It should be noted if you've been there a long time, you can get a lock on your rates so that when they do go up, yours won't.

The chain I teach for has not increased their rates and my family gets a nice discount but it is disheartening to hear this.

No increase for me...although they seem desperate for members so they are always doing dumbass offers (e.g. 'burn 3000 calories and get £50, or trying to get current members to sign up new people for a 'gift' (probably crap). Shame it's increased, $10 in one go seems a lot...and a bit cheeky.

Thankfully, my gym has not increased membership on a monthly basis. However, in January there was a sign posted that said "Remember! The annual service fee will be charged to your account at the end of the month!" There has never been a service fee like that. It was only $10, but still. The sign sounded like it was a regular occurrence which it is not.

I agree- most reputable gyms will give their members a lock in for rates...

i belong to Crunch, been there for 7 years. After 3 years (contract expiring), my rate was reduced by $15. It stayed that way for years until Bally's sold Crunch, then it was raised $5. Then, it was raised another $5 this year, and they closed the gym closest to my house. I'm still paying less than a new member, but this really sucks.

I'd leave, but Crunch is the nicest of the cheap gyms, or the cheapest of the nice gyms.

Stop complaining about paying more for a service you obviously value. I'm sure the club has increased costs that it has to cover - taxes, fees, utilities, etc. How else are they supposed to stay in business? Would you prefer they eliminate one of the services you value in order to reduce costs and not hike fees? Plus think about all the money the Federal government is wasting as it raises our taxes. Now THAT should be upsetting!

Gyms are always overprice.

You can always quit the gym and work out outside or at home. The equipment isn't necessary for a good work out, and you can see the same results without it all.

The only real benefit of belonging to a gym is having access to such a variety of fitness classes, but often there's an option to just register for the ones you want without buying a membership to the gym.

Quit the gym!

My gym hasn't raised its rates, but I think gyms should give people a discount if they go and actually work out for more than 15 days a month or something like that. Sort of as a way to reward the loyal people and make the New Year's Resolution people foot the bill for it, LOL.

my gym is super cheap.. only $20/month but it doesnt offer any classes. Everywhere else around me is like $60-$80 a month and I just cant afford it right now

I think i am really lucky- I work out for free bc my hubby is in the military and the gym on post is really nice!

@Spectra: Except the problem is that gyms love the New Years Resolution people! The more people who sign up and pay every week, but don't actually wear out the equipment, take up space, and use up hot water in the showers, the better. It's the dedicated people like you who actually want to use the service that they're paying high fees for that the gyms could probably do without!

I have no qualms about complaining about my gym or any other service I utilize. And in my particular case, they increased the monthly fee AND THEY CLOSED MY GYM!!!

No I'm not changing, and yes, I still go there (albeit another location). But sometimes a customer just has to vent

Wild Magelet--Good point. Gyms probably make 90% of their profit on the New Year's Resolution folks. I'm guessing their tactic is to raise the rates for the really dedicated people so they can weed out the people who are really dedicated vs. those who aren't. I think if my gym did increase the membership fee, I'd still pay it because, like good food, it's an expense I'm willing to pay for good health.

I know this is kind of mean, but this statement: "It really bothers me that they can take advantage of people who feel so strongly about their health, since they know most gym goers won't end their memberships — they'll just suck it up and pay", is kind of ridiculous. Whenever any business increases their prices or fees, they do it under the assumption that the customers who care about their product will continue to pay. Obviously caring about your health is a good thing, but it's not the gym's responsibility to forgo a profit just because you are taking care of yourself. And you also admitted you could be going to a less expensive gym!

However, if you have a contract, and they raised your price, that's ridiculous. My gym locks in rates for at least a certain period of
contractual time, so they can't just randomly raise rates. Of course, this also means that as long as I live in the area for two years, I must stay with that gym!

I go to the Y, and they increased their prices by four more bucks a month. I receive a better deal because of my income for my son and I. I was surprised they raised the prices. I thought I was paying more for a family that couldn't afford to, and I am fine with that. After reading this article though, I am irritated that all the gyms are raising their prices, especially in this economy.

I agree that it's annoying, but to put things in perspective, gyms probably aren't trying to "take advantage" of people who care about their health. People are getting laid off by the thousands every day, and when someone falls on hard times, a monthly gym membership is one of the first things to go.

My gym dropped their rates to $20/mo. That's why I even bothered to join again. I locked my rate too. If they find a way to rasie the rates again somehow, I'm out and back to exercising outside exclusively.

The gym I was working at raised their prices for the first time since they opened (about 7 years) right before I moved away.

There are a multitude of reasons gyms raise prices, one being demand, among other things. We were reaching our upper capacity numbers, and planning an expansion project that would double the gym in size. We did, however, provide our "lifetime" members with the opportunity to continue their membership at the existing rate.

well my membership is discounted and is taken from my paycheck so i actually don't see it and therefore don't stress as much about it. it's really hard cause i go to an expensive gym anyway because i work out more when i'm really happy with the environment...so if they were to raise my fees...i'd prob get upset but i can't say that i'd notice it too much.

I had been thinking about joining a gym...but I just can't see the benefit or justify the price.

Fortunately, my church has a gym that has everything I need - almost nobody uses it (sad!), but it's very clean - AND FREE!

I just use my treadmill, dumb bells and my own body weight to workout, so I don't have to worry about gym membership prices.

I must be doing something right since I lost 60 lbs

my gym membership is $86/month. I hope they don't increase it. It's high as it is!

my rate went up 3% in the fall, but it's tough to get upset about an extra $0.72 a month!

I just got a postcard saying my gym is raising rates $5 a month because they have too many people. Ugh. I know it's just $60 a year but gyms are already overpriced. I switched gyms previously because of the cheaper rate at this gym, I was under the impression that my rate would "lock in" once I paid the enrollment fees. I thought that was the point at getting those "deals" or signing contracts saying you'll pay for 1-3 years. Seems fishy.