Why everyone in the whole world should join the ymca

My kids and I have been singing the Village People song all week because this week we actually did join our local YMCA.

I’ve been wanting to join a gym with child care ever since I had a hard time losing my baby weight from Abby. So, for about 3 years.

I looked into the larger gyms in our area, but the average price was about $60/month per  person and the childcare costs were extra and there was an additional fee if you wanted access to classes, blah blah blah. Eddie wanted a membership too if we were going to be joining a gym, which meant the cost for our family was going to be almost $200 per month. No thank you.

I joined the budget gym where they only charge $10/month, but I literally only went 3 times and we paid for my membership for over a year. They didn’t offer childcare or any of the zumba/yoga/pilates classes I like.

My aunt told me my cousins belonged to the y and I remember thinking “I should look into that” but for some reason I never did.

Then this month we decided to downgrade my cell phone because we’re paying for me to have a Blackberry with a data plan even though I only use my phone to make calls and I average less than 5 minutes a month, so it’s pretty dumb for us to be paying for that. We should be able to save at least $45 a month taking away my data plan and getting a less fancy phone. 

I told Eddie that if we downgraded my phone I wanted to look into getting a gym membership again.

After some Googling, I found out the y in our area only charges $44/month for a family membership that INCLUDES childcare and the classes I missed at the other gym. Plus we have access to several locations in our city and the aquatic center as part of our membership. And 50% off youth sports if we want to sign the kids up for those.

Say what?

Yup, now our whole family has a membership and we’re actually saving $1/month once we downgrade my dumb phone. (I still want to have a phone for emergencies)

We were there yesterday and I actually got to work out and shower while someone watched my kids!!! I didn’t even care that it was in a dorm-style shower where I had to wear flip flops. 

I’m starting a yoga class this morning.

Plus I love that it’s a Christian environment. 

Here’s hoping that the rest of this baby weight comes off soon, but even if it doesn’t I’m still excited to be setting a good example of healthy living for my kids.

Yay!