Screw the Gym Membership, Buy Rocks.

rocks vs. gym

So many people spend a lot of money trying to lose weight, gain weight, get fit, gain muscle, lose fat, etc. I personally spend $30 bucks a month on a 24 Hour Fitness membership. I use it, but I know I’m one of few that does. I know a girl that spent $40 a month on a gym membership she didn’t use. For 3 years. Let’s do the math.

36 months x $40 a month = $1440

Her reasoning for keeping it: she MIGHT start going again and spent $200 to sign up initially. She said she’s went to the gym for about 2 months, 4 times a week. So:

9 weeks x 4 times per week = 36 visits

$1440 in monthly charges + $200 sign up fee / 36 visits = $45.56 per visit

So this girl paid more than her monthly bill per actual gym visit. And I know she’s not alone.

Now my idea: Many people are shifting to a non-gym workout regiment these days, some of the activities being:

Cardio-respiratory: walking, running, swimming, cycling, sports, etc
Muscular: swimming, sports, cycling, push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, etc

I know the guys here at db clay are doing push-ups sporadically throughout the workday. All of these exercises lack one pretty obvious thing - you don’t need machines to do them. At most you’re looking at investing in a bicycle, a pair of shoes, possibly a football/basketball/etc., maybe paying to go to the pool. But you these are usually one time fees.

They do lack one thing - weights. You can get the workout in else ware (notably swimming), but weights will help you bulk up, or gain muscle to lose fat. Body weight is great once you’re already fit, but if you’re looking for increased results you need to up the ante. So my thought is, instead of buying that membership to use machines/dumbbells four times a year, just buy rocks. I have a couple of reasons for suggesting this.

  1. Rocks are cheap.
  2. Rocks are heavy. (weight)
  3. You can control how much rocks weigh (get different sizes)
  4. Rocks are functional weight.

Why is functional weight important? Well to some it’s not, but I would much prefer to do something I may be doing in the future (doing chores, working outside, manly things, etc.) than doing bench press all day. Plus, lifting rocks works many muscle groups at the same time, stabilizers and major groups. So you’re getting a better workout, faster.

So get out there and get some rocks, they don’t require a membership and will always be there for you!

6 comments:

  1. BuzzDiggity, 16. April 2008, 16:10

    great idea brian… ill see you and fred flinstone at the non-gym

     
  2. Jeff F., 16. April 2008, 21:00

    That’s a pretty good idea. Much, Much cheaper than a gym membership.

     
  3. Justin Kistner, 17. April 2008, 12:23

    I used to work out by doing pull ups in the rafters of my garage. Did that waaay longer than when I tried the gym. I just don’t like feeling like I’m dumping useful energy into moving metal up and down. When I’m done with my “workout”, I’d rather be able to see the shed I just built, or whatever.

     
  4. Kris, 18. April 2008, 11:47

    I think we all agree

    * ScrewTheGym.com —–> workout videos that will keep you out of the gym

    Check it out!

     
  5. gym membership (Pingback), 23. April 2008, 8:01
     

    […] Screw the Gym Membership, Buy Rocks. […]

     
  6. ScrewTheGym.com, 26. April 2008, 11:17

    Now that’s one hell of a site.

     

Write a comment:

Close
E-mail It