The Win On Purpose Podcast
The Win On Purpose Podcast focuses primarily on health and fitness tips and discussions, but we love to celebrate ALL THINGS in regard to being the best you can possibly be in business, relationships, and personal development. Win on purpose means just that, purposefully taking action to become your best self, and following your purpose to develop the passion needed to excel at anything in life!
The Win On Purpose Podcast
Commercial vs Home Gyms Series (Part 1): The Pros and Cons of Commercial Gyms
Choosing between a commercial gym membership and building a home gym is a crucial decision that impacts your fitness success for years to come. In this first installment of our three-part series, we explore what makes commercial gyms worth considering—and what might make them the wrong choice for your unique situation.
Most fitness journeys eventually lead to this crossroads: continue paying monthly for a gym membership or invest in creating your own workout space? The answer isn't one-size-fits-all. Commercial gyms shine with their extensive equipment variety that would cost tens of thousands to replicate at home. There's also the undeniable motivational boost that comes from watching others push their limits while you pursue your own goals. Add amenities like personal training, group classes, saunas, and childcare services, and the appeal becomes clear for many fitness enthusiasts.
Yet commercial gyms come with significant drawbacks. The time investment extends far beyond your actual workout—between commuting, waiting for equipment during busy hours, and preparation, your 45-minute routine can easily consume 90+ minutes of your day. This barrier leads many well-intentioned people to skip workouts entirely when life gets hectic. Financial considerations also deserve attention: while monthly fees seem affordable, they accumulate substantially over decades of fitness commitment. When you factor in annual fees and extras, the long-term investment might actually exceed what you'd spend on quality home equipment. Finally, dealing with crowds, cleanliness issues, and uncomfortable social situations can derail your consistency—the true foundation of fitness progress.
Your fitness environment should support your long-term success rather than create barriers to consistent action. In our upcoming episodes, we'll explore the flip side—how home gyms can transform your fitness experience and exactly what equipment delivers the biggest bang for your buck on a reasonable budget. Subscribe now so you don't miss these practical insights that could reshape your fitness future and save you thousands in the process!
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Welcome to the Win On Purpose podcast with Coach Adam Kelly.
Speaker 1:In this episode, we are starting off a three-part series called Commercial Gems vs Home Gems.
Speaker 1:All right, so episode number one, which is actually episode number 29 of the podcast, we are introducing the topic, we're introducing the discussion, we're introducing the question that's being asked and then I'm going to go into explaining what the pros and cons are of commercial gyms.
Speaker 1:Okay, we're going to start right out of the gate with commercial gyms. Then episode number two, we're going to build on the pros and cons of home gyms. And then episode number three, I'm actually going to break down to you the most cost efficient way to get the exact equipment that you need to get started on your journey and also have years and years of progression and advancement with that simple equipment and what that could look like, guys. So this is going to be a great, informative, impactful episode to help you make this huge, huge decision, because it's a gargantuan investment, whichever option you choose, and it's going to play a direct role in your health, your fitness, the way you look and the way you feel, guys. So this is not a small decision to make and we want to help empower you to make the best one for yourself. So enjoy the episode and we will see you on the other side.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Win On Purpose podcast From health and fitness, business, personal development, relationships and more. We promise you will find inspiration to help you win on purpose in all areas of your life journey. Now for your host, adam Kelly.
Speaker 1:What is going on everybody? Welcome back to the Win On Purpose podcast. Or if this is your first time listening, then welcome to the Win On Purpose podcast with your host, coach Adam Kelly, or Coach AK, for those who know. So we are embarking on episode number 28, 29, excuse me, so right, almost at that benchmark of episode 30. So exciting things there. So, like I said, appreciate you guys for tuning in.
