One of the first things I did when we moved to Portugal was to sign us up at a local gym. I wanted to make sure I could continue to workout and frankly I wanted to have something to do since my life took a 180 degree turn in many, many ways. However, as much as we like having a gym to go to, we are struggling with whether staying at the gym is the right fit for us.
We are used to having a gym membership provided, since I have worked in the Fitness / Gym Industry for the past 20 years. Here in Portugal, I am not able to instruct classes, so for the first time, we are having to weigh the pros and cons of paying for a gym membership.
What is Working?
We like the facility, and we love that it is only a five minute walk from our house. The price is right. They offer all of the equipment we like and offer a wide variety of classes. It is a brand new and very clean facility. We have other friends that belong, so we enjoy running into others socially at the gym.
What Is Not Working?
Frankly we are struggling to maximize our usage due to the gym hours. They open later than we are used to and we find it harder to make it to the gym before other activities are starting for the day. In addition, they have a policy that you have to sign up online for a class 10 hours before the class begins. You can not sign up any sooner than 10 hours before. So, if you want to take a 10 am Spin class you need to log on and sign up at 12am. Since I don’t have a habit of staying up until midnight this can create quite the challenge. I talked with another member and asked her how she is able to sign up for classes, she told me that she sets her alarm to get up in the middle of the night so she can wake up, log on and then sign up……what??? {I call that TOTAL DEDICATION!} Let’s just say for a girl who prefers working out in Group Fitness Classes, this has not been a good fit for me at all. Frustrating – yes! Oh, and the classes are all in Portuguese, which is great for language training purposes but not so much for form and instruction!
What is Plan “B”?
On the flip side we have a basement / rec room in our new house. We have already designated an area with kettle bells, a pull up bar, a set of weights and a bar. My hubby uses it a lot especially since most work days he doesn’t have time to make it to the gym before he has to head out to work. We have begun talking about taking it to the next level and adding some more equipment and just cancelling the gym membership all together. I have lots of resources I can use to train at home and with some more equipment we would be all set.
We haven’t made our firm decision yet, but I think we are leaning this way. I say it time and time again, what is most important is that you find a plan that works for YOU. Our current system is working OK, but we know it could be working even better for us. With some more tools we could simply work out whenever we want and shave time off as well, since all we would have to do is walk down the stairs!
Do you workout at Home or at the Gym?
Is it working for you?
Be FIT & FAB!!!
