• boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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        3 days ago

        I wanted to build a home gym too, but when you add the squat rack (realistically a two post one, not the proper big cage) and some sort of bench, it starts getting pretty expensive.

        Gyms vary in price a lot though. From like 19€ a month to like 70 or so I think. I asked someone if the expensive gym is less crowded, but apparently not. Problem is, everyone already knows about them, they’ve been around for much longer than the cheap gyms (of which one has been around for a decade or so)

        • nevetsg@aussie.zone
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          2 days ago

          Online marketplace’s. People are always giving used home gym gear away for next to nothing.

          • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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            2 days ago

            Ugh I try to avoid Facebook and realistically that’s the only marketplace worth a damn these days. Perhaps I should tell my friends who still use it to keep their eyes open.

        • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works
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          2 days ago

          I have a treadmill, squat rack, pull up bar, Olympic barbell and weights, protective flooring, A/C unit, sundry accessories (gloves, whiteboard, skipping rope). Probably about 2-3 grand.

          • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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            2 days ago

            Gym memberships are a tax-free benefit where I come from so I can just pay for it from the company bank account and not pay any taxes, making it almost 50% cheaper than paying out the same amount in salary to myself. Meaning the 250€ annual membership is realistically more like 130€ in “real” (post-tax) money. If you don’t do things through your own company, though, most employers pay a health/fitness benefit, often at the maximum allowed amount, which is 400€ a year. Usually it’s paid through a system where you can only spend it on eligible tax-free services, like a gym membership, massage, going swimming, etc.

            Gym equipment, however, is unfortunately never a tax-free benefit and is instead considered a fringe benefit. Quite literally considered as part of an employee’s income and taxed as such. So if I spent, say, 2k on equipment, that’s the same as 15 years of gym membership at the current rate (which is already high for me because I live outside of the bigger cities that have the cheap gyms). Funnily enough, maintenance of a company’s existing in-house gym is eligible for the aforementioned tax-free benefit, just buying new equipment isn’t.

            Used equipment makes a large dent in the price, but if going for brand new, it takes so long to pay off, it’s rarely worth it.