Speaker 1:So our objective of this podcast and every episode that we put out, you know our objective is to cut through the noise and the confusion, to bring you clear and practical strategies for transforming your health, your fitness and, ultimately, your life. Because we know that our health and our fitness and our energy levels and our sleep quality and the way that we move in, the way that we think each day, the way our brain is able to operate, literally impacts every aspect of our life our productivity at work, our ability to be present with our families, to be there for our spouse, to be good citizens and community leaders, to create a better world for our children and grandchildren to grow up in. And if we are not feeling good, we're not very effective in life. So you know that's the objective of our podcast is to bring you guys insights and tips and ideas and things to think about, different perspectives that can help you really finally create the habits that will sustain you for life, that will help you reach your goals but better than just reaching your goals to become better at everything that you do, because, as I've said in many, many episodes, that what we learn in the gym, what we learn in the kitchen, what we learn from our discipline and our habit structure really bleeds over into every other area of our lives. Okay, so you know, if you think about the discipline that's required to wake up on time to go to the gym or go get your walk in, or, you know, to wake up and meal prep or make sure that you have all your food ready and that you're tracking things, and to do your weigh-ins, and all these different things that we do on a daily basis to keep ourselves accountable and make sure that our actions are leading in the direction that we want to go, these things are going to make us so much better in every area of our life as well.
Speaker 1:So you know, that's what we want to do here is inspire you and motivate you to become the best version of yourself to be better than you were yesterday and to ultimately win on purpose in all things, all right. So what I want to do here is first, you know we want to do our house cleaning, we All right. So what I want to do here is first, you know we want to do our house cleaning, we want to get that out of the way. So if you guys would please, please, like this episode, share it, share the podcast with somebody, email it to someone, share it in a DM, put it on your, on your story However you communicate with those that you care about, it would greatly help us to get this information out, to help get this podcast out, to be able to help as many people as possible and really make an impact in this world, guys. So we appreciate every star, preferably the five that you do at once. We appreciate all the comments, all the engagement you guys listening and downloading. All that is so, so helpful to, like I said, really make an impact in this world, because that's what our mission is at Transform Health Initiative and the Win On Purpose podcast.
Speaker 1:So what are we doing in this episode? Okay, great question, because now here we are rambling on for five minutes once again. So the point of this episode is actually to launch a brand new series that we're doing. It's only going to be about a three-part series, so not too crazy there and we're going to be focusing on a topic that I know a lot of people wrestle with when they're getting serious about their fitness, especially if you've started creating the habit of being active and working out and exercising and all these different things. Most likely this thought or this question has come to mind and you're not really sure how to navigate it. Or maybe you've made some oh I don't know poor choices when it comes to these two options, just based on not knowing what you need or what's best for you, and so we want to kind of clear that up, help you guys have a better idea of how to continue progressing in your fitness and where hint to the episode you should be doing that at for your needs and your goals in your life and where hint to the episode you should be doing that at for your needs and your goals in your life. Okay, so the ultimate question that we are pinning here, that we are going to break down in this three-part series, is should I or you? Should I join a commercial gym or should I invest in building my own home gym? Okay, definitely a big question. And we've seen a huge spike of this, you know, around the COVID era and since then, matter of fact, I was one of them that built a home gym. And funny backstory, guys, just because you guys are so interested in my daily life During COVID, I was actually doing another job at the time. It was before I had, you know, launched my personal training business and then ended up being Transform Health Initiative. I was doing another job and where I was out and about in southeast Oklahoma servicing convenience stores.
Speaker 1:Anyways, when COVID happened, we didn't know what to expect. You know, every industry was freaking out. Everybody's worried. If they were, their job was going to shut down, if we're going to be locked in our houses forever. But our industry was still booming and we were still really busy. So while we're out on the road, I realized that all the gyms have been shut down, at least here in Oklahoma, oklahoma City area. We were shut down for about three weeks, so we didn't have a very extreme lockdown, thankfully, like a lot of places like New York and places that were locked down for centuries. We we weren't like that. We, like I said, we just had about three weeks where the main businesses were closed, but people didn't know what to expect.
Speaker 1:And I definitely didn't know what to expect and I knew that I needed to be able to still work out if I can't go to the gym. So I had just barely any equipment at home, like the bare bare minimum, and so I started going around literally to every store that I could that was open, which was mainly Walmart at the time, because a lot of the small towns they didn't really shut down, or not very much anyways. So places like Walmart and stuff like that were still open for pretty much the whole time. So I started hitting up these Walmarts and basically buying all the equipment that I can find rather, if they were the cheap little plastic, cement, you know, weight plates or dumbbells or whatever I could get my hands on to have equipment. So I ended up building my own home gym and then I added on to it for time, you know, for several years after that, because in the middle of 2020 is when I injured my spine For those who don't know, I've had a couple of spine surgeries was injured, was down for about two and a half years bedridden basically the entire time, and so you know, whenever I was able to start lifting again, that's whenever I got back into the gym.
