and may even run counter to your success). One thing I love about my climbing gym is they have a fixed monthly costs, and you can cancel every month. Their incentive is to get people to love coming to the gym, and potentially sell them some coffee or beer after the climb.
I love you website and the topics you cover. I do have to say there are some amazing gyms with community motivation, lovely people to meet and expensive equipment you wouldn’t want to buy and maintain yourself. Planet Fitness is one of the worst of the bunch though I suppose they are good for some people. Thanks for the content, yall putting out some of the best pro-consumer content there is right now.
I remember going through all of that with a gym in Australia in the late 90s. When I realised I wasn’t using it and to cancel, they used all of those tactics, including sending a collection agency after me. I’d documented all their promises and failures though, and then responded with a letter heavily referencing Australia’s “Trade Practice Act”, alleging their failures amounted to a breach of contract with made any commitments on my part null and void and they could see me in court. They tried calling me, I held my ground, and I never heard from them, or the collection agency, again. Still resonates as a very satisfying victory even to this day! 😂
Have a mess of gym horror stories (I’ve moved around quite a bit) from a Planet Fitness in downtown Brooklyn that never didn’t have a line for every machine – even at 1am!? to a Bally’s where the “complimentary” training session left me locked in a room with a ‘roided out monster who told me I had to sign up for his training because “that’s how I make money” (after repeatedly saying “no thanks” we eventually just sat there in silence until another staff member opened the door to asked why it was locked? ((I never returned)). I agree that a local gym is usually the best and worked for me until I just bought an elliptical off of Craigslist and cancelled my membership.
I’ve always hated the gym. SIgned up for half a year when I was in my early 20’s did see some improvement, but I often didn’t want to leave the house even thought it was a 5 minute walk away. 10 years later I wanted to get in shape again and bought basic gym equipment and weights in the garage. I work out much more often when I do not have to dress up & leave the house. I work from home, at 5 pm I walk into the garage wearing whatever I had on, mostly likely my PJs, throw on my running shoes & workout. Innonvenience is my biggest deterrent, I do not like having to dress up or leave the house.
I couldn’t lose weight for the longest time despite doing everything “right” by the ads. Turns out, i had a thyroid condition and once I was on medication I started to lose weight by just being more active. Taking the stairs, walking to places instead of driving, and dancing to online articles of JustDance. No memberships, no weightlifting. Every ad would always say it’s my fault for being lazy and it’s “easy” as long as I go to the gym and eat healthy. I never thought to check if my body was healthy enough to lose weight. My nurse practitioner saved my life. I went in for irregular bleeding and she thought to check my thyroids. Weight lost is so much more than food and exercise.
Based on what I’ve heard about PF and their in-person process to cancel and still charge your card…avoid them. When I looked into it anyway, the sales rep said a CC on file to start membership, so I mean you can’t just do cash like the article suggests. There was so much fine print. Also, ours says no one under 18 uses the guest pass. So for many families, that will defeat the point of the black card thing. Even our Y is expensive even though they advertise how everyone is welcome too.
I’ve had a TERRIBLE experience with gyms. The first was a 24 hour Fitness that got bought out by Lifetime Fitness, so they tried to start charging me, like, 50 dollars more a month. So, I tried to end my contract and they charged me a 100 dollar cancellation fee. . . With a LOT of back and forth with phone calls and physically mailing things and all that. This whole experience turned me off for a while, but then my now ex boyfriend wanted to sign up for another, so we did at Anytime. We ended up not going much, but COVID happened and because they were closed, they allowed us to cancel our membership without much hassle. I haven’t been to a gym since. Instead, I’ve built my own little gym space in my home and do my routine there. It’s been easier for me to have the motivation to workout when I physically see it in my space and can easily access it without having to drive somewhere.
The gym itself is an amazing place for people to work on their physical fitness and maybe even fall into a community who all want to achieve a goal. I’ve gone to the gym for about 2 years consistently and it’s changed my life. I know that I don’t need the gym anymore because I realized it’s a mindset thing, however I still choose to go because the gym gives me an environment where that mindset is at full force to keep going for my goals and to be fit. I love the gym
The problem with just going to the gym is that in order to actually achieve the results that you are marketed on their advertising (beach body), you also need an effective workout routine (to their credit, Planet Fitness does provide one) and, most important of all, expert nutritional guidance (nutritionist-made meal plan). As for the gym’s shady tactics, having you cancel in person instead of remotely is another way they add friction to keep customers, but I make sure I get my money’s worth.
