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So I've been out of shape for a couple years now, thinking about starting to take care of myself and work out.
Is a gym membership, assuming you do not actually use any sort of personal trainer, worth it? I would like to use the equipment, sure, but it would be nice to keep the 40 dollars a month, and you don't technically need one to work out (Grab a rock. Lift a Rock. Put rock down. Repeat.) Anyone have any advice?
I'm thinking Anytime Fitness, if that has anything to do with it.
I've never feared Death or Dying. I've only feared never Trying.
Absolutely. Working out really does a lot of good. It is a good way to blow of some steam, it will make you stronger and more fit, and you will feel really good after a hard workout.
It depends on what you're trying to do, really.
If you want the advantage of being able to accurately track your progress, record goals to reach and goals reached so far, the gym has what you're looking for. If you want to say "I can now run a half marathon", the gym is good for that too. And if you happen to have an accident while exercising, there are people around who can help.
However, if all you are planning on doing is "some ad-hoc running, lifting, ana a few floor-based equipmentless exercises", than a DIY approach may be better.
A gym membership is only really worth it if you're going to make use of the facilities, and use them regularly and often. If you're not so sure about that being what you're after, then it may not be for you.
I forgot, probably best to avoid anything that doesn't do month to month at this point. You don't want to make a year or two commitment until you know how you work out, and even then not sure it is a good idea.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
A membership is only worth it if you're going to make a lifestyle change. That means changing the way you eat and drink, and increasing the activity level. You can work out as much as you can, but if you don't chance your lifestyle as a whole, little good will come from it. And none of this "I'm going to diet to lose weight" BS. You have to completely change how you eat forever to be healthy.
At different stages of my life gym membership has and has not been a good option for me, sometimes with, sometimes without a personal trainer. Right now, I do not go to the gym. For what it is worth, here is some advice that applies to me and may apply to you.
* Find a gym you can go to on the way home from work. Once you get home, it is harder (though not impossible) to go out again.
* Make sure the gym has decent opening hours, including weekends.
*Make your first visit when you plan to actually go, to see how busy it is, and what equipment is available.
* Find someone to go with. Once you make an arrangement to go with someone else, it is harder to back out.
* Consider getting a personal trainer for a little while. The reason being, it helped me meet a couple of other people at the gym who also trained with him to work out with and stay motivated.
* Join a sports team. I find it easier to motivate myself to train to be better at sport than just "because".
* Consider signing up for some type of boot camp training instead.
* Allow yourself to make short trips to the gym. If you feel like you have to spend hours there every time, it'll be harder to go there in the first place.
* Try to do something completely new every time you go, just to avoid getting bored.
* Get an iPod with some decent music on it.
* Don't think about how you look while you are there, just be comfortable. If you hide yourself in a baggy tracksuit, you'll roast. Just think about how you will look.
More than I expected!
Though guards may sleep and ships may lay at anchor, our foes know full well that big guns never tire.
I get free gym access with work. When I use it it is awesome, but you have to decide if you are prepared to invest the time in to get your moneys worth.
If you enjoy gym exercise, then yes, it probably is. If you don't enjoy it find a sport you do enjoy. Never start an exercise you hate.
Personally I joined a gym, went for about three months regularly, and slowly found more and more reasons not to go, because I didn't like it. Then I tried swimming, and made it for about a month. Eventually I started cycling, and I love it. I will drag myself out at 7am in the cold and damp (not wet. There are limits ) and cycle 20 miles, clime 1500 feet and push myself hard, because I enjoy doing it. Cycling is a hobby and sport first for me and exercise second.
insaniak wrote: Sometimes, Exterminatus is the only option.
And sometimes, it's just a case of too much scotch combined with too many buttons...
It's like introducing the metric system to a footlong sub; it's ANARCHY!
It's Anytime Fitness, open 24/7 with me having a key to get in anytime I want; weekends, midnight, holidays, whenever. It's $70 to start up a membership, with $40 per month, 18 months total.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/08/29 21:37:45
I've never feared Death or Dying. I've only feared never Trying.
If you with 3am-8am then any 24 hour gym seems like a wasted benefit TBH. Not saying that they are bad, just that it's not worth paying a premium for having that access if your schedule means you are able to work out during "normal" hours.
Shop around a bit, my gym is $10 a month with no sign up fees. It's also open 24hrs and has free work out classes like cardio kick boxing, spinning etc.
Paulson Games parts are now at:
www.RedDogMinis.com
d-usa wrote: If you with 3am-8am then any 24 hour gym seems like a wasted benefit TBH. Not saying that they are bad, just that it's not worth paying a premium for having that access if your schedule means you are able to work out during "normal" hours.
