Thinking of signing up for a shiny new gym membership this week? Stop! Read this post before you sign on the dotted line. We want to save you time, money, and self-respect. You don’t need fancy gym machines and membership packages to get in the best shape of your life. Here are 5 reasons not to join a gym this year:

1. Joining a gym is too expensive.
    
   Going to the gym has a true cost that us much higher than the monthly fee. Let’s have some fun with numbers here to see how much you can save if you ditch your gym membership:
   According to a survey of DailyBurn members, the average gym goer pays $43 per month for gym access. If you combine this with the true cost of going to the gym, that number is higher.
   1. Membership fee: $100
   2. Gym locker $5
   3. Snacks at the gym (energy bars, electrolyte drinks): $40 annually
   4. Gas for transportation to the gym 5 days per week: $100 annually
   5. 12 months of monthly gym membership: $516
   6. True cost of 1 year of gym membership: $761
   7. That’s a monthly true cost of 32% more than the monthly fee.

    
   Let’s compare that to a DailyBurn membership, which costs $9.99 a month. That’s $119.88 annually.

   With that extra savings of $641.12, you could get a new pair of sneakers and upgrade to 100% organic vegetables for the rest of the year.

 

2. Gyms make you sign contracts that are difficult to get out of.
    
   Gyms lock members into a contract because they know the cold hard facts about the fitness industry: most people who sign up drop off within a few months. In fact, people who buy a gym membership overestimate how much they’ll use it by 70% according to a study conducted by economists Stefano DellaVigna and Ulrike Malmendier.

 

3. Big box gyms don’t stock the correct tools that you need to get an effective workout.
    
   Are you dying to try out new routine that involves sandbag carries and jump rope? Forget doing it at the gym. Gyms stock large isolation machines and cardio machines to make their services seem more valuable. Who would want to have a membership to a garage with a few resistance bands and sandbags?

 

4. Working out at a gym is a waste of time.
    
   Completing your workouts at a gym chips away at your available time. By working out at home and not going to the gym, you can save 130 hours a year. We designed DailyBurn to save time instead. You can get a full workout in anywhere, any time. All you need is a computer, tv, smartphone, or iPad and an internet connection.

 

5. The path from home to the gym is paved with excuses.
    
   You are too tired. You got to the gym, but you forgot your shoes. You got to the gym read a magazine on a stationary bike while pedaling slowly because you “get bored”. There are millions of reasons why you don’t get a good workout in at a gym. These reasons all begin with you. They are your excuses.

 
At this time of year, friends, family, and especially the sales associates at gyms will tell you that getting a gym membership is the best way to get fit. We know that this simply isn’t true. All it takes is some direction and dedication to change your body, and your life.

Have you improved your fitness without a gym membership? Help us convince other readers that they shouldn’t get gym memberships either by leaving your tips here.

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