Speaker 1:But I realized that you know, with my restrictions on my neck and pain and doctor restrictions, and you know, just literal, what I couldn't do, which was almost anything. I realized that I would barely be able to lift any weight and that was kind of embarrassing. You know, it was definitely a hit to the pride Not that I'm a big like prideful person but you know it was embarrassing to go in there and bench press five pound dumbbells you know what I mean Like who wants to do that. Plus, it's a waste of a drive anyways. And so I started accruing more you know equipment like a Smith machine that you know I didn't have to worry about having a spotter as a little safer to lift and accruing lighter weights and then building my way up until I had a decent home gym, which a lot of that ended up being brought to our Transform Health Initiative training facility and that we use here.
Speaker 1:So, anyways, that was an interesting time because we saw a really big spike in home gyms. A lot of online equipment started selling like crazy. Companies were selling out for months and months and months at a time. Plus, production was off because the whole world was shut down. So people were getting on Marketplace and selling equipment and buying equipment. So it was a crazy time for home gyms. And that's when a lot of people realized that, you know, when you're shut out of the gym for three weeks and you still want to progress, you're going to figure out a way to do it. And people were, you know, including us. We were coming up with all kinds of different exercises and lifting different things around the house and different ways that we can be active from home, cause, again, we didn't know if we would die just from walking outside. You know all the fear they were pumping out. And so, like I said, there was a huge spike in that time for home gyms and it hasn't really died off yet.
Speaker 1:A lot of people continue to build their home gym, or ever since then they realized, like you know, if the gym was to shut down again, I don't have a gym to work out in and also like, hey, it's kind of convenient to be able to just go out of my garage or go in my office room or wherever you have your equipment at, bust out a workout and go on about your day. Or for people that work from home, that don't want to have to leave and go to the gym. They can just work out there and work and just be in their little castle all day. So many different examples of why we start realizing that, hey, a home gym is not a bad idea. But there are some things that we want to consider because obviously we know that's a huge financial investment up front and there's some ways that we can work around that which we're going to talk about in part three of this series, when I kind of break down what I would get if I was building a small home gym. But that can be a very big upfront investment. So you want to make sure that one you're actually going to capitalize on your investment, because who wants to spend a bunch of money on equipment that just sits there and collects dust or ends up becoming shelving in your garage? You want to make sure we utilize it and that we know what we're doing in a safe fashion, because if you never lifted before and you buy yourself a bunch of home gym equipment, you could obviously increase your risk of injury. So those are definitely some things we want to consider and consider the benefits of having a commercial gym or a big box gym or your local town gym to utilize, rather than doing everything that's required to have your own home gym. So that's what this series is about comparing commercial gyms versus home gyms, not really giving recommendations, because this is totally a personal opinion. This is totally a personal preference, so I can't tell you which one's best, because neither one is best. Both of them are fantastic options if utilized properly. So, yeah, that's what we're going to dive into today. So I'm going to be scrolling around my notes, as usual I like to these days.
Speaker 1:You know, getting into my you know, episode 30 of the podcast, getting a little little experience. I started preparing a little bit more. At first I was just kind of going off the whim, just talking like it's a conversation, but now I like to prepare a little bit more, to stay on task, because you guys know from this first 11 minutes of this podcast, I do have a gift of gab and I will go on and on, so keep me structured. And then I like to fill in some side pieces. You know, in between, just what I would say to you if I was looking at you right here in our headquarters office just having a regular conversation.
Speaker 1:Alright, so you know, when we talk about the subject of comparing a commercial big box gym, local gym, public gym, private gym to your own personal home gym, you know we, like I said, we really want to weigh the pros and cons and the balance, because this is not a small decision to make. Okay, this is a potentially years and years of investment that you should be capitalizing on. So, and it's a huge impact on your health and quality of life. So we want to take this very serious. So you know, maybe you're just getting started and you want to set yourself up for success. So maybe you're, you know you're new to your journey, you haven't really been in the gym all that much and you're like, hey, you know, is it worth going to the gym and being embarrassed, or could I just do this from home? Or you've tried one or both of these options in the past and you're not brand new to lifting or exercise and you're trying to figure out what makes the most sense going forward for you. Again, we want to do what you're going to be able to sustain the longest and what actually benefits your journey, not what your friend's doing or what the internet's telling you is best for you, okay. So, regardless of whatever you choose, this series is going to help make a clear, confident decision based on your goals, your lifestyle and your personality. So again, I'm just basically laying it all out there for you, helping you weigh in the balance, your options, and then you pull the trigger and go with whatever you feel is best. And this is basically how I do my clients with our online coaching and our hybrid in-person slash online coaching experience is.
