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Getting in routine exercise is important for everyone at every stage of life. To maintain optimal health, you need to fit consistent exercise into your daily routine. Previously, this meant joining an expensive gym. Nowadays, there are many more options than ever before when it comes to working out.
While gyms are readily available, home workout equipment has been outpacing the evolution of gyms. This has led to a lot of consumers looking for ways to get more effective workouts at home. Never before could consumers invest in gym-like equipment that can fit comfortably in their homes.
Are you considering your options?
If so, by the end of this article you should be in a position to tell whether or not a gym or a Peloton is for you.
How to Decide if a Peloton or Gym Membership is Better For You
1. How Much Time Do You Have?
This is one of the major reasons a lot of people end up avoiding regular exercise. A lack of time is a complaint by many. It’s also one of the reasons why only 1 in 5 U.S adults meet physical activity guidelines [1].
If you are someone who has a busy schedule every day of the week, you may find it very difficult to find time to go to and from the gym. After all, not everyone has a gym that is conveniently located within a couple of miles from their home or workplace. If you fit this criterion, you are likely one of those who would use not having time as an excuse.
Getting yourself home workout equipment that provides a gym or studio-like experience can be a great way to save time. That way, you no longer give yourself such a convenient excuse.
This can end up saving a tremendous amount of time because you only need around 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week to see major improvements in both aerobic health and muscle strength [2].
2. What’s Your Budget
Your budget is another key consideration that you should be making when you are choosing between a gym membership and a Peloton. A gym membership can be affordable or it can be expensive.
A lot depends on the gym you are looking at going to and what the gym offers. A gym is typically able to spread out the cost of a membership to be relatively affordable because you’re sharing it with hundreds of other members at any given time. Because of this, you can pay less to enjoy the same experience.
There are inherent downsides to this, as well. For one, you have to share the equipment. This means you could end up wasting even more valuable time by waiting for exercise equipment that someone else is using.
It also means you have to wipe down the equipment you use after each set out of common courtesy.
RELATED READING: Cheaper Alternatives to the Peloton
A Peloton is a very expensive upfront investment. While there are financing options, you can expect to pay a lot for it. However, when you calculate how much you pay for a gym membership yearly, the cost is likely very similar.
However, to use the Peloton you will need to pay not only the cost of the bike or treadmill itself but also the Peloton membership which itself is $39 per month. Therefore, no matter how you look at it you’ll be paying more for a Peloton for the first year with certainty.
Beyond that, it would depend on whether or not your gym membership exceeds the $39/month cost for a Peloton membership.
3. What Works Best For You?
This is a very important consideration you need to make as well. Not everyone has the same personality. Are you more motivated when you are alone or around others? Do you like being in a social atmosphere? Do you need to physically leave your home to get yourself into a mindstate of being productive?
These are the things that you must think about. Some people aren’t capable of focusing at home. It’s easy to see why considering how many distractions we have in our homes. Not only do you have other people in your home, but you may have your favorite gaming console, television, and other things there to distract you.
For someone unable to attain a high level of focus in their homes will likely benefit much more from exiting their homes and heading to a gym.
For those who do better when they are by themselves, a Peloton provides a far superior experience. The Peloton can be as social or isolated as you want it to be. You can partake in live group classes or you can solely rely on on-demand classes. You are in control of everything.
For those who don’t want to be limited by what classes are available at their local gym, this is a major benefit and one reason the Peloton membership is more than worth considering.
4. Are You Organized?
This is a major one that not many people consider when they are weighing their options. A gym membership is great and all, but you are going to have to keep up with your metrics and data if you want to experience growth over time. You will need to maintain organized records of your fitness levels, achievements, and more.
That way, you know if you are getting faster, stronger, and more. You could do this with a fitness tracker, but you won’t have a seamless platform that you can use that syncs with your tracker.
This is something that the Peloton does so well. You can sync your data with Apple Health integration. This means you won’t need to worry about tracking your metrics or recording them after your workouts. You can spend more time focusing on your actual workouts instead.
Pros and Cons of Joining a Gym
- Access To More Equipment
There is no doubt that you’ll have access to more variety of equipment when you have a gym membership. Unless you belong to a poorly maintained gym, you should have a lot more different types of workout equipment to choose from.
- Social Interaction
If you are someone who works out with a friend, you may enjoy going to the gym with them. If so, a gym membership and the social interactions you get from it are likely a major benefit.
- Fewer Distractions
While a gym can have a lot of distractions, it is not going to be as many as your home might provide. While someone who has a dedicated room to their Peloton might be capable of limiting distractions, a lot of Peloton users will likely have to deal with them.
Pros and Cons Of Getting a Peloton
- Save Time
One of the major benefits that you get when you purchase a Peloton is the ability to save time without sacrificing your workout experience.
Because Peloton is capable of providing you with studio-like workouts in the comfort of your own home, you can save time without feeling like you are getting less from your workouts.
The ability to save time cannot be understated given how commonly it’s used as a reason people skip workouts.
- Minimal Effort
Another reason has to do with it being so easy to get started. Many struggles with motivating themselves enough to make the effort to head to the gym.
When the gym is your Peloton in your home, there aren’t many barriers in your way. Instead of having to get into your car and drive miles to the gym, you get to walk a couple of steps to your Peloton.
This minimal effort creates minimal resistance which keeps you from skipping workouts.
- You Control Yor Environment
When you have a Peloton, you will control your environment. If you like having a fan blasting while you workout, you can have it. If you enjoy watching a specific TV show while working out, you can put it on.
If you enjoy listening to a specific genre of music, it’s your choice. The same cannot be said for a gym environment that is being used by other people.
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- Compete With Others
One of the underrated aspects of the Peloton experience is the social aspect of it. Peloton has created a community of like-minded fitness enthusiasts. Looking at the leaderboards can be one of the best ways to motivate yourself to maintain a top spot on them. The Peloton makes it very easy to compete with others which can push you to work out harder and for longer.
- Expert Training Included
With the Peloton membership, you are getting hundreds of expert-led workouts that you can choose from. You will have the opportunity to participate in live or on-demand workouts led by professionals. This ensures you are getting the most effective workouts into your routine to achieve your desired fitness goals.
Summary: Final Points To Help You Decide
As you can see, there are pros and cons to both. Joining a gym is something that could be useful for the right person. Anyone that isn’t self-motivated or that has too much going on at home might benefit from it.
However, for a lot of people, the Peloton offers a better experience with greater convenience making it a superior choice.
You should join a gym if…
- You get distracted at home
- You don’t want to spend the high upfront cost of a Peloton
- You have a gym closeby
You should get a Peloton if…
- You want the most comprehensive workout experience
- You want the convenience of having studio-like equipment in your home
- You don’t want to allow yourself to make excuses
- You want better health tracking and fitness integration
References
- https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0502-physical-activity.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm
