Last summer, I ditched my gym membership for the first time in 20 years. It dawned on me that, having visited the premises precisely twice that year, each of my workouts (in a no-frills council leisure centre, mind) had cost me £120.
I’m not alone in throwing in the fluffy towel. Recent statistics from the accountancy firm Deloitte show that gym membership in the UK is in decline 54,000 fewer people joined in 2007 than they had the year previously, while the United States has seen a 24% drop in gym recruits in the last year. The average monthly outlay for health club membership is £46, and it’s an expense that many feel they can’t justify in the current economic climate especially given that only a quarter of gym members actually go regularly.
But financial belt-tightening needn’t lead to trouser belt loosening. The absence of a shiny membership card in my wallet has led me to explore new ways and places to be active and I’d say I’m fitter than ever. I have run and cycled more (freeing myself from the stultifying boredom of the cardiovascular machines), dipped my toes into open-water swimming, and devised home-based workouts which, I believe, match anything I could have done in the gym (see my bench circuit, below).
February 27, 2009