The
big named gyms can be good. Or not. It all
depends on your particular facility, staff, management, and trainers.
And even in the simplest of facilities, where you might not think of
going... like your local YMCA that hasn't seen a remodel in a while....
you can find the most awesome, most well trained and experienced staff available. So #1, visit. Get the 2 week guest pass. Visit the classes,
check out the facility. Is it clean? Do they provide a towel service
for your sweat? (Because trust me, you WILL sweat and you will never
remember to bring a towel from home.) Are people nice and friendly? Do
they look like you? Because if you don't feel at home, you wont go.
Look
at the people in the classes. Are they younger than you? Is everyone
wearing a teeny sports bra and tiny pants? Or are they moms that just
dropped off their kids at school and headed for the morning class? Once
again, do they look like you? In style and spirit, not in body or
fitness level.
And that awesome elliptical trainer you're thinking of buying for your
home? If you won't actually drag your butt out of the bed each morning
and get on it for 30 minutes, don't buy it. No matter how great a price
it is at SAMS club.
I
cut my fitness teeth working as one of the only females in a Golds Gym
in a college town. A gym full of gigantically pumped college guys and 2
bosses that were competitors in their own right. And I loved it. And I learned tons. And it prepared me to work with many
different groups. But here's a good rule.... if you want to be a body
builder, train with body builders. If you want a general fitness plan
that encourages health and wellness and long and strong lives - no matter
the size of your biceps,
don't join a lifting focused gym. You won't go. Look for like minded
people to workout with and to lead you.
And
the business of gym contracts. Yuck. You'll definitely deal with that
with some places. And not at all with others. I prefer to work for
gyms with no contracts. No sales. We just offer good
stuff. And with that and that alone, people come. And they keep
coming. So watch out. You've been warned.
And
finally, do you need a gym at all? Nope. But I do better that way.
And I think most people do. We like to be accepted. We like to be
expected. We like to be in groups of similar people
who encourage us on our walk in life. And I find that if you can get
up and walk your miles in your neighborhood each day and improve your
personal fitness on your own, you are an amazing person. Because there
are very few out there like you. Most of us need to know someone is
waiting for us in spin class. Or yoga. Or on that elliptical thing
watching the Today show at the same time. Accountability is huge in
fitness. Accountability to yourself and to your goals.
So
however that works out for you, let me know. Start any day. Start
today. Start tomorrow. Just start. And pick the time of day that you
will actually go. And whatever you do... don't go home between school
drop off and the gym or work and your walk. That darn computer is calling your
name. So are the chores and your to do list. And the bag of chocolate
chips in the fridge. So just make it - something - or some place - a
part of your day. Several days a week. Schedule
it. Make it important. Make it a priority. And let me know how it's going as you progress. I crazy love
those stories.