I was offered a job at a gym I used to work out at, it seemed pretty interesting at first since I went 5 times a week and liked the idea of a free membership. When it got to the training part though, the boss was straight up teaching me to figure out the potential member’s insecurities and body shame them into buying a year long membership 🙃 needless to say I quit that same day and started working out at a different branch. The super low pay for 8 hours a day 6 days a week and free membership wasn’t really worth all that.
Legit after the first 3 week I hated going to the gym. I didn’t want to lift, it was hard work blah blah blah. Fast forward to 3 months going to the gym . Now i feel AMAZING after leaving the gym. It clears my head, i get into my zone & just feel way better overall mentally & physically. That huge barricade a couple of weeks in is what determines if your going to keep going to give up. That and they took my money for a year. So that sunk cost fallacy is kicking in 😅 .
I had one run in many years ago with a gym that charged after cancellation but thats it. I deemed it a bureaucratic blunder since it was 15 years ago or so and my country is notorious for not going with the times, so they might just screwed up the paperwork somewhere. My countrys biggest gym chain is easy come easy go, no hidden fees 20€ The most weight loss i got was from doing sustainable activities, and lifting moderate weights at home was one of them
If you are “DISABLED” most GYM are not accessible! What I mean by this is that most Gyms don’t have much accessible equipment and for myself, I can’t use anything in 99.99999999999% of them. There is only one in Salt Lake City Utah through Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation that has only one device in a limited number of locations and if it doesn’t work I am screwed. The device is called the NuStep. It costs 150.0 dollars per year and this year my rent portion went up over 150.00 dollars per month so I can’t afford to pay for another year so now I no longer have ACCESSIBILITY! I am Disabled and on a Low Fixed Income.
the article is epic. As someone who is a premium World Gym member I agree you do NOT need a gym to achieve your fitness goals. Even when it comes to building muscles you can do calisthenics. Even myself I tend to prefer working out using calisthenics exercises in the gym and only use the machines for some isolation exercises
I knew a lot of this. I have an active lifestyle (hiking, traveling, scuba, etc.) and it does me well. When I was living in Texas, there wasn’t a lot of activities I could do to keep in shape, so I joined a gym. But it was a local gym with a few hundred members. It was small (maybe 10 people at a time), in a bad neighbourhood (low rent). The equipment was old but well maintained. The owner was the trainer. He had degrees and certifications posted to show he knew what he was doing. But many times I have had companies which provided discount gym memberships. They waved the activation fee. They signed people up around New Year, limited time offer. They had gyms all over the country. When would you ever use them? I’m not going to the gym on vacation. I’m certainly not going to the gym on the other side of town. I also helped friends figure out the maze of things you had to do in order to cancel your gym membership. It wasn’t that hard. It was just buried in all the paperwork they made you sign when you joined. After carefully reading it and following the instructions, you could cancel your membership. But they usually got one or two more months out of you before the paperwork got processed. The one thing I never really understood was the gyms with advertising that body shamed you. It was so demotivating. I used to think they were out of touch with the vast majority of people. Now I realize, they sign people up in January then they start running all these demotivating ads in order to make many of the people who signed up stop going to the gym.
After dealing with Orange Theory, I never want to sign up for a gym membership again. I was going to take an extended trip out of the country so I just wanted to suspend my membership while I was gone. But they had all those dumb hoops you have to jump through. It was so frustrating that I finally just called my credit card carrier and convinced them to stop accepting charges. Which is pretty easy to do. You just have to tell them about the body shaming, harassment, and intimidation tactics the gym staff uses to try to keep you there.
Great article, very accurate, I’ll add one caveat, remember that personal trainers and gym staff are not bound by HIPPA laws any personal medical information you give them about yourself, can be spoken to anyone anywhere even posted on the Internet, because you gave that information to them freely and knowingly