The membership is a bit of a luxury, I'll admit. I'm usually more frugal. But the deal is good ~$17/mo for weekdays until 2 and all day on weekends/holidyas. But more importatntly, this plan has many purporses. My husband and I want to put our daughter in daycare 2-3 1/2 days/wk so that she has interaction with other children. Right now she has almost none. While I can certainly buy weights here, the gym offers the opportunity to get out of the house and to be around other people. It will also force me to speak more in Spanish. Right now, I can really only practice with the check-out attendents at the grocery store and the retirees who approach me to talk to my daughter.
At home (in the states), we invested in weights and a treadmill (off craigslist) instead of paying for pricey gym memberships. I loved the convenience!!!! I've tried to make weights out of various containers and water, but they dont get heavy enough. If the gym membership doen't pan out for whatever reason, I think I'll try filling 1.5 liter waterbottles with pebbles.