Speaker 1:You know, I like to basically present options to people, because my plan is not your plan, your program is not my program, it doesn't matter what works best for me, it doesn't matter what I like, it doesn't matter my preferences, it doesn't matter what I feel is best, it matters what you can do, what you can sustain and what's going to help you be successful. Okay, because, at the end of the day, nothing matters but results. All right, let me say that again, nothing matters but results, and that's all that we care about here is helping you succeed. Okay, so that's you know, if I present you with options, then you can choose, because no one knows you better than you, no one knows your inner thoughts and your fears and your insecurities, and the things that you're good at and the things you're not good at, and your preferences and what you like and don't like. No one knows that better than you. I definitely don't from the little bit of conversation we have building up your program, and so, as I get to learn more about you, I want you to be in as control of your journey as possible.
Speaker 1:I always tell my clients I am nothing more than a navigator. I'm not the captain of the ship. You are the captain of the ship. This is your journey, your ship, and you're responsible. I'm your navigator. I'm the experienced one that knows the seas. I've seen the ins and outs. I've been back and forth a trillion times. I've helped many other people sail this journey and my job is to help you get to your destination. Not choose your destination, not tell you what's best for your destination, but simply help you get there.
Speaker 1:So I present you with options on how you could get to your journey. So this option could be better. This option could be worse. This option may take longer. This option is safer. This option is more risky, but faster, and provide you with all the different avenues that you can take, that are all, could lead you to your final destination, if you're able to succeed on the journey and allow you to make that choice, because now you're building self-efficacy, where you're depending on yourself, where you're trusting your decisions, you're learning to hold yourself accountable, as I help you do so, and that is way better way better at helping people be successful than just hey, do X, y and Z exactly like this, because I know best, I'm the expert and you're not. Well, that may be true, I may be the expert and you may not quite be the expert in this field. However, you are the expert of your life and what works for you, not me. Okay. So, like I said, that's, that's what I want you to be able to do present you with your options and say, hey, you make your decision on what you feel is best for you, okay.
Speaker 1:So let me break down just a little bit, going into each episode, on what you can expect from this series, and again, this is like an introduction. Okay, this is just kind of warming you up, getting you ready for all the little details that we're going to break down, but I'm also going to go a little bit deeper in this episode, so it'll be longer than the other two. What you expect from this series, guys? This episode one, like I said, is a three-part mini-series, and here's what we've got lined up for you guys. Episode one, which is obviously today's episode, we're introducing the topic and diving into the biggest pros and cons of commercial gyms. Okay, so we've already got through the introduction.
Speaker 1:Next up, we're going to talk about the biggest pros and cons from our viewpoint on using commercial gyms. All right, then episode two next week we're going to flip the script and we're going to look at the pros and cons of building your own home gym, because we want to see both sides of the coin. Obviously, you can't make a decision unless you know all your options. And then episode three I'm going to walk you through the essential equipment that I recommend for creating a simple, effective home gym setup, and this is also one that's going to be budget conscious Sorry, trouble even saying what's on my mind but it's going to be powerful enough to really help you reach your goals. We don't want you to break the bank on trying to buy a bunch of equipment that's unnecessary. We believe in simplicity here. We believe in consistency through doing what's required, nothing more, nothing less. So I'm going to help you guys with that.
Speaker 1:Now, if you have an unlimited budget or you have a lot of money that you want to devote to your home gym, obviously there are thousands and thousands and thousands of different things that you can buy. You know whole gym setups that are made for the house, where you only buy one thing and it's literally the entire gym. There's so many things you can do, but if you are just trying to see if this is even going to stick with you, or you don't have thousands of dollars sitting around and dumping to a home gym, or you just want to get started, and you want to get started with what you can now, then that's why I'm going to focus more on that budget conscious idea of hey, this is the bare minimum that I would recommend to literally take you years and years of progress with this equipment, or you could upgrade over time, obviously, and add to it. So you know, by the end of this series, you're going to be equipped with the insight to decide which environment will help you stay consistent, which environment will help you stay motivated and which one will help you stay on track towards your transformation. All right, so let's get into the rest of episode one.
