Is The Gym Weighing Too Heavily On Your Fitness Efforts?

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When you set out on your get fit journey, there’s one thing you’re going to hear a lot. Whether its your friends telling you to get a gym membership or advice you find online; you can be sure the gym will crop up. After all, what better way to show you’re serious than to fork out for fitness? And, it’s impossible to ignore the gym benefits. Where else are you going to get such extensive access to equipment?

Still, it’s possible this advice is doing more harm than good for your journey. When we put all out fitness eggs in the gym basket, there are just too many reasons not to get started. How often have you said ‘I was going to work about, but I couldn’t get to the gym?’. We’ve all been there. In many ways, this aid which was meant to help does more harm than good. This doesn’t apply to everyone. Some people take to the routine like gym ducks to a swimming pool. And, of course, the gym can keep you motivated when all else fails. But, if you think it might be harming you, consider the following reasons why.

You have to make time

This is the kicker for most of us. Time is always hard to come by, and the gym means you have to take specific time out to get exercise. And, it won’t be a short time, either. You’ll need to get changed, get to the gym, and spend a decent amount of time there to make the journey worthwhile. It’s safe to say, then, that any workout is going to take AT LEAST an hour. And, we don’t all have an hour to spare.

This is the reason many of us give the ‘I couldn’t make it,’ attitude to our workouts. It starts out with a few days, then a few weeks. Before you know it, you’re paying the fee purely so you can feel better about your efforts. Going just isn’t an option. And, most of the time, that isn’t even because you’re making excuses.

So, what can you do to tackle this? Perhaps it’s time to ditch that gym membership and look into alternative methods. Going for a half hour run, for instance, is much easier to get around to. You could also turn to many of the online resources which allow you to work out anytime. You could pay a subscription to a fitness website, or head to YouTube to see what you can find. Either way, these methods provide easy access to professional workouts. And, you don’t get that at the gym.

The confinement

It’s also worth mentioning the confinement involved in the gym setting. For some of us, our get fit journey is about more than muscles or waistlines. Sometimes, we want to do more exercise for our general health and mental happiness. And, sure, any form of exercise can aid these factors. But, to get the full benefit in these areas, it’s worth taking your practice out in the open. Going for a walk or a run has calming benefits that you can’t even imagine, due only in some part to the exercise itself. The sounds and sights of nature also go a long way towards ensuring we get the best from such training.

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Consider, though, that you sign up to the gym and decide to run on a treadmill instead. This has benefits, of course, like being able to track your progress and avoid hills and so on. But, you’re likely going to be running towards a wall for the entire session. It’s hardly sunshine and inspiration for the mind. So, by taking your exercise indoors, you could miss out on many of the mental benefits.

Fear of being judged

Whenever you visit the gym, you can be sure there’ll be other people there. At some times of day, that might only be a handful, but it’s unlikely you’ll get the place to yourself. As such, a fear of being judged can keep many of us away. It may be that you haven’t washed your hair on that day, so you put off visiting. Or, you might not feel confident enough using the equipment. Whatever the reason, this fear of being judged is another prime cause for putting off that workout.

Admittedly, this fear is also present for those who want to get fit out in the open. In fact, fear is also a significant issue for those who go out jogging. By comparison, though, a home workout frees you of all judgement. You can turn up with your hair a mess and your clothes stained with food, and it won’t matter. Hence, you’re much more likely to turn up on a regular basis.

The cost

And, let’s not forget the fact that a gym membership can set you back substantial amounts each month. So much so that this can break the bank for those of us who don’t have much to spare. On top of which, many memberships require that you join for a set amount of time to ensure it’s worthwhile. Meaning that you could be trapped into a contract for 12 months or more. That’s simply not practical for some people.

Yet, when you workout from home, it doesn’t have to cost you anything at all. Of course, even exercise like this can set you back if you get caught buying pricey gym clothes and such. But, setting all that aside, all you need is yourself and a space in which to work out. To enhance your practice, you could even make use of household items, such as bags of sugar.

Of course, this does mean that you’ll be going it alone. If you need motivation and guidance, you could pay a subscription to an online service. This will cost less than half what a gym membership would, and you’ll have the choice of cancelling when you need to. Why not try it out and see how you get on?