Who goes to the gym? All kinds of people. I go to the gym first thing in the Morning. The gym is full at 5:30 AM. It’s filled with men and women, young and old. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are there to build up, some to lose weight, and others to maintain what they have.
For example, there is a 72 Year Old Master Kayaker who goes around the world teaching kayaking, and participating in White Water Kayaking events. There is a seventy plus year old skier who spends a lot of time out West on the slopes. There are a number of young and middle aged men and women who want their early morning boost before they head off to work. There are housewives and lawyers. I occasionally work out with an astronaut. Several former Washington Redskins work out there. Some workout independently and others take advantage of a Personal Trainer.
They are all there either because they want to be, or because someone else thinks they need to be.
I call it a “gym”. Others call it a Health Club. Same thing. Mine doesn’t have a pool. I just learned that they have a basketball court outside in the back, but they put a “jungle gym” on top of the basketball court. There are a couple of rooms for classes and Yoga, and a separate room for Pilates. My wife goes to Yoga Class, and another intense and effective exercise class that is well attended by men and women of all ages, including the Master Kayaker I mentioned above.
We don’t have a lot of luxury amenities and the people who go there aren’t looking for them. There is a club just down the road that caters to “lazy luxury”. I don’t want that.
We do have a complete inventory of equipment, including free weights, kettlebells, machines, balls, TRX Suspension Trainers, and other equipment you can choose from.
You don’t go to the gym just to lose weight. You go to build up, tighten up, loosen up, and firm up. Weight loss is an added benefit of exercise. If you want to lose weight, change your eating habits. 80% of body composition is a result of the food you eat and how you eat it.
Some go to the gym to socialize. I don’t see much of that at 5:30 in the morning. When I go sometimes at mid-day or early afternoon, I see more socializing. I do some socializing. I ask questions and get answers that sometimes go in these articles. I also enjoy having other people around me.
I see a lot of people spending time adjusting their “fit-bits” and other electronic fitness gadgets. They could have gotten five or six useful exercises done in the time it takes them to set up their gadgets.
I could do most of the things I do at the gym just as well at home. Sometimes I do. But for me, it’s not quite the same. Some may prefer to get their physical exercise in their own home with their own equipment. Others prefer to get their exercise outside. It’s a matter of personal preference, and as long as you move your body well enough to call it “a workout”, then anywhere you do it is just fine. Where I live, there is a YMCA with excellent exercise facilities. I have a good friend who has an excellent exercise program there.
It’s not important whether you go to a gym (Health Club), “lazy luxury” facility, the YMCA, or exercise at home, as long as you move your body, you will find and maintain your own Fountain of Youth and that will keep you younger, longer.
Thank you for reading.