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With gym-memberships in South Africa costing anything from around R199 to R1900 per month (Virgin Active’s most expensive option without Discovery Vitality discount) and all giving various different benefits (like a shoe-shine bar and being able to use your membership in other countries!), it can get tricky knowing whether it’s all worth it.
We look at working out according to your budget, your cost-per-workout and how you could save costs on your workouts.
Working out according to your budget
If you know you need to cut back on your workout-costs, but don’t know how much, consider following the advice of GoGirl Finance. They recommend using a 50/30/20 budget – which breaks up your home pay into three: 50% of your pay goes to monthly fixed costs, 20% to flexible spending and 30% are financial goals and savings.
A fixed workout cost, like a gym membership, should fit into the 50% fixed costs. Anything extra, like standalone classes or new equipment goes into the 20% flexible spending category. This 20% of your budget is also where your groceries, hobbies and eating out goes, so make sure you plan well.
Your cute workout clothes also fall into the 20% category.
Cost-per-workout
Working out your cost-per-workout may do wonders for making decisions regarding your workouts, LearnVest advises.
You might be someone who spends thousands on your workouts, but you’re there, working out constantly. Your cost per workout would be much lower than someone who pays much less for their workout, but only uses it once in a while.
LearnVest gives the following example:
Let’s say – you spend R1000 per month on a gym membership and your friend spends R100 (I know, I know, this is hypothetical). You work out once a day and your friend works out once a month. Your cost-per-workout would be R1000 / 365 = R2.74. On the other hand, the cheaper gym membership that your friend never uses would work out to R100/12 = R8.33 per workout.
Have a look at the bottom of this article for some real-life examples of cost-per-workouts in South Africa.
Saving costs on workouts
Know you need to cut back, but don’t know where to start? There are various ways of saving money on workouts:
• There are loads of free exercise videos on Youtube you can follow.
• If you like running, consider ditching the gym and going for a run outside. Make it a group activity and ask a friend to join you. If there’s one in your area, you can also join a free weekly Park Run (a 5km walk or run with others in a local park/running space).
• If you decide to give up on your monthly gym membership, but still want to use some of the equipment, consider investing in a few basics, like kettlebells or resistance bands, for yourself.
• If you’re close enough to a hiking trail, get hiking! And enjoy some of South Africa’s wonderful scenery along the way.
Real-life examples
Still not convinced by working out your cost-per-workout? We asked some working professionals to divulge their costs.
• Name: Hanlie Gouws (41), Cape Town
Occupation: Online content producer
Typical workout: Pilates (2 x 1-hour classes per week), Weightlifting (2 x 1-hour classes per week), Hiking (4-6 hours per week)
Workout costs: Pilates - R800 per month, Weightlifting - R1500 per month, Hiking – free
Math: R27 600 per annum / 411 workout hours
Cost per workout: R67 per workout hour
• Name: Stephan Niemann (33), Stellenbosch
Occupation: Insurance broker
Typical workout: Gym (4 to 5 times a week)
Workout costs: Gym – R280 per month, pre-workout supplement - R350 p/m
Math: R7 560 per annum / 260 workouts
Cost per workout: R29 per workout
• Name: Leandri Beyers (30), Johannesburg
Occupation: Clinical Psychologist
Typical workout: Walk with dog (3x a week,) yoga (1x per week) with a free app, yoga class (2x per week)
Workout costs: Yoga mat - R120, Free app, Yoga class - R165 pm
Math: R2 100 per annum / 312 workouts
Cost per workout: R6.7 per workout
• Name: Bea Strauss (29), Cape Town
Occupation: Department head at a digital agency
Typical workout: Functional weight training (2x a week), Cardio, like going for a jog or brisk walk outside or a spinning class at a gym (3x week)
Workout costs: Functional Weight Training classes - R1000 per month, gym membership -R322 (at Discovery Vitality rate), entry fees for organised road races - R900 per year for about 5 races, Parkruns - free
Math: R12000 (Fuctional Training) + R3864 (Virgin Active Subscription) + R9000 (Organised Road Races) = R16 764. 60 / 208 and 260 workouts
Cost per workout: Between R64.48 and R80.
• Name: Yolinda Nel (29), Johannesburg
Occupation: Import and Export controller
Typical workout: Gym (4-5 times a week)
Math: R178.75 a month (With Discovery discount) = R2 145 per annum / 208 workouts
Cost per workout: @ R10.31 per workout
• Name: Marelize Ferreira (29), Cape Town
Occupation: Copy editor
Typical workout: Gym (3x to 4x a week)
Math: R240 per month (with Discovery discount) = R2 880 annually / 156 workouts per year Cost per workout: R18 per workout.