Speaker 1:So the commercial gym is it still worth it? Okay, great question to ask. So let's be real, guys. We know that commercial gyms have been the go-to option for decades. You guys have seen them around advertised, seen them on the corner for years and years and years and years. Most people have even either been to a gym or their parents had a gym membership or something, especially back when you had health clubs. You don't really see that anymore. Now it's like the quick, cheap entry come in, get a workout in, do some cardio and leave. Maybe you have showers, maybe you don't Whereas back in the day they had racquetballs and tennis ball courts and swimming pools and tracks and weights and cardio classes and all these different things. You just don't really see that anymore. So you know, we see a range from budget friendly chains to high end fitness clubs and they offer a wide range of equipment, classes and amenities. So you know you can basically get everything that you need from a commercial gym, obviously for your health journey, depending on which one you go with, but they're not always the best fit for everyone. All right, this is something to consider. Again, personal preference is everything. So to keep this general and not overlap with future episodes. Like I said, I want to stay as organized as I can.
Speaker 1:I'm going to share the three biggest pros and the three biggest most common cons of using a commercial gym. Again, this is built from my own personal opinion, my own personal experience from being members at, you know, commercial gyms and also working in commercial gyms as a trainer, and you know, for my clients, their perspectives, things like that. So let's start with the positives. All right, let's start with the three major pros of commercial gyms. Number one access to equipment variety. All right, this is, this is probably the biggest one at the benefits of a, you know, box gym, local home, you know local public gym, private gym, whatever. So, rather, if it's cardio machines, free weights, weights, cable machines or specialty gear, commercial gyms offer a wide range of equipment that you probably wouldn't have at home, or, you know, at least not without a serious investment. Okay, because let me tell you this, guys, from personal experience gym equipment is not cheap. Okay, definitely not cheap. So it's, it's a huge barrier to entry if you want to have a good setup. However, a lot of these gyms because a lot more budget friendly these days, like I said, ten dollars a month, whatever it may be. Twenty thirty dollars a month still cheap. You know you, you have access to what would cost you thousands and thousands and tens of thousands, thirties, forties, fifties of thousands of dollars in order to get that same equipment. So that's a huge benefit there, guys.
Speaker 1:Number two of one of the major pros of commercial gyms is its built-in environment for motivation. Guys, it is your go-to motivation refill. So for a lot of people, just being in the gym environment surrounded by others who are working out could be incredibly motivating, and I I definitely understand this idea, although I work out alone completely in our private facility, every session that I do, every workout that I do. But boy is it motivating to be around like-minded people who are also getting after it. You know, because there's energy, there's structure and you're stepping into a place that's designed specifically for training. So you know, you're not. I mean, there are some places that they have like restaurants built into the gym and coffee shops and different stuff like that, but for the most part, most of your gyms like that's the theme, okay, there's not like a mixed theme. It's how you're here to better yourself or to leave.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that's a huge, huge benefit there, because, especially if you're starting out or you're new to fitness, you're new to exercise it can be very hard to have not only just day-to-day motivation but also like moment-to-moment motivation within the workout. It's very easy to get distracted, it's very easy to lose focus. But when you're, like I said, you're around a bunch of people that are also getting after it and bettering themselves and working hard and pushing themselves, that's super motivating because, one, just it's contagious within itself. But two, we don't really like to be the ones that look like they're not doing anything when you're surrounded by people that are getting after it, so it makes you want to do more. At least it does for a lot of us. So that's a huge, huge benefit to keep you going, because you know not to dive into the cons of at home. But you know when you're working out at home, there's nothing there holding you accountable. You can get distracted, you can go do other things, try to get stuff done around the house, your kids walk in, you know so many different things or you're just not really feeling it. So you're just going to give very, very little effort just to say that you did it but you didn't actually try, whereas in the gym that's a little embarrassing to be the one that looks like they're not hardly doing anything. So, again, very motivating.