This. Check to see if there's a Club Fitness in your area. They run (in my area) $10 a month for normal 8am-8pm hours. If you want 24 hours, it's $20 a month.
Slarg232 wrote: So I've been out of shape for a couple years now, thinking about starting to take care of myself and work out.
Is a gym membership, assuming you do not actually use any sort of personal trainer, worth it? I would like to use the equipment, sure, but it would be nice to keep the 40 dollars a month, and you don't technically need one to work out (Grab a rock. Lift a Rock. Put rock down. Repeat.) Anyone have any advice?
I'm thinking Anytime Fitness, if that has anything to do with it.
Depends greatly. This depends on the gym hours (many these days are 24 hour places, so that's good) against when you plan on working out. Depends on what the gym's focus is, how much of any given piece of equipment is (ie, are they a place with 60/40 ratio of cardio/weight lifting machines, or are they devoid of much equipment because they do CF all the damn time?) and how does that jive with what you're wanting? Does the gym have tanning beds available? Find another gym... seriously.
If you are really thinking about joining a gym, go to a few in your area, and ask the person working there if they can give you a tour. This will allow you to judge how "serious" the rules are there, the state of the equipment, the people who may be there working out already, the smell of the place, etc. I personally go to a body building gym (but Im not a body builder) because, for 27 bucks a month, it has everything I want/need in a gym. For me, it has all the require weight lifting apparatus, as well as a small selection of cardio machines. What really pushed my gym over the others in the area were two things: the smell, and the people there when I was touring it.... Basically, and this was shaped by my high school weightlifting days the place smells a bit like sweat, chalk and "hard work", not a hospital. And the people were seriously awesome. I know that there's a stereotype of people being intimidated by largely muscled individuals working out, and making the "average joe" physique feel inadequate; But seriously, in 15 minutes of being at that gym, I had nearly all the people currently working out on that day come up to me in between sets and ask if I was thinking about joining... Each and every one of them basically said the same thing, "we're like a big, really friendly family here, if you need any help, all you gotta do is ask at the right time and it's there for ya"
Dreadclaw69 wrote: I get free gym access with work. When I use it it is awesome, but you have to decide if you are prepared to invest the time in to get your moneys worth.
This pretty much says it here. If you can get a couple of buds to head in with you, it makes it a better deal for you sometimes. One thing that irks the crap out of me though are the people that go to the gym and park on a station and either seem to go into a catotonic state or start yakking on their phone.
check out the governators bodybuilding for men. He had a section in there about exercises you can do when traveling and in a hotel room. Or your own house for that matter.
I'd suggest getting the routine going first, like a good run or power walk. Then after you've been doing that a few months you can look into memberships. Most gyms make their money from people who sign up for a year, show up a few times, then keep paying the rest of the year while not going.
Yep, lifetime fitness gives me free classes, and admission to all of their events, and complete access to every location on the planets for thirty a month.
Relapse wrote: One thing that irks the crap out of me though are the people that go to the gym and park on a station and either seem to go into a catotonic state or start yakking on their phone.
My personal favourites are;
- Territory marker. That one guy who places his water on one machine, his sweat rag on another, his phone on a third, then he wanders off; but will appear the second it looks as if you're going to disturb his crap
- Peacocks. the people there who are clearly cruising and getting in the way
- Magpies. The guys who collect all the weights and portable equipment they can carry, then gather it around one bench, and ignore it while one of the group lifts and the others stand around chatting.
d-usa wrote: If you with 3am-8am then any 24 hour gym seems like a wasted benefit TBH. Not saying that they are bad, just that it's not worth paying a premium for having that access if your schedule means you are able to work out during "normal" hours.
That said, working out at odd hours means not having to wait for equipment. My routine would easily take twice as long if I worked out during peak periods.
Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.
My favorite is the jacked up grunter/screamer guy who has to let everyone know just how much he loves the burn.
I work out at crazy late hours as I'm normally on a vampire schedule and I like to have open access to the equipment. We get a few of the really muscled up guys in during the off hours and it's annoying as crap to hear them screaming in an empty gym at 3am. We used to have Bo Jackson up there on a regular basis and he'd come in with his trainer friend who'd be in his face screaming "lift those weights n***a! yeah, yeah!" while he was squatting what looked like the combined weight of the world. It was pretty impressive to see how huge he was but the screaming was like wtf?
Paulson Games parts are now at:
www.RedDogMinis.com
And if you're drinkin' well, you know that you're my friend and I say "I think I'll have myself a beer" 
) and cycle 20 miles, clime 1500 feet and push myself hard, because I enjoy doing it. Cycling is a hobby and sport first for me and exercise second.
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