Hello Dear Reader,
You'll just have to excuse me but I've been bustin' to tell you about this! I've been reborn, newly baptised and cleansed clean of any doubt and I am now a convert to the faith of backside reduction! I have been a member of the old order, don't go to these places and walk around your neighbourhood church of weightloss but now I have seen the light!
I, yes me, Mrs Locked purse has joined a gym. In fact, I've joined 'the gym'. It costs me 54p for a daily work out! I must totally state, this is not a sponsored post, I've paid good money and I go. I've had the induction (in with the £10.99 price) had the one to one personal trainer session (in with the £10.99 price) and I've had the weightloss and nutrition advice (also in with the £10.99 a month price). I promise you, I held them down by the neat and tidy gym kit and grilled them thoroughly on what the actually meant.
So here's what happened. I joined on line, everything is cheaper online. I booked my induction and went at the time convenient to me. I was shown how everything works, including the beam me up Scotty airlock with ssssshhhhh secret code to get in fancy doors. I then had an hour with Paul (he's the praise the calorie burning machine pastor of this shrine of all things shrinking) for my personal, all in with price, one to one Personal Trainer session where I came out with a really sore bum. I now get why people pay these people to get them thinner. It's a kind of perverse hire a man for an hour who allows you to hit him whilst wearing boxing gloves, in a sort of I hate you/like you kind of way. Fifty shades of gym including sweat and stickiness but excluding any attractions (not my type!).
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| Plymouth - where I go! |
So, I use all this stuff and do stretchy lifty, runny, squatty kind of things for an hour a day. I also spend aaaaaaaaaaages in the shower (I've paid for it!) and then ages drying and straightening my hair. The place is so cheap, I'm sure all the Plymouth Uni students use it as a social club. The 'youngsters' are better than telly! How the chuffin' heck they manage to watch You Tube, text, update Facebook, read their Kindle, play games on their i-Pad and do any exercise at the same time is a mystery to me.
There are plenty of FOBs like me (fat old bags), there are people there of all ages, sizes and flavours. The changing rooms are open plan and as I stand there all wet, wobbling and dangling I so want to go up the Uni girls with their double A's and tell them I had a figure like them once and let them wonder if I represent their future?
So, is gym membership affordable? I would never have thought so before but I am a convert. There is a time differential between me finishing work and DB finishing and I go to the gym in that time. It's ten minute walking distance from where I work and it's another on my way home activity so I arrive home at my usual time and it's caused me no inconvenience other than pumping up my endorphins to overflowing and turning me into a born again arms in the air gym loving evangelist!
I'll be back tomorrow with another pointed WW recipe (mine not theirs) all created for pennies in my slow cooker.
I'll be back tomorrow with another pointed WW recipe (mine not theirs) all created for pennies in my slow cooker.
Oh praise they gym!
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx
gosh that is cheap.
ReplyDeleteWoW! bargain. The gym near me is £40 per month. It is on my way home from work, but for classes I would have to come home and drive back later...petrol money. You are so lucky. I would definitely join at that price even though I am not a gym fan. Good luck and enjoy.
ReplyDeletethat is excellent value froogs. Will look forward to the ww recipe
ReplyDeleteOur local gym £50 monthly plus £50 joining fee:o
ReplyDeleteThat's excellent value.
ReplyDeleteThat's excellent value!
ReplyDeleteGood for you Froogs, excellent it's near your work and can go while waiting for DB. Please post some slow cooker recipes that I can use to lose weight!
ReplyDeleteYou never look a fat old bag by the way!
Sarah. X
Awesome savings! There are other advantages, too. Spend a little now, but long term healthcare costs should go down. :-)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the recipes.
No healthcare cost here Shara - I love socialism!
Deletebut it will keep me out of the GP clinic!
DeleteI have always made my gym memberships worth the price because I feel guilty otherwise. But one thing that can't be overrated, is the abundance of hot water! You are wise to get your showering done there.
ReplyDeleteGo you Froogs- what a bargain!
ReplyDeleteSounds wonderful! Wish I could get myself motivated.
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled about your gym membership. I have often been asked why I joined a gym when I can get free exercise walking and working out at home. It gets bitter cold here so outside exercise is limited. I have a stationary bicycle and will ride it at home, sometimes, and a few free weights, but I need more. My daughter was a member and by me joining she received a free month. We changed her membership to 2 adults and split the cost. I pay $24.00 a month with no contract. that is .80 cents a day. I have to pay extra for any classes, so I do not attend those. The equipment and weights are good enough for me. We always take a luxurious private, shower before leaving. Water is not as expensive here as at your home but it has saved us some money. When daughter and I go together her workout is much longer than mine so while I am waiting for her to finish I sit and enjoy the free newspaper or watch a show on their TVs (I do not get a paper or watch TV at home)I feel it is a good value. Recently, I needed physical therapy on a shoulder injury. I went the few times my initial insurance would pay. I learned the exercises and now use the equipment at the gym instead of paying for another round of appointments, that are not conveniently located. Saving gas and a medical deductible. I pass the gym on my way home from work. Four nights a week dinner is a little later :o)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are enjoying having a sore bum, Froogs. I suppose one thing about the trainer person is you learn just how much you need to push for a result. If you work at a comfortable pace then the results may not come in the timely manner you want them to.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has 'done gym', I've not been a fan, but then again, I may have been at the wrong gym.
