Why is gym membership so expensive?

Indie_Kid

arcon5 wrote: »

And just in case you missed my post... I want a running machine and the use of a pool up to twice a week local to me.

Cheaper to run outside and just use a PAYG pool? I paid £241 per year, which includes classes, gym and swimming pool. And I think I can use a few more centres too.

hollydays

ringo_24601 wrote: »

My wife's David lloyd gym is more like a social club than a gym. I guess the high costs keeps the clientele as the 'right kind' as well as pay for nice facilities and the cheap kids classes.

It's got a nice restaurant/cafe, a softplay, a nice 'adults room' that shows the football and has free wifi.. They are also not very observant when we sneak a few extra guests in to go swimming

Are you a friend of Katie Hopkins ?

angelil

bluenoseam wrote: »

Their costs won't be cheap. Think about it, it's an exercise place so they'll need liability insurance incase someone has a heart attack or other serious injury/health event. Their clientel can be anywhere from fit & healthy 18 year olds to pensioners, inclusive of high risk category clients which insurers just LOVE, which is reflected in the costs.

Then there's staffing, trained staff aren't cheap and you need them in to cover your opening hours, so potentially a staffed presence from 8am (if not earlier) to 10pm (if not later!). At any given time you'll need 2 of them at a bare minimum - that'll soon add up.

Equipment is neither cheap nor is it cheap to maintain, your average piece of cardio equipment may need a checkup every month, perhaps repairs 2-3 times a year. They don't have an infinite life, they'll need replacing every now and again, even at a conservative guess perhaps every 10 years they'll need upgrading - and well, unless it's a tiny place they rarely only have 1 of every piece of equipment!

Most gyms will play music, in order to do so they need the relevant license, which isn't peanuts. On top of that they'll need the equipment which again, like everything else needs to be maintained, unlike your average home stereo it's on constantly on a daily basis.

Then there's the little things, paper towels, the anti-bac sprays, cleaning etc.

Sure they have thousands of members, sure it's expensive, but so is running the place!

I think this about sums it up.

I pay €47 a month for my membership (no pool).
However, all the machines have cable TV on their individual screens (which I don't have at home), so I use it as a chance to watch MTV while I exercise

For me a gym membership is really valuable as it means I have no excuse to not exercise, as I've paid for it already, whereas I normally dislike it so will find any reason to not bother. It also removes the excuse of it being too cold/rainy/dark/whatever outside.

I'm now down the gym 5 or 6 times a week for an hour each time, whereas I never exercised that much before joining. For me it is a real investment in my health and wellbeing, and I'd let quite a lot of things go before I gave it up now.

aqua111

hollydays wrote: »

Are you a friend of Katie Hopkins ?

He is probably Mr Hopkins:j

fridge_raider

I think it's pretty obviously he was referring to the gym's concept of the 'right kind' , not his own.

Sharon87

Do you have any council run gyms in your area? I use my one and it's £20 a month, no contract (well one month's notice to leave). This is gym only though, my centre doesn't have a pool, but I can use other centres and their pools in the same brand of gym (run by Better gyms) for £3 extra.

I went to my friend's gym with a free pass, she pays at a corporate rate but usual rate can be about £50 a month. The place was absolutely huge! But yet it was really busy. The pool area was the best though, it had a 25 meter pool, sauna and steam room. I can see why the membership was the price it was.

The only thing I don't like about most gyms is the 12 month contract they try to get you to sign. That's the only thing I think should change. They should provide 1 month contracts or 3 month contracts. You can never really get a feel for the gym on one free trial day.

paddyrg

Our YMCA has a gym which does PAYG sessions for about £6, which seems about 'right'. It's not particularly glamorous or high tech, but has most of the toys at basic level (no cable TV!).

I'm inclined to agree though that the costs may not be that high - rates might make a big chunk of it, as those machines are quite large and gyms need to be near people, so city rates. Staff, those I've seen at some gyms didn't strike me as particularly well trained and are probably around NMW. Liability insurance is actually pretty cheap, maintenance shouldn't be that expensive, not more than other businesses maintaining tools. If one gym can do £6 sessions or £24/month for all you can eat, and still make a profit, you do rather wonder why others have 3 year lock in terms with the option to double fees every year...

Money-Saving-King

paddyrg wrote: »

Liability insurance is actually pretty cheap, maintenance shouldn't be that expensive

What? Do you have quotes for all of this?

hollydays

Sharon87 wrote: »

Do you have any council run gyms in your area? I use my one and it's £20 a month, no contract (well one month's notice to leave). This is gym only though, my centre doesn't have a pool, but I can use other centres and their pools in the same brand of gym (run by Better gyms) for £3 extra.

I went to my friend's gym with a free pass, she pays at a corporate rate but usual rate can be about £50 a month. The place was absolutely huge! But yet it was really busy. The pool area was the best though, it had a 25 meter pool, sauna and steam room. I can see why the membership was the price it was.

The only thing I don't like about most gyms is the 12 month contract they try to get you to sign. That's the only thing I think should change. They should provide 1 month contracts or 3 month contracts. You can never really get a feel for the gym on one free trial day.

We have a council gym nearby and it's economical but going into the building is oppressive , it's dark and joyless with that gym smell - yuk- nothing to make you want to go back - poorly trained staff- I second walking to get fit - it's free and so is fresh air.

[Deleted User]

hollydays wrote: »

Are you a friend of Katie Hopkins ?

Ha, no (since she's an abhorrent media-produced devils advocate) and i'm not suggesting people with more money are any better or nicer - but a steep monthly cost does keep the riff-raff out. I'm glad we got mates-rates membership!