Do you think you need to join a gym to stay fit?

YORKSHIRELASS

kittie wrote: »

Gym is a waste of money, except for those without will power or who want to show off.

Wow that's a bit of a sweeping statement! I see a lot of people over 60 in our gym and if it works for them why not? I am sure they do have will power and they are definitely not showing off.

In answer to the original question no, absolutely not. But it's a very personal thing and surely the important thing is that people are keeping fit, how they do it is irrelevant.

I suffer with anxiety and exercise is very important to me. If you work full time getting exercise 5 times a week without using a gym is quite hard (I dont get a lunch break and cant swim so that's not an option). I do an exercise class one night a week but wouldnt want to do that every night.

I love exercising outdoors and cycle most weekends. I occasionally cycle to work but its not always practical. So for me the £27 a month I spend on my gym membership represents good value for money and gives me another option for keeping fit.

Each to their own I say.

tori.k

I guess it all depends on the cost of membership and facility and use, I really miss my gym membership and it was a godsend when we were running our business as we were both sat down for 8hrs + a day, classes were included in the cost so I used to do yoga, spinning,. Kettle bells and circuit training a week and use the pool most days and occasionally ( rarely) the actual gym. We use the shower at the gym so saved on water at home. Things like this only become a waste if they are not used, when they change most of the class times and the yoga instructor left and wasn't replaced then it wasn't of value to us anymore we ended our membership and stopped going, but as much as I'm very much more active now I'm not as fit as I was, nobody needs a gym membership but it can be an excellent social and health investment.

FrugalWeirdo83

I'm definitely not criticising gyms as I think anything that adds value to your life and you enjoy is worth it (obviously if you can afford it) I used to go to a gym prior to having my daughter but my lifestyle now, there just isn't the opportunity either financially or actually getting childcare so I can go. I think a lot of people are put off gyms due to the way a lot of it is portrayed on social media, all clean eating and striving for perfection and I think some of the people who have criticised my choices are quite into fads and have a bit of an all or nothing attitude. Thank you for all your posts, they have been very helpful

Gloomendoom

YORKSHIRELASS wrote: »

In answer to the original question no, absolutely not. But it's a very personal thing and surely the important thing is that people are keeping fit, how they do it is irrelevant.

Absolutely. My wife likes being fit but sometimes lacks the willpower to do the necessary exercise. Bike rides and walking aren't a problem, it's the high intensity workouts that are. She isn't a natural gym bunny. She found that hiring a personal trainer, at a gym, keeps her motivated.

Somehow I doubt the OP would approve.

moneyistooshorttomention

Imo - it's whatever works for you personally.

For some people it will be a gym (ie the incentive of having made a group of gym buddies there they wish to keep up with). Others prefer exactly their own choice of exercise and it's not available in the area they live in - so they choose to tune into it on suitable YouTube videos.

I tend to go for walking personally - but I've moved to an area with worse weather and therefore the willpower is there, but the weather often isnt to match it:(. Living in a city (as I did previously) helped too - as I knew everything I wanted was basically within walking distance of my house (so I'd walk to this and then I'd walk to that etc). So I've had to arrange for myself to go to a couple of exercise classes weekly that I can usually summon up the willpower to go to - and it helps that I've made friends at one of them. I do what walking the weather in this area will let me do (though I dont have to do so much - as there arent the same number of facilities I'm walking to).

Am still struggling to get the willpower to do a couple of fitness activities I've decided to go to that don't exist in this area - so hence the YouTube videos in those things that don't exist here yet. It is harder to summon up willpower for those activities - when one isnt meeting people doing them, because they arent here.

I wonder if anyone will ever fill that gap in the market I see of being able to do shared fitness activities online (ie in cases where the activity one has chosen doesnt exist in the location one is living in) and be able to interreact with other "class members" virtually in a similar way to what one can in person at those ITRW? Maybe that gap might have to wait to be filled until "virtual reality/3D tv/whatever?" has advanced a bit? A sort of form of video-conferencing (but for social purposes). Just thinking aloud - blame the "I was due to be born an Aquarian - but got born early" (ie the future-oriented sign of the Zodiac LOL).

Gloomendoom

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

It is harder to summon up willpower for those activities - when one isnt meeting people doing them, because they arent here.

We live in sticks and there are no organised exercise options available locally. My wife is a member of a group at work who get together to do a "boot camp". Vigorous exercise at 7.15 in the morning isn't my cup of tea.

Ilona

No. I do what I need to do to keep myself fit and hopefully healthy. I don't care what anyone else is doing. I tried going to the gym, I find it boring.

Ilona

GreyQueen

I've been a gym member (bare bones type of gym, very cheap) in years past and it helped me build myself back from extreme ill-health, alongside swimming. I wouldn't knock it but it certainly isn't necessary and, if money and time are tight, or you just prefer to be outdoors/ at home, then that's right for you.

I live in a teeny-tiny flat, whose biggest room is 12 x 9 ft and there is only just enough room on the floor to lie flat. There are certain forms of exercise I can do indoors and certain others I cannot. So, if I wanted to use certain free weights/ machines, I'd need to go somewhere who had them to play with. Before you ask, I have no outdoor spaces either.

I don't officially do exercise. I'm car-free and walk or cycle everywhere I need to go and that, plus allotment gardening, keeps me relatively fit.

Gyms are fine if they float your boat, but they're not a necessity for fitness.

monnagran

Do you think you need to join a gym to keep stay fit?

I do hope not.

TiredTrophy

So, it's 40 outside..(I'm abroad)..the gym is air conditioned. ...or...there's ice on the ground, or heavy rain...or just an area that's not pleasant to be out in, (as a woman, it can be horrible out running)
..there is a need for a safe and comfortable place to exercise...with showers!

It's horses for courses. ..my gym has highly qualified trainers for both the young active bodybuilders and gym bunnies and also the fragile and infirm, where safe and supervised exercise is keeping them in their own homes, and then there's folks who meet at the gym rather than the cafe.
Many of the classes are great fun.
Council gyms are not so expensive and in some places can be cheaper with a Drs recommendation thingy I've read...You can use a pay as you go facility.....

Or not.

Just get some exercise..and don't judge how others get theirs.