It's that time of year again. When some of us are beginning to feel and look like the turkey that was on the table during the holidays, or in other words “stuffed”. As we sit around on our couches getting larger, we often see the latest commercial for the new gym in town, and we think, "Hey, maybe I should go join a gym?" Now I'm not sure how many of you have gone and joined a gym recently. But I have to rank it up there with a few the things I hate most.

(1) Buying a car,

(2) Sitting though a time-share presentation.

(3) Going to the dentist.

New to the list….(4)“Joining the gym.”

Yes joining a gym has now become a combination of buying a car, sitting through a time-share presentation, and going to the dentist all wrapped into one. The contracts for some gyms out there are seriously like buying a car. They want a down payment, a checking account so they can automatically withdraw your money even when you stop going and the dreaded lock in. They want you in a contract for a few years so you can keep paying them long into the future. Now don't get me wrong gym memberships are usually purchased with the best of intentions. We all want to believe that we will have time to go to the gym. We all want to be in great shape, but here are some simple and obvious facts. Gym memberships always pick up in January and February. Many people who join the gym in January February will go for a few weeks and then not return to the gym for the rest of the year. If you've ever been committed to going to the gym all the time you have surely seen this trend. The first few weeks every January and February the newbie’s roll in. The gyms are crowded, and then starting around March, they start to thin out and get back to the more normal size crowds. Then once the good weather gets here, they're almost empty except for the truly committed gym people.

So after seeing this trend time after time and year after year I started to wonder if there is a better way. Maybe we can get in shape without going to the gym, could it be possible? Let's face it. The decision to join the gym at a minimum is probably going to cost you at least $360 a year, and trust me that could be on the low end. Some gym memberships run into the thousands of dollars. But really take a look at what you get for that $360 a year. If you're lucky when you join your gym you may get a free training session. The trainer will show you around the gym point out the different equipment. Some of the better gyms may even give you a few sessions with a trainer, but in general after your initial tour of the building most of them leave you to be on your own. The trainer doesn't want to show you everything he knows or you won't need them. If you haven't had a personal trainer before, let me tell you a secret. they don't come cheap! Now don't get me wrong I don't have anything against personal trainers. There are many great ones. The facts are that most people just can't afford to have one, but thanks to a new trend in fitness we can all have a personal trainer, and not just some local guy who's got a good reputation, but a world-famous, top-notch trainer to the stars. Thanks to Beachbody, they have produced several in-home fitness programs that you can put in your DVD player and have your own famous personal trainer coming into your home every day.

This new trend in in-home workouts is a really taking the country by storm. Two of the top programs right now areP90X by Tony Horton, and Chalean Extreme by Chalene Johnson. So before you go through the buyer’s regret of joining the gym and get locked into some long-term contract. Why not give one of these in-home fitness programs try. Each one of these programs cost about $119 dollars. Trust me when I say its money well spent. I have been doing P90X. for the last year and a half. It's such a good program, and so well-designed that it doesn't get boring saves me over an hour day, and has gotten me into the best shape in my life. If you've been inactive for quite some time, you may want to consider starting with one of Beachbody's other programs. If P90X. interests you, but you don't think you're ready for it. You should start with Tony Horton's first program P90. If Chalean Extreme interests you, but you don't think you're ready for that then you should start with her first program, Turbo Jam.

Gym memberships are usually purchased with the best of intentions. Gym memberships are getting more and more expensive and many people just aren’t willing or can’t afford to fork out the cost of membership fees. Don’t worry I won’t go as far as to say that ,“Gym memberships are evil”. But gym memberships are sometimes the first to go when money gets tight, kids come along, or economy’s go south. So if you are looking to get in shape but don’t want to spend a lot a great in home fitness program may be the answer you have been looking for. One of the best places to get them online is www.shop.fitnesshop.tv