Do you pay for exercise?

[Konza]

Asked a similar question at another forum....

I'm debating options in a home gym, and even considering some online spin classes (which has rather high upfront costs with reasonable monthly membership costs)

 

Curious what other medical professionals are spending on exercise, if any, as I know we all know the value. I assume there is a wide range between employer gyms to expensive home gyms to traditional gym memberships.

 

So what do you do?

 

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

YMCA

I have a home gym too, but the Y is great for classes, lap swimming, kids' swim lessons, racquetball... a lot of things I can't well replicate at home.

Cost is $66 per month, but our health insurance kicks back $20 for each adult that logs in at least 8 times a month.  In a good month, the Y costs $26 plus the cost for some classes, lessons, etc...

[ACN]

As a resident, I am lucky to be affiliated with a large university and thus have access to all university buildings either for free (pool, racquetball, ect) or for a small fee ($1/day for weight room or $20/month).  Since I'm busy in residency, I just do the daily fee or run/swim for free.

I'd anticipate getting a gym membership for the better half and family (once that happens) at one of the "clubs" in town for the social aspect.  The nice gym in town is $80/month for 2 people with discount.

[asmallchild]

Looking at my waistline, I should ☺️

[Ivy]

I have a family membership to the local gym.  Costs ~$120/mo.  My wife goes there several times/week.  Our kids use it intermittently; tennis and cardio machines.

I run (a lot), but I HATE the treadmill.  So I usually run outside unless the weather is really bad.  Running shoes and other running equipment are pretty cheap.  My running expenses are mostly related to travel for big races around the country.  I often try to combine these trips w vacation time so my wife (and/or kids) can have fun too.

My impression is most people who get home gym equipment rarely use it after the first few months.  If you go that route, you can probably pick up some used equipment for a steal.

[Winkleweizen]

I pay 90ish a month for a cross fit membership.  I probably go 5 x a week on average.   I love the group setting.  If I don't have the group setting, I struggle going on my own.  For me it's totally worth it, and compared to other cross fit gyms it's a steal.

[Zaphod]

We pay 90/month for a family membership. Wife uses it nearly everyday, I only go 2 times or so a week, mostly for swimming and some quick weights. Usually I ride my bike and also do some running. Hate doing that indoors, though I sometimes if forced will ride the trainer and play the xbox. It has been great having a gym membership this winter since El Nino is hurting my weekly miles.

[Joseph]

$10/month. 24 hour access.

Mostly for showers when the electricity and water is out.

[Osiris]

I pay  a lot for exercise as far as the equipment.  I have two rooms filled with it. I have treadmill, elliptical, Concept II rower as well as a side to side ski machine. The first two I use 5-6 times a week and the Concept II twice a week. It is ski season so not the ski machine.

I have a free weights and a fancy weight machine as well a roman chair, all of  which I used to use regularly, but not for the last 2 years.

I suggest the NYT 7 minutes workout app on your smart phone.

 

[wideopenspaces]

I prefer to run outside. But in the winter I can't, thanks to my cold induced asthma. So I run at the employee gym at the psych hospital. It's small but I usually have it to myself so it's nice. My husband goes to the student rec center, brand new and really nice. $25/month I think. And the kid does tennis for $60/month and soccer ~$90/year.

[iglord]

My wife's residency program pays for a free membership to the local gym chain owned by the hospital. I just bought a Concept2 rower so I can work out at home, since that was the only machine I was using anyway at the gym. Their resident family rate wasn't bad though at $14 every two weeks.

[Zaphod]

Well if you count my bike(s) and associated equipment it gets worse of course. Although thats hardly the cost to exercise, admittedly the baseline is, but the rest is purely to look great doing so.

[FCP]

I am a fellow.  As an intern, I took a credit card and paid $5000 for high end weight lifting equipment for the basement of the home I bought on a doctors' loan.  I've used this equipment 5 times a week for nearly 4 years now, and this equipment will last me for life.  I also pay $200/mo for online personal training (i have a personal trainer that sends me progressively more difficult workouts every week, on an app for my iphone).  I spend about $1000 for food per month.

All of this may seem outrageous, but becoming proficient at saving money and investing is foolish if you don't maximize your health.  What's the point of having 10 million in the bank if you die 5, 10, or 20 years earlier than you could have lived had you invested in your health to your fullest potential?

[VagabondMD]

I have been running for 28 years, since my third year in med school, including multiple periods of competitive running (marathons, halfs, 10Ks, trail runs, etc.). It's great exercise and relatively inexpensive. I do the NYT 7 minute workout (a modified version) before running, three of my four or five running days per week.

I also have a home gym including a treadmill, elliptical, and recumbent bicycle for cross training and inclement weather and some dumb bells, medicine balls, minor resistance training gear and the like. I use it all. Having it at home makes it very difficult to me to make excuses to not stay in shape.

I also use a personal trainer once a quarter or so to give me new ideas and check my form. If you are doing exercises wrong, you can do more harm than good.

[PhysicianOnFIRE]

FCP wrote:

I am a fellow.  As an intern, I took a credit card and paid $5000 for high end weight lifting equipment for the basement of the home I bought on a doctors’ loan.  I’ve used this equipment 5 times a week for nearly 4 years now, and this equipment will last me for life.  I also pay $200/mo for online personal training (i have a personal trainer that sends me progressively more difficult workouts every week, on an app for my iphone).  I spend about $1000 for food per month.

All of this may seem outrageous, but becoming proficient at saving money and investing is foolish if you don’t maximize your health.  What’s the point of having 10 million in the bank if you die 5, 10, or 20 years earlier than you could have lived had you invested in your health to your fullest potential?

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I don't think I would want to mess with you.  I agree that investing in your physical health is money well spent.  Staying in shape gives you more healthy years; it's like buying additional time.  I think you could easily stay in great shape without the online trainer, $7 a day to get a new, more difficult workout once a week seems steep, but it's your money and if it works for you, it must be worth it.