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Beachbody vs Gym Membership
Beachbody isn’t for everybody. Gyms aren’t for everybody. So when it comes to Beachbody vs gym membership, which side of the fence do you fall on? If you’re not sure, this will be a helpful posts for you!
It’s that time of the year when gyms offer some pretty great deals to lure customers who are feeling guilty after the holiday indulge and making New Year’s resolutions left and right. The question is—are these gym memberships worth it over time? And, is it the right path for YOU?
The last thing you want to do is commit to a contract membership without thinking things through.
The Costs of Gym Membership
Let’s look at all the direct and indirect costs of gym memberships.
At the time I wrote this post, four of the most popular gyms had these membership dues:
- LA Fitness—$9.95 per week ($517.40 per year)
- Fitness Works—$29.00 per month ($348 per year)
- Gold’s Gym—$29.99 per month (with a 2 year contract) ($359.88 per year)
- 24 Hour Fitness—$36.99 per month ($443.88 per year or $299.99 for a one year contract paid in full)
It’s also important to take into account all the extra indirect expenses that come with gym membership. These vary person-to-person, but may include:
- Gas for your car to get to and from the gym
- Babysitting costs
- Clothing costs (don’t lie to yourself if you’re one to buy clothes so you look really good at the gym)
- The value of your time spent commuting to and from the gym (for some, this is a legitimate expense)
What’s Included with a Gym Membership?
Gyms will base their pricing on what they have to offer their customers in terms of equipment, classes, and extra perks (like swimming pools, saunas, etc.). If you’re checking out a gym, make sure you’re really clear on this. Some are pretty basic, some can be pretty luxurious. If you’re one who craves variety, make sure their class list is extensive enough for you.
Once you have an inventory of all that’s offered, it’s time for some HONESTY. Will you TRULY benefit from them? Speaking from extensive life experience, I’ve been lured in by a ton of extra perks offered by companies trying to woo me. While they sounded awesome during the wooing, and I was legit excited, more often than not, I was never able to get my money’s worth from.
Yes, the gyms have showers—if you feel good about using them. They can legitimately bother some people who are concerned with hygiene.
Cost of Beachbody
A fair comparison to a gym is Beachbody’s On Demand membership, which includes live streaming access to hundreds of Beachbody’s workouts, nutrition guides, and lots of extra perks. Scroll down to learn more.
- Annual On Demand Membership—$99/year*
- Annual On Demand Shakeology Challenge Pack—$160.00*
($129.95/month for Shakeology; annual renewal of $99.00 for All Access) - Annual On Demand Performance Challenge Pack—$160.00*
($116.90/month for Performance Energize & Recover; annual renewal of $99.00 for membership)
We highly recommend going the Challenge Pack route, which includes your first 30 days of a nutritional power tool (Shakeology or Performance Energize and Recover) auto shipped to you monthly. All of these supplements help you reach your goal MUCH easier (just think how much more difficult it would be to build a house without power tools and you’ll understand what I mean).
* Also available as a quarterly or semi-annual subscription. There are NO other monthly membership fees and you can cancel your nutritional supplement subscription at any time.
And, REMEMBER—with Beachbody, there are NO extra costs for childcare, gas or cute workout clothes and you don’t lose any time getting to and from your workouts.
Coaches get 25% ALL Beachbody products and there are NO inventory requirements, so we recommend signing up as a “Discount Coach” to get even better prices! Send us a message and we’ll let you know you know your net savings and how to do it.
What’s Included with Beachbody On Demand Membership?
Beachbody’s On Demand membership includes ALL of the following:
- 3, 6 or 12 month membership to hundreds of programs online (including new releases after pre-release period)
- All nutrition plans (including Portion Fix and program specific plans; the Challenge Packs include a Shaker Cup and Portion Fix food containers)
- A virtual personal trainer (every program is led by a celebrity trainer and there are always modifiers you can follow when you’re just starting out)
- Autumn Calabrese’s Fixate Cooking Show
- Challenge Packs include Shakeology or Performance (first 30 days included in the Challenge Pack price; auto shipped and billed monthly thereafter)
- Personal coaching
- Membership in private Facebook accountability groups
Benefits of Beachbody vs Gym
As I said, Beachbody isn't for everyone and the gym isn't for everyone. But, there are some objective benefits of Beachbody that no one can argue with:
- Beachbody is CHEAPER—the On Demand membership is $200 to $400+ less expensive than the top four gyms we checked out. (And this savings does NOT include the additional savings in gas, babysitting, clothing, etc.!)
- Beachbody gives you access to a FREE personal coach and FREE online accountability groups.
Now for the subject stuff. Obviously, as a Beachbody coach, working out at home is a much better fit for my lifestyle. These are the things to look at and see if they are benefits for YOU like they are for me:
- Beachbody is more flexible than the gym—you can workout whenever AND wherever you want as long as you have a streaming device (TV, computer, phone, tablet) and internet.
- Beachbody is more convenient—you don't have to go anywhere and no time is wasted driving, shopping for workout clothes, etc.
- The cost, hassle and worry of childcare is non-existent with Beachbody.
- Beachbody removes most excuses—like "I don't have time," "Going to the gym isn't convenient for me," etc.
- Beachbody is more private—say goodbye to performance anxiety from working out in front of others.
- The best quality nutritional supplements on the market (AKA power tools) are right at your fingertips and shipped to your front door.
- The showers are cleaner!
Here's a post we did awhile back on why we think working out at home is so much better than the gym—8 Reasons It's Better to Work Out at Home
Beachbody's Nutritional Supplements
As I mentioned above, with Beachbody, you have access to some of the top quality nutritional supplements on the market AND a personal coach who will help you choose the right ones for you for free. If you're not sure about whether you really need nutritional supplements, read this post—Why Do We Need to Take Nutritional Supplements?.
When you order a Challenge Pack, they show up at your door with zero effort on your part.
Shakeology is FAR more than a protein shake. It is a nutritionally complete meal replacement shake that has been clinically proven to help with weight loss and other serious health issues. A few important bullet points:
- Regular Shakeology contains the best quality of protein—whey protein isolate with up to 95% pure protein and almost zero fat or lactose.
- There are no hidden sugars or artificial sweeteners in Shakeology—just the natural plant-based stevia to add a touch of sweetness.
Check out our Shakeology page to learn more. If you're stuck in a place of believing you can't afford Shakeology, please take a few moments to read this post and think again—I Can't Afford Shakeology.
The Performance Line is another excellent option to boost your energy and help your recovery process. Check out our Performance Line page to learn more.
If You Choose Beachbody...
So you've looked at Beachbody vs gym membership. If Beachbody fits your lifestyle better than a gym for you like it does for us, we'd love to coach you. Just click below and we'll help you get started with the best setup for YOU.
We look forward to helping you transition into a healthy lifestyle and get REAL results without compromising the quality of your life (or time with children)!
