The Case for Joining a Gym Just for the Treadmill

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Gyms are like playgrounds, full of all kinds of fun toys and machines to play with. So is it wrong, or bad, or embarrassing to go to a gym just to use one particular machine? Say, the humble treadmill? Good news: that is a very normal way of using the gym. 

You don’t have to use every part of the gym

Look, just because a gym offers cardio, weights, classes, and a sauna all in the same building does not mean you are obligated to do all of those things every time you visit. I told you that it’s fine to visit just for the sauna (a great way to spend your rest day) and, similarly, it’s fine to visit just for the treadmill. 

I promise you are not the only one who comes here just for the treadmill. There are newbies who haven’t ventured past the treadmill because they are still working up their courage to visit the weight room. There are people who lift on Monday and Wednesday but jog on Tuesday and Thursday. There are hardcore runners who need to put their kid in the childcare room to be able to get a run in on a busy day. I guarantee there are dozens, if not hundreds, of people who visit your gym just to jog a bit and go home.

I’m one of them, actually. I belong to a specialty weightlifting gym, but after I fell in like with the treadmill, I ended up joining a cheap commercial gym a few blocks from my house. It’s great to have an indoor option for running without having to purchase a treadmill and find a place to put it.

Think of it as renting a treadmill

Don’t think of yourself as joining a gym and ignoring the good parts. Think of what you’re doing as paying by the month for a treadmill that conveniently disappears when you’re not using it. 

Let's say you get a $14.99 membership to your local Crunch or Planet Fitness. You might use it to jog on a $9,949 Star Trac treadmill. Or maybe it’s a $6,709 Life Fitness treadmill. If you wanted one of those suckers in your house, you’d have to pay the equivalent of around 500 months’ worth of gym membership fees. So if you’re asking “is it worth it?” the answer, mathematically, is yes. 15 bucks a month for somebody else to take care of maintenance and storage, and you can still use it any time you want? You’re definitely coming out ahead. 

Even if you don’t use the treadmill on a regular basis, it may still be worth the fee to you to have the option of running indoors when the heat and humidity are at killer levels, the air quality index is on orange alert, or it’s winter and your outdoor option involves running on icy sidewalks in the dark. 

That said: running (or walking) is not a complete workout

Maybe your guilty feeling about using the treadmill is related to your workout routine. Do you only ever run or walk? For the sake of your health, you should try to get some strength training into your routine somewhere. Cardio and strength are both important for health, fitness, and everyday life. But if you’d rather do your strength work outside of the gym, that’s fine. The treadmill is still here for you whenever you need it.