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I don't like going to the gym anymore. You can buy a home gym and completely customize it to your own tastes. If you're really a cheapskate (like I am), you can get really good deals on all sorts of used exercise equipment on Craigslist. I bought a used $2900 treadmill for $250. I also bought free weights (2-10 lbs, around $100), exercise DVDs, a brand new exercise bike from Craigslist for $30, and kettlebells ($22 for a set of 3, ebay), and am very happy with choosing that equipment to meet my fitness goals.
I've been a regular members at 8 gyms in 6 cities over the past 3 years.
In most all of them, you can typically find dumbbells you need or at least close. Are ALL of them in your weight range taken? Is it a killer to do 85's for 12 reps instead of 95's for 10 reps?
Do you do NO machine, hammer strength, or cable work that you can't come back to the dumbbells? Dumbbells are great, but machines, hammer strengths, and cables certainly have their place. I've been lifting for a long time and I'm in pretty awesome shape and strong...
Yes, you are, if you're using 95 pound dumbbells for 10 reps for any exercise (except maybe bent-over rows; still pretty good). Good post/brag :-)
I got burned on athletic clubs in the mid 80's by one outside the Charleston Naval Base. They'd bring you in, sign you up, sell your contract to another collector. While you were busy paying the next guy off, their quality would go down hill while they were giving you all these promises of how much better they would be when they re opened. As it was, they were a scam job that were operating outside various military bases at the time.
Anyhow, once burned, twice shy, and I never signed up for another club. Instead, bought my own bench with its own incline, my own free weights set, and every so often in the past when people had sales, I would go and get more plates.
Haven't used it for quite a while due to clutter loss of my nook area, but looking forward to getting it back as I clear out, clean up.
If for anything else, to fight the urge to get on the computer and type on the Net and instead, go to the bench and lift some.
Have you checked into the local YMCA? A lot of them have a pretty decent free weight room (in my experience).
If not, try what the above poster said and get your own equipment assuming you have the space. You can find some great deals on Craigslist for equipment, it will be cheaper than memberships in the long run, and you'll never have to wait for a piece of equipment again!
Have you checked into the local YMCA? A lot of them have a pretty decent free weight room (in my experience).
If not, try what the above poster said and get your own equipment assuming you have the space. You can find some great deals on Craigslist for equipment, it will be cheaper than memberships in the long run, and you'll never have to wait for a piece of equipment again!
I'm a big YMCA fan. The only YMCA I've ever belonged to only had 2 benches, but the crowd there is a bit different and the facilities are so big that I never felt crowded. Unfortunately, traffic is a HUGE factor where I live. The nearest YMCA is only 4-5 highway miles outside of my usual commute but in the evenings that can take 30+ minutes.
Space is the issue at home. We have PLENTY of room in our house now but probably won't in a couple years . The other thing is there are definite benefits to belonging to a gym. I like being able to choose between 4-5 cardio machines and I do use a few weight and cable machines here and there. My wife also likes to swim. So even if we did set up a home gym, we'd still want to be members at our current gym.
I've noticed the OP's complaint as well. It would be nice if the lighter weights and the heavier weights were 10 ft apart instead of on top of each other on two racks so people would spread out more, but I imagine gyms want to be able to cram as much equipment in there as possible.
I've been a member of LA Fitness (current), 24 HR Fitness, Golds Gym and have worked out at a lot of their gyms throughout the SoCal area due to business travel. This notion that there are never enough free weights generally rings true during rush times. Typically the dumbells needed are generally gone but you can usually find something that is close. The problem is usually with the people however. Most of the time, dumbells are missing because people do not re-rack them. They take them to some unusual spot in the gym and leave them there.
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. The other thing is there are definite benefits to belonging to a gym. I like being able to choose between 4-5 cardio machines and I do use a few weight and cable machines here and there. My wife also likes to swim. So even if we did set up a home gym, we'd still want to be members at our current gym.
