10 good reasons FOR joining a gym …

The topic of my blog post yesterday was about the fact you don’t have to join a gym to get and stay fit. Today, I want to give you 10 good reasons FOR joining a gym:

1. Prime setting. Simply put, everything you need to achieve any fitness goal will be found in a gym. No matter how well you might equip a home gym, it usually will be lacking to some degree (for a lifetime of fitness), unless you convert a large room and spend thousands of dollars on equipment.

2. Fitness assessment. Starting well begins with the right assessment … properly assessing your current fitness condition and understanding what the right fitness goals would be to start with (and how they should change as you progress). In a gym, you’ll have access to fitness professionals who are experienced in conducting thorough fitness assessments and can provide helpful input into the right goals to pursue.

3. Access to expertise. Not only can you get help with your fitness assessment, joining a gym provides you with access to qualified, certified, experienced, and professional Personal Trainers you can hire to help you develop a customized fitness program designed specifically for you to achieve your fitness objectives. Personal Trainers will continue to provide their expertise as you progress through your training, something which is highly valuable considering you WILL have to routinely change up the content of your training program to avoid plateauing.

4. Motivational environment. Just seeing all kinds of people with similar goals and interests plants you in the middle of an environment that can motivate you along your fitness journey.

5. All-weather environment. A gym membership eliminates any interruptions to your personal exercise regimen that may come with seasonal changes or weather disturbances. You won’t have worry about it being too hot, or too cold, or whether it’s raining or snowing, or daytime or night.

6. Easier to establish a habit of exercising. Trying to workout at home comes with a plethora of distractions and comforts that tempt you to skip today’s workout. You might try working out at a park, only to find a community event happening that displaces you. By going to a gym certain days each week, you’ll develop a more disciplined habit of making time for exercise, and that will yield better results. To add some real science behind that claim, research scientists at Iowa State University calculated a gym membership was related to 14 times higher odds of meeting weekly recommended physical activity guidelines. The results were similar in both men and women, and were adjusted for health issues like high cholesterol, arthritis, and asthma (you can read more about the study results by clicking here).

7. Change of environment fosters focus. Trying to workout at home comes with a variety of possible interruptions, from ringing telephones to children wanting your attention, to the dog wanting to go for a walk. Going to a gym places you in the middle of an environment solely focused on you executing your workout routine for that day or night.

8. Access to group fitness. Some people quickly get bored working out alone, and it can sometimes be challenging to get a friend to commit to “hitting the gym” with you every time you go. Most gyms offer an assortment of group exercise programs, many of which are usually included as part of your membership. You’ll never be lonely by tapping into the exercise classes gyms offer!

9. Opportunity to make friends. If you’re an introvert, this may not interest you – no problem! Just put in your ear buds and focus on your own workout, no one will bother you and you can get your workout in without interruption. But, if you’d like to make some new friends among like-minded people, it’s easy to do at a gym, especially during busier hours.

10. Affordable. It used to be few people had a gym membership because they were too expensive. Now, you can find some gym memberships as cheap as $10 per month for full access to the gym and the classes (or at least some of the classes) offered.

That’s 10 good reasons FOR joining a gym, let me add one more. Many gyms have a retail shop offering for sale a variety of supplements, exercise apparel, books on fitness, and other items and gear you may want access to throughout your fitness journey. Having those things available inside the gym makes it easy to keep yourself well-supplied.

Joining a gym is not a lifetime commitment. You might join and remain a member until you reach certain fitness goals, and then continue with maintaining your fitness in other settings. It’s not uncommon, though, to develop a preference for a gym and spend years as a regular member. Here’s the most important issue – it doesn’t matter whether or not you do or do not join a gym, what is important is making adequate exercise and nutrition a permanent lifestyle.

Scotty