Asked LA Fitness to cancel my membership, they offered to freeze it for $10/month instead

https://lemmy.today/post/49865820

i’m glad i never joined a gym when i was thinking about it around a year ago. it’s literally cheaper to save up to buy your own equipment (you don’t need the big stuff, but even then you can get it secondhand or something). i don’t work out anymore but when i did, i used body weight exercises (push ups, pull ups, etc.).
I bought a used Bowflex on Nextdoor for like $200, a set of 10-90 lb adjustable Bowflex dumbbells with a stand for like $100, and a weight bench for ~$50. Retail on that setup is like $2k+. These things are large and cumbersome. A lot of people buy them then never use them and get rid of them for pennies on the dollar. I work out in my garage whenever I want to and I don’t have to worry about waiting for someone to get off a machine or work in sets with people. I get my workout done so much faster and I don’t have to go anywhere to do it. I will say the gym has a certain social element that you miss, but not having another freaking subscription is nice. Ya know what? I’m gonna go get a workout in right now.
Fair warning, Bowflex dumbbells are under an active recall. You should check and see which model you have.
I’ve had them 5-10 years (maybe more), but better safe than sorry I guess. Might as well give it a look.
I assume this is the one they mentioned. Just posting it in case other people come across this: www.bowflex.com/dumbbell-recalls.html
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I was part of this recall, bought the 552 back during the pandemic. So I only qualified for a $50 voucher towards a new model, which happened to release at the same time of this recall announcement. Looking further into the recall, it only affecting something like 2% of the dumbbells sold.

I’ll take my chances with these dumbbells I’ve been using for the past 5 years rather than them trying to upsell me on the new model.

Yep, go hunting for deals on Craigslist, Marketplace, garage sales, etc and you can get some great stuff for cheap. I don’t think I paid over $100 each (in some cases, alot less) for my treadmill, elliptical, weight machine, stair climber, or recumbent exercise bike.
I don’t know where you live, but I have nowhere near enough space for exercise equipment at home.
I live in a 2 room (not bedroom, total rooms) apartment. I have no place for ANY exercising equipment.
You dont need excercise equipment unless you wanna be a competitive body builder in which case gym is among the least of your expenses
I do quite well with a set of adjustable dumbbells, a foldable bench, and a 4x8’ area of floor. I do wish I had a cardio machine of some sort but I get by without it. Not sure about your situation but it doesn’t take a ton of space to work out at home. If you have room to lay down somewhere you can do a lot.
Most don’t have 4x8 m² of floor space available