Why Howcast's advice to cancel your gym membership is unwise

October 13, 3:25 PMFitness ExaminerStefan Pinto

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Howcast recently sent me a link to a video on “How to Save Money by Eliminating 10 Things You Don’t Need.” In Step 5, they advised to “Cancel your gym membership” stating that “jogging, stair climbing, jump-roping, Hula-hooping and dancing are all free.” True, these aerobic activities are indeed “free” but the intention of this advice is misguided and quite frankly, foolish.

A gym membership is not about “jogging, stair climbing, jump-roping, Hula-hooping and dancing.” In fact, the majority of people who join a gym -- and do go -- don’t do any of those things. Furthermore, the majority of these aerobic activities are best performed outside, eliminating the need for a gym in the first place. Dancing to stay fit is only effective when done as an aerobic exercise, and in this instance, you quite possibly, may need an instructor. Stair climbing must be done for at least 30 minutes, and 30 minutes of home stair climbing is not practical.

If the business plan of gyms were to provide people with frivolous and dubious unsupervised aerobic activities, hardly one would cease to exist in any sprawling suburb, nor would gyms boast increased memberships in January (typically when the majority of people are presumably more restricted from overspending, but now need supervised, professional guidance to fulfill a resolution). Moreover, the whole concept of a place like the YMCA, a worldwide movement of more than 45 million members, would not have progressed from an Ecumenical Christian association to an institution associated with fitness, strengthened through funding and operated by thousands of people, some of whom are volunteers.

Joining a gym places deliberate attention on an intention -- to lose weight and to stay fit. And fitness isn’t isolated to the physical form, it also affects clarity of the mind. There are over 25,800,000 Google search results on “exercise and mental health” so I won’t elaborate on this already obvious benefit.

A gym is a decided destination. It gives you a place to be at a specific time of day. And as creatures of habit, we need this routine; going to the gym is a productive regimen. By advising people that a gym membership is something "you don't need" sends the wrong message and places the act of working out and exercise in frivolous light.

Here is a link to the Howcast video, "How to Save Money by Eliminating 10 Things You Don't Need"