I've been thinking about joining a gym or the YMCA. Is it worth the money?

I've tried at home workouts but I'm not motivated to workout after the the first month or so of buying a new video or gadget.

Has a gym membership forced you to be motivated to workout?

If your whole family goes the Y is great!

If it's a gym you enjoy then it should keep you motivated to use it. I love the gym we use so it makes it easier to drag myself there.

Yep, I need the financial motivation to guilt trip me into exercising. I have a membership to Bally's and try to use it for things I can't do at home -- use the pool, group exercise classes, etc. I definitely work out harder in spin class than I ever would by myself at home!

Make sure the gym is close and convenient. I took yoga classes for a while at the local community college but it wasn't convenient even though it was less expensive.

I've been a Y gym rat for years and love it!! I especially love the Y we are currently members of because it's a brand new facility!!!

The pros of our family membership are this:

1) 2 hours of free child care in a huge room with TONS of activities and an outdoor play structure
2) free aerobic classes
3) free soccer and t-ball for the kids
4) free use of the pool (and it has a slide and a shallow area for kids with fountains and stuff)
5) free swimming lessons
6) discounted rates on other classes: karate, ballet, basketball, etc
7) free adult intramural sports
8) a mile and a half outdoor track around the facility
9) a huge park on property grounds
10) family changing rooms versus taking kids into the ladies' room (when you have boys)
11) we live two miles from it ~ which also helps with motivation
12) the staff is amazing. They know us personally and are invested in our kids too!
13) The classes they offer are a nice variety with different degrees of ability. I like that too

I love my Y!

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I have belonged to our local gym for about 11 years now. It is great. They offer lots of classes, have childcare available from 9am-9pm and are open 365days a year. Since I joined they have gone through 2 expansions. They are constantly updating their equipment and classes. Everyone there is so friendly. Plus, there are even some cute guys to look at to help keep me motivated (and yes, hubby knows I look...lol)

That definitely helps to keep one motivated!

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I really like my gym too. I only go a couple of times a week and do most of my cardio on my own, but I like going there for strength training. I got such an incredible deal on my membership (works out to be less than $20 a month) that it is certainly worth it for me. It is an adults only facility so no childcare but I enjoy the break from my kids and use it as my "me time".

We don't have a gym close to our home, but I would love to have a membership somewhere. As someone said in another post, the financial factor would definitely motivate me to get my butt moving! I would love to be able to take varieties of classes. Oh well, maybe someday!