Looking forward to more progress. Enjoy.
This made me laugh! I love the way you tell things! hahaha!
ReplyDeleteThats really cheap you got yourself a fab deal there! My gym is £26 pm.
Oh I do love the good and sweaty feeling after a workout!
Love Amanda
Enjoy it!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow that is cheap! the one near us that is £9.99, is good value, but you dont get all the extras you get! So you go girl! Allie xxx
ReplyDeleteA brilliant bargain especially if you factor in all the lovely hot water you will be able to use there for your showers and not have to pay for at home.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of a gym that is that cheap before, if more gyms were that affordable maybe it would go some way towards solving the obesity epidemic currently building in this country!
A brilliant piece in the Woman's Own this week, not a magazine I usually buy but worth every penny to read your piece. Congratulations on a really good article.
Sue xx
Good for you Froogs!!
ReplyDeleteEverything seems to be cheaper online. I'm happy for you that you found that great deal on gym membership....you go girl!!
Glad you found an affordable gym. Looking forward to hearing all your gym anecdotes cos I know you will have plenty!
ReplyDeleteThe gyms near me are definitely not affordable at the moment. I do remember years ago I joined a private gym. It was full of posers all never more than 2 feet away from a mirror. However there was a young man that I did enjoy watching especially when he used the running machine!!!!!!
Linda xx
I have the gym membership through work and I pay 30p/day with unlimited gym, swimming pool and the steam room. And it's brilliant :D
ReplyDeleteThe equivalent here in our part of suburban London is Fit4less which is £19.99 per month. Most of the other gyms around have swimming pools as well and are a LOT more expensive - typically £55-60 per month. The local council gym works on a membership fee and pay per use system but if you went three times a week, and couldn't go off peak, a private gym actually works out cheaper!!
ReplyDeleteJust wondering ...do you have to special shop for your supplies to make "diet" meals or are you just eating regular only in very small amounts? When I did Weight Watchers I found the low point soups were really good to fill up on. Eating healthy is so expensive here as fresh fruits and vegetables are much higher than canned foods.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy using the showers. It is worth it just for that.
ReplyDeleteI joined our local gym/off peak and had a free induction...i worked it out it costs me 74p a day to go.....cheaper than a bar of chocolate....I have gone 4 times a week that would have cost me about £3 a time if I paid as I went! I love and as my mission is to be slimmer, healthier and fitter in 2013 I'm gonna keep at it! And I agree with using everything available too! Enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing - the cost of my nearest private gym (a well known sporting name)is over £80.00 per month! I nearly fell over when I rang up to find out about it. Bristol is incredibly expensive. Plus - you need to drive there adding to costs and time.
ReplyDeleteThere's a pool and some gym facilities at one of the local schools which is reasonably priced, but there's a horrible communal shower, so you can't take your cossie off and need a second shower to get rid of the chlorine when you get home. My old gym in Cheltenham was £40 per month and was next door to where I worked. I'll stick to my walking!
I ROFL at "The changing rooms are open plan and as I stand there all wet, wobbling and dangling I so want to go up the Uni girls with their double A's and tell them I had a figure like them once and let them wonder if I represent their future?" I'm sure that they believe that "IT" won't happen to them, that's what we used to think too afterall...lol.
ReplyDeleteJust curious...what made you look into gym membership in the first place? You seemed kind of anti-gym--what changed your mind?
ReplyDeletePreviously it was the cost and the fact that I wouldn't want to go. I'm faced with almost daily chronic pain caused by weight gain and diet alone doesn't do it for me. I have to work at it and walking it off wasn't working. I kept driving past the gym and took the plunge.
DeleteThat really is a fabulous deal, the cost of our nearest private gym is over £60 a month and just not affordable for us especially when its a 25 minute drive too. Really hope that you start to see and feel the benefits soon!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds cheaper than a lot of gyms but I'm sorry but I couldn't justify to myself spending money to loose weight when I can do it for free with walking the dogs, running up and down stairs, and using tinned food which is already here for weights.
ReplyDeleteI liked your post, thought it was good value and was pleased to see they have a branch which I drive past to get to and from work. Great!
ReplyDeleteNo, not great. The branch near me charges almost double what the Plymouth branch does, for the same, or maybe less facilities. Not impressed with a company that charges different amounts for the same product in different parts of the country.
You or your readers might be interested to know that Council run gyms often offer better facilities than private gyms because local authorities have such buying power that they can refresh their equipment more often than say a Virgin gym can. So those that think there's no nice private gym near them should take a second look at the Council's offering.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I was once a member of a gym that gave you towels every time you went - we always took 2, took one home, and returned it for washing the next time we went! No more washing and drying towels in a tiny flat!
However, I defy anyone to find a cheaper sport than running. Trainers, leggings, t-shirt, sports bra and voila! Of course I think road running is hideous so instead do fell-running, which means you also need a bumbag, waterproofs, compass, hat and gloves. And if you're mad like me, a headtorch for running around in 2 foot drifts of snow in the dark! My club only charges £10 a year membership - bargain!
Happy exercising!