How To Stay Fit After Canceling Your Gym Membership

It’s that time of year again, the desk attendant told me when I walked into the gym last week. My membership was set to expire in the next two weeks, and they wanted to know if I’d sign another year-long contract. Since I’ve been going to this gym for three years, and I generally enjoy the experience, I told them sure. Get a contract ready and I’ll sign it the next time I’m in.

But then I got to thinking.

This is no cheap gym. Since it’s in a building that hosts dozens of businesses and is in a city center, it costs $60 per month plus tax. They also require you sign a one-year contract, lest you pay $75 for month-to-month service. The equipment is all there, and I can’t really ask more from a gym. Still, I had to wonder if it was worth my while to commit another year.

In the past I’d tried working out at home, but it never worked. The discipline just wasn’t there. But, five years later, the story has changed. Fitness has become a prominent element in my day-to-day life. Maybe it’s time to ditch the gym and start getting fit on my own terms — and save a ton of money in the process.

After mapping out the situation, here’s what I’ve found necessary to make a home workout system effective and sustainable.

Invest in the right equipment to workout at home

Chances are you’re not going out and buying a power rack, Olympic bar, and all the necessary plates. That’s just too expensive; the power rack itself will cost you nearly a grand. A set of dumbbells is not only expensive, but cumbersome. Sorry to say, your days of lifting weights might be at an end. After looking at the situation, I’m convinced this is the main reason people continue with their gym memberships: they just can’t afford the equipment they think they need.

While everyone’s particular needs will vary, here’s the list of equipment I’m going to buy, or I already have (that not everyone will have).

1. Pull-Up Bar. I went with the Iron Gym version, since it’s cheap and can be easily removed from any doorway. Cost: $22.50.
2. Yoga Mat. Maybe you won’t be doing yoga, though now that you’re working out from home maybe that’s a good idea. In any case, it has multiple uses. Cost: $30 on a decent one.
3. Swiss Ball. They add a little variety and instability to a boring workout. Cost: $25.
4. Stretch Band. Another useful multi-purpose item. Cost: $30 for 2.
5. Jumprope. Great for a total body workout, or just a warm-up. Cost: $15.
6. Kettlebells. This is where the cost can hit. Kettlebells are a bit more versatile than dumbbells, and in my experience are easier to store. You might need a few of them, and duplicates of some. The Cube Dweller Fitness Kettlebell Guide can help get you started. I suggest Cap Kettlebells, especially purchased from Amazon. For some reason they qualify for free shipping. Take advantage of that. Approximate Cost: $300 for a decent set.

There are other items you might want to add, such as medicine balls. But the above items serve multiple purposes and are relatively easy to store. Total cost: about $425, or less than seven months’ gym membership.

Find free facilities nearby

Anyone who has read Cube Dweller Fitness for a while knows that Troy loves high intensity interval training. It’s great to get the heart pumping, and it’s super for burning fat. While you can do some HIIT in a home gym — 10 Tabatas being a primary example — you might opt for some more variety. I like to go a bit longer with these types of intervals. Thankfully, there are likely free facilities near you.

Track. If you want to do sprint intervals, nothing beats a track. The surface is made as to not kill your feet and knees like asphalt. It’s also easy to measure your distance. Most public high schools offer free access to their tracks. Take advantage early in the morning, before those buggers go off to gym class.

Stadium stairs. You can usually find these wherever there’s a track, but there are other options. Anywhere you can find a high set of bleachers with a set of stairs will work. That gives you the option of running the stairs themselves, or upping the challenge and using the bleachers. I love this combined with a sprint interval workout at the track.

Jogging and biking trails. Less than a half mile from my place there’s an asphalt path that runs along the railroad line. They mark off miles, which is great. It’s not quite flat, so there’s a bit of additional work with inclines. This beats street running for me; at least I can do some sprinting here that sometimes isn’t possible on the street.

Playground. In the town I grew up, we had a park with a huge playground and a three-mile course that included plenty of hills. I wish I lived near that now; it’s be my go-to place. Playgrounds are great for the many obstacles they provide, particularly the monkey bars. You can also get work on parallel bars. This dude has the idea.

Expand your definition of workout

What is a workout, anyway? At its most basic, a workout is an event that raises our heart rate. It might involve straight cardiovascular maneuvers, or it might involve adding resistance. If we can think of a workout in these terms, and not in the terms of gyms and equipment, we can expand our definitions of workouts.

You know what gets your heart rate up? Playing with our kids. They might be the best workout implements on the planet. Those little tykes have seemingly limitless energy. I don’t have kids of my own, but my little cousins always have me huffing and puffing. All the while they go along as though it doesn’t affect them at all. (Though their parents always thank me, since they’re easier to put to bed.)

In the past few weeks I’ve skipped the gym a couple of times to work on some household projects. We’ve been remodeling our bathroom piece by piece, and I had to install some bathroom cabinets. Let me tell you, I was sweating plenty by the time I was done. My arms were throbbing from having to hold things in place why gluing or screwing. It felt as though I had gone through a workout, and for good reason. I had.

There are plenty of other things you can do to get a workout, without doing it in the traditional sense. Once a week I scrub the bathroom surfaces, including the tub, and then grab trash from around the house before bringing all the trash out the to garage. That works up a sweat. We have a convenience store down the street, and I’ll often walk down and buy two gallons of milk and carry them back. That’s plenty good for the forearms, grip, and core. The examples can go on and on.

If we expand our definition of a workout, we can see that a workout means many things we hadn’t previously considered. The best part: these tasks are doubly productive. Not only are we working out, but we’re also getting things done.

Will you Workout At Home or the Gym?

I still have a few days to decide whether I’ll renew, and there’s a decent chance that I will. But the possibility of canceling still lingers. I wouldn’t recommend this for someone who hasn’t already developed a gym discipline. But for someone who has, the time might be now to quit and work out on your own terms.