Are You a Gym Person?
Before you find out about gyms, you actually need to know a few things about yourself to see whether you're someone who needs a gym. Will you be inspired by working out in public, or embarrassed?
Don't try to become something you're not. If you're not someone who wants to change in a locker room, sweat in public, use the same weights as strangers, and have to follow gym etiquette (smiling at strangers, using machines for allotted time periods, and wiping everything down), then maybe a gym is not for you.
Don't kid yourself; gyms aren't perfect, and they aren't the only way to get into shape. So if your first reaction to a gym is “ick,” then skip this section and read further on in this book for other ways to create an exercise program.
Are you going to use the gym enough to make its price worthwhile? Let's say a gym membership is $750 per year, or $62.50 per month. If you go twice a week, or about eight times a month, then each visit costs you over $7, which is pretty expensive. On the other hand, if the gym is conveniently located and you go four or five times a week, then each visit costs just a few dollars a month, and that is pretty cost efficient.
Is there an activity or piece of equipment — such as a pool — that you can't get anyplace else? If you love to swim but don't have a pool in your backyard — and if swimming is really the only way you enjoy exercise — then spend the money to join a gym or club that has the pool you will most enjoy.
If there is an activity — whether it's horseback riding or swimming, yoga or dance — you really want to do, then don't force yourself to create an exercise program without the activity you love. Instead, start with what you love, and the fitness will follow.
There are practical reasons to join a gym, though, no matter what kind of person you are. First, there is always someone around to watch you perform an exercise and make sure you're doing it right. Also, there are lots of machines and choices for workouts, as well as lots of options for classes and activities. Usually gyms make an effort to bring in new equipment regularly, which makes your workouts safer and more fun.
You can make friends and use group support to help you with your commitment to exercise. Also, gyms often have nutritionists and other people on staff who can help you reach your goals. Gyms allow you to try things you wouldn't normally try because they constantly change and update classes.
Finally, even if the money seems like a problem, sometimes it can be an incentive for you. In other words, if you're spending money on membership fees, you will be inspired to go to the gym regularly. Likewise, sometimes a gym membership helps to motivate people. They have somewhere different to go that's reserved just for exercise — it's something to look forward to and plan for.
