I remember the days when I used to workout at a gym exclusively. I used to think it was absolutely necessary to be in a gym to get results- that a good workout required you to be in a health club or weight lifting room of some sort. Today I find myself at the best point of my life, from both a business and fitness standpoint, and I haven’t stepped a foot in a typical gym for 16 months now. After some thought, I put on paper what I feel to be the top 10 reasons NOT to go to the gym:
1.) Needless Travel Time: The daily gym workout will cost us at least 10-20 precious minutes round trip in wasted travel time. Add that time up over the course of a week and you are looking at losing at least 1-2 hours going to and from the gym.
2.) The Sheep Mentality: Everybody is doing the same thing. Most men and women are just sheep- slaves to all of the misinformation provided in the form of sensational fitness magazines and infomercials. People just go to the gym and do whatever everybody else is doing.
3.) Needless Waiting Time for Equipment or Space: I remember when I used to workout at a gym that I would spend about an average of at least 15-20 minutes per workout waiting on a piece of equipment or a certain space of the gym to complete my daily routine. Build your own gym at home so you and you only control your workout environment for optimal results.
4.) Sickness and Disease: Beyond catching the common cold, there are some other real serious things that have been spreading at gyms like wildfire like the recent merca staph infection epidemic.
5.) Annoying People: For most people going to the gym isn’t about getting results, it’s about socializing.
6.) Expensive Memberships:
7.) Useless Equipment: Machines suck- I haven’t used a machine in years. They don’t allow your body to train that way it was designed to move and function and they cause many overuse injuries. If you want to be lean, tight, and muscular, all you need is your body weight, some bands, and a few free weight options like dumbbells or kettlebells to get the job done at home or on the road.
8.) Lack of Open Training Space: Idiot club owners focus on all the frills with substance by filling the training floor up with overpriced, oversized machines that take up all of the prime real estate. All you need is space- space to move freely and explore your own body’s capabilities.
9.) Crippling Dependence: I mentioned this earliest- gyms force you to create a dependence on them. So, show yourself that you can get results without the gym. I promise you that the best workouts of your life are waiting for you at home or in new places like a park, beach, hotel room, etc. Step outside of the box!
10.) Bad Trainers: When you go to the typical gym for personal training, you enter a factory. They are trying to get you in and out. They don’t care if your reach your goals nor do they have the desire to build lasting relationships with you. They just need to hit their quota- you are just another number for them.
BJ Gaddour, CSCS, YFS, is a local Milwaukee fitness boot camp instructor and real world fat loss expert. To book him/her to speak at your local Milwaukee company, club, or organization please contact him/her by email at getsexybootcamps@