Speaker 1:And number three, on the major pros of commercial gyms amenities and extras. Okay, again, something you most likely do not have at home. So, depending on where you go, gyms may offer classes. You know fitness classes, group classes, you know cardio, zumba, boxing, kickboxing. You have personal training, personal trainers, sauna, showers, and also a lot of them actually have childcare as well. Some of them are included. Well, some of them are included, some of them are extra, but you have someone to watch your kids while you're getting your workout in. So these amenities can make fitness more convenient, especially if you have a tight schedule or family responsibility.
Speaker 1:So you know, if you're at home and you've got, you know, a couple little babies or toddlers not babies, babies, kids, but babies or toddlers not babies, babies, kids, but babies or toddlers and you know, you, just you know that if you try to get anything done, that doesn't involve them hanging on you or asking something of you. It's not going to happen. Whereas at the gym they go into childcare, it's like daycare. You're there, you're working out, they call you if something happens or if they need you. If not, then they're being entertained, they're being taken care of and you're able to still get your workout in, you know.
Speaker 1:Same thing if you have a tight schedule because you have showers available, you know you have classes, so you're not there wasting time, not knowing what to do. You're just going there, knocking out your workout class, going about your business. You've got personal trainers. They're there to guide you, make sure that you're safe, make sure you're maximizing your exercise experience while you're there. So all these different amenities just can make the experience that much better and that much more appealing, that much more enjoyable, help it not be as mundane getting bored with the same regiments, because you can change up classes. You can do so many different things. You can have your personal trainer change up your workouts, whatever it may be. You know you've got the saunas for relaxation and recovery. So there's just so many benefits that come along with being at a commercial gym that you most likely are not going to have access to at home.
Speaker 1:All right, so that covers our three major pros of commercial gyms. Let me just recap real quick. Number one access to equipment variety. Number two built-in environment for motivation, because we all need it. Number three amenities and extras. That's our three pros. So where does that leave us? Obviously, we need to touch on the cons because we want to make sure we're making the best decision for ourselves. All right, so now we're going to go into the three common cons the negatives, if you will of commercial gyms. All right. So, number one time and travel.
Speaker 1:All right, getting to and from the gym can take a valuable time that you may not have to spare on just driving. So between packing your bag, driving there, waiting for your equipment in between sets, driving home, that can easily turn a 45-minute workout into a 90-minute ordeal, or longer, definitely, depending on how far you're driving. So that barrier can lead to skip sessions, making excuses not to go. You know you wake up and your car won't start. The weather's bad outside, especially if you're here in the Midwest. This is something we deal with on a regular basis, with the cold and the ice and snow and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:Just the amount of time and energy that it requires for you to get ready for the gym. Maybe you get dressed F? Females, I know some of you like to put on makeup before the gym. Totally cool if that's your thing, but you know that takes time. Obviously that's required of you because you're going to be out in public. You want to be presentable. Maybe you have things to do afterwards and since you're driving all this distance, you want to be able to work out, take your shower and then go do what you have to do before driving all the way back home, so it just can end up eating up a bunch of time.
Speaker 1:And then you have the travel aspect. If you work out 30 minutes, 45 minutes from home, then how much gas are you spending each day to get to and from the gym? Again, how much time are you spending? How is this affecting your time that you have to meal prep and to plan out and to do your evening activities and your work schedule and spending time with your family being at the events that they have? There's so many areas that losing that extra time per day could really really not be a good situation for our at least for our consistency. Maybe you can get away with it for a week or two, but if we're talking about a lifestyle, that is not going to be very helpful.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that's number one. Number two of the most common cons of commercial gyms cost over time okay. So monthly memberships may seem affordable and, like I said, especially in today's age where you have $10 memberships, free signups, all that kind of stuff, but they add up okay, free signups, all that kind of stuff, but they add up Okay, especially when you factor in things like initiation fees, extra classes, training packages. Um, a lot of your gyms have, you know, like an annual fee, so maybe they're months a month fees are pretty low but they have that annual fee where basically that money and it's a good thing it makes sense because they're charging so little for memberships. You know, upkeeping a gym costs a lot of money. Okay, repairs on equipment costs a lot of money.
