So here's the million dollar question....

buy a $500, $600, $700... thousand dollar walking machine that takes up as much room as a love seat, that Im gonna fight with the kids to use (at first), AND not sure how long will I use this expensive thing before I get burned out with it.

Its all about convience - and I like that idea.

I can do it rain or shine. Ugly or pretty. Night or day. Kids are home. Im home. Everybody's happy (well, maybe :tired ). AND - **possibly/hopefully** Mike and my 10 yr old will use it as well.

Flip side of the coin...

buy a membership to the local fitness club. One time fee (lots cheaper then the hundreds spent on ONE machine) and have tons of aerobic classes to chose from, and other machines to try - PLUS a personal trainer is in-house during open hours (not that this impresses me -I just thought it may impress someone else).

And the biggie - they provide child care while the parents "do their thang". Which is OK - but another place where the kids are going to have to be under someone else's care.

At home, they are in their enviroment.

I dont know y'all. Please help.

I have a treadmill at home and I go to curves 3 days a week. I was considering a gym which is about a 15 minute drive from my home but in the end decided on curves because it was much cheaper and only a minute from my home. I went there just to see if I WOULD go once I paid for it and if I didnt go, didnt want to waste too much money. I do my treadmill (sears, Nordictrak) 3 miles 3 times a week. I do go to curves. When my year membership is up, if I have to pay for another year (not sure if they do that yet) then I will go to the gym since I am now in the habit of going and willing to pay more for the stuff I want. Since I was doing nothing at all it was a good trial for me to start with curves. I had my treadmill for a few years and used it off and on. I think by getting out to someplace that sort of MADE me go, it was too easy to just say I will walk "later" when I just had the treadmill.

Paula....you have to ask yourself some questions. Go deep inside and find what works for you. Are you the kind of girl that has to 'get up and get out' to be motivated? Do you need to get away from hubby and kids to find your own time to work out? Do you need visual/audio stimulation to work out? Do you need the help of others around? If yes to those, go to a gym.

Are you ok 'tuning out' and not thinking, just exercising? Do you get intimidated going into a gym (that would be ME)? Do you need a time saver and a convenience? If yes, go the treadmill route.

It really depends on the person. For me, the treadmill is perfect because yes, because it's so boring, I can TOTALLY tune out the world, put on my iPod, go into my head and just put one foot in front of the other. No thinking about working out, just sweat.

But that is just me......

When I was having this same dilema, I decided to rent the exercise equiptment (a bike in my case) for a couple of months to see how often I'd use it. It was in the lounge room 2 weeks before I was sick to death of seeing it lol. But that's just me .. it really is a personal decision.

We also have a treadmill that lives in the garage. I've paid it a visit a couple of times recently with my ipod and enjoyed it.

FYI,

The most recent issue of Consumer Reports has an article on the dreaded treadmill as well as the review of the Adj Lap Band and the G-Bypass.