The decision of whether or not to go to the gym can hedge on a matter of miles. In fact, 1.4 miles is all the difference between sporadic and regular gym attendance for membership holders, reports The Wall Street Journal. According to data collected from 7.5 million mobile devices by the data firm Dstillery, on average, people who go to the gym in America —that doesn't count people who pay for memberships but never attend—live four miles from their workout facility. But the median distance from home to gym for people who go to the gym at least five times a week is 3.7 miles, while people who go only once a month live a median 5.1 miles away. Those 1.4 miles make a big difference as far as self-motivation goes.
Another factor Dstillery considered was the quality of the gym. People aren't willing to travel far to work out at bargain gyms, around 3 miles. Pricier gyms are worth a longer trek, around 5.5 miles. While this data is collected from American gym-goers, it's easy to see how it would reflect across the pond.
So, if you're going to pay the fee, choose a gym with an easy commute—3.7 miles away or less, ideally—or commit to something pricier, better and more worthwhile in terms of journey time. It's near impossible to justify the time and money spent otherwise.