Speaker 1:You know, cleaning supplies, paying your staff, you know your utilities, rent, so many different things that go into operating that gym and making sure that things stay nice for you and usable and accessible. That know, they add in that annual charge that helps them pay for a lot of those things insurances, all that kind of stuff. So you know that that can be an unexpected, because a lot of gyms they don't really talk about that or they maybe just say it or it's in the written consent but they don't actually obviously go into the fact of hey, just so you know, in two months you're gonna be charged this annual fee, because most people don't even realize it's happening until they check their bank statement and see that they were charged this much larger amount from their gym. And so even little things, like they have your favorite drink that you buy, or they have a smoothie bar that you hit up every day and yeah know it's, it's a healthier option. But if the smoothies cost eight dollars a pop and you're going to the gym four days a week, like, you can end up charging yourself a lot of money that you could just make it at home. You know what I mean. Uh, so yeah, cost over time is definitely an issue there, you know, obviously, if budget's not an issue or the amount that it costs you is not an issue for your budget, then not something you have to worry about, but for a lot of us, definitely something to consider.
Speaker 1:And especially, you know, the biggest thing here let me go off a little side tangent the biggest thing there is the long-term scope of things. Okay, so maybe in the immediate, because it is cheap, you know, maybe it only costs you 20, 30 bucks a month, maybe it costs you 50, 60 bucks for your old family. You know you have your annual fee, but there's really nothing outside of that. You know, maybe it doesn't cost you that much month to month. But if we're looking at a lifestyle over a long haul, say that you're 40 years old OK, and obviously you probably want to live another 30, 40, 50, 60 years OK and live a healthy lifestyle where you're able to move around and do the things you want to do in life, which means you're going to have to be exercising. So even if you're starting at 40 years old, you have the potential of having another 30 to 50 years of life in which you're in the gym OK.
Speaker 1:So when you add up how much you're investing in that gym year after year after year after year, and then you compare that to the cost of buying your own equipment, having your own gym at home, you may be paying a whole lot more over that lifespan to the gym than you are to your. You know what you would pay for a home gym. Now, obviously, with the home gym you have the upfront cost, which is completely different. It's not broken down over 20 years, not that you need to spend that much on home gym equipment, but again, it's upfront cost. That's the caveat to that, something to consider. Like I said, it's still something to consider if you plan on doing this for the long haul which, if you're listening to this, you should be, because that's our number one thing is creating lifestyle, not just temporary actions that lead to the same circumstances time after time after time. So it's just kind of a different way to think about it. You know, even if you add up what it costs you, you know, for two, three years of a gym membership, you may be able to get you some, you know, foundational startup equipment at home because it doesn't take much. I promise you that and save yourself that money. Again, it's up to you if you think it's best.
Speaker 1:So, uh, the last one on our three most common cons of commercial gyms is the crowds and inconveniences. Okay, so we all know that there is nothing more frustrating than showing up with a plan. You know you have your program, you have your exercises, you know how many reps and sets you need to do, your rest breaks, you're ready to go, but you have to wait 10 minutes for a bench or navigate around peak hour chaos. Ok, maybe the only time you can work out is six o'clock after work or six am before work, and we all know that the gyms are packed and busy at those times and it may take you an extra 30 minutes to finish your workout because you're having to wait on equipment, especially if you're at a smaller gym that doesn't have a lot of equipment or you know different variations like machines and stuff like that to do basically the same exercise. So this can be a huge issue and that inconvenience alone causes many people to fall off track with consistency.
Speaker 1:So you have a lot of people that don't like crowds. You know, just in general, this is a big problem because your commercial gyms you're going to have crowds, especially around peak hours. You know, maybe they don't like things being unclean, unsanitary. Well, you know, unless the big gym is super on their business when it comes to cleaning, you may not have the cleanest environment. That may be a big issue for you. I know it is for me personally. So that's why I mentioned that one.
Speaker 1:Um, you know, just again, having to wait on equipment. Maybe you only have 45 minutes that you can be at the gym period, like from the moment you walk out in. To walk out, you have to be at a meeting afterwards or you have to go pick up the kids so you don't have extra time. Like you need to know that your workout is going to take this long and you're going to be done well again. If you're having to wait five, ten minutes for every piece of equipment that you need, you're going to be missing half your workout. Now, at the very best, you're getting half the results that you could have gotten, but at worst you get discouraged, you get frustrated. I don't have time for this. I'm late, I didn't get my kids on time. Now I feel bad and I look bad. You know what? Forget this. This isn't worth it. This is interrupting my life rather than benefiting my life, and that's not what we want, because that is not how you build consistent habits, okay.
Speaker 1:So, like I said, this can be a big issue the crowds and the inconveniences, or you know, whatever it may, whatever it is that that you know, just maybe. Let me give you an example. Okay, we all love everybody. We should all love everybody, respect everybody. You know everybody's different. Everybody has different practices and different preferences and different ideas of hygiene techniques and things like that. Okay, let me keep this very nice.
Speaker 1:Um, but we all come across those people in public and when you walk past them or they walk past you, maybe even worse, because now air is traveling and everything is fine, and everything is fine, your life is good, like you're happy, you're doing something good for yourself, or maybe you're at the store or whatever. It is Like everything is cool, you're doing what you need to do. And they walk past you and then it hits you and the thought comes to your mind man, how could you already smell that bad? And it is 7 o'clock in the morning? Has that ever happened to you guys? Maybe not.
Speaker 1:Again, I don't like judging people to each his own. Hey, if you want to smell like that, you're cool with that. Maybe you don't notice it, Maybe you have a condition that it's not in your control and I'm totally not making fun of that at all. Okay, whatever the situation is, I'm not judging you, I just don't want to be around it. Okay, I'm very big on hygiene, smelling good.
Speaker 1:Now, obviously, in the gym you're sweating, things are happening. Hey, you may not be the freshest, but let's just be honest, guys. You could tell if someone's bathed in a few days or not. All right, just by the the, the way that they smell. All right, and you can test this with being around teenagers, because they always smell like that, even if they did shower. Okay, so we know what that smell smells like, all right.
Speaker 1:So this can be a big problem for people and it can be, you know, it's understandable, because it's unpleasant, it can literally make you feel sick. Okay, something to keep in mind. So those little things like that, or maybe it's, you know, you feel uncomfortable because you feel like you know there's creeps out there, which there are, you know, not as many as people make it out to be, but there are creeps out there. So you know, maybe, that you're uncomfortable about that. Whatever it may be, that's definitely something to consider, because you may be gung ho to start your plan and get in the gym and start working out, but you get in there and something really turns you off. The chances of you continuing to show up every day and experience that are not very high, guys, and again, we want to set ourselves up for success, all right, because nothing else matters but results, all right.
Speaker 1:So that is your three most common cons of commercial gyms, all right. So let me again. I'm gonna recap that. All right, let me again. I'm going to recap that, all right. So number one, we have time and travel. Number two, we have cost over time, okay, just the cost that it requires of you, that that build-up cost. And number three, crowds and inconveniences and all the situations that come along with those inconveniences. All All right. So there you have it, guys.
Speaker 1:It's a general review of the gym experience, the commercial gym experience. So what makes it a solid option for some, okay, and where it can become a sticking point for others, all right. Again, whatever side you fall on is how you need to make your choice. So, as I said before, in the next episode, at part two of this series, we'll take a closer look at the other side. All right, we're going to look at the pros and cons of setting up your own home gym and if that's worth it to you or not, all right, whether you've already got some equipment at home and you're just wanting to build on that, or if you're just curious, if it's even realistic, if it's even worth the thought to even waste looking into it.
Speaker 1:You do not want to miss this next episode, guys. I promise you so. And then again, you know, in episode three, you know. Just to recap the revise, I'll give you a complete breakdown of how to build a simple, functional home gym setup with just the essentials that give you the biggest return on your investment. All right, because, again, you would always add more, but you can also stay within a budget, still get you a decent home gym setup and be highly successful.
Speaker 1:I've helped multiple people do that, whether they're clients or people just asking questions, and they've been so satisfied has phenomenal results and I love every second of it. So we're gonna make sure that you know if that choice is best for you and how to go about it. So if you've ever said, felt stuck choosing between gym memberships or home workouts and this series is totally for you guys and for whoever you know that may be wondering the same thing alright, so I appreciate you guys for tuning in. Hope you found this episode helpful. Just make make sure to subscribe, leave a review, leave a comment and share it with your friend who's ready to take their health serious. As always, whatever you do with this information, make sure you do something good for yourself, something good for your health, something good for those you care about, and, whatever you do, make sure you win on purpose. Talk at you next time.