I think it is an important item to highlight that not all gyms are the same. Now whislt you might be thinking well of course they arnt, they are different places let me explain some more. MY experience of the idea of joining a gym have come at different times, and for differing reasons, but my location has never changed. The first time I thought of joining the gym the answer was obvious, go to the local leisure centre and join the gym there, it is local and the only one surely. No.
The gyms in the UK and the gyms in the US are is many ways very different. Interestingly I put this down to taxes and land value. In the US Gyms are often vast and offer a wide range of machines and different ways of exercising as well as extras like food options etc. On the occasion we as a family go to the US we try differnet gyms as they are AWESOME. Here in the UK they tend to be much smaller and a lot less equipment and cost more to join (stop moaning and keep writing).
Each type of gym has pro’s and con’s of course but as not all gyms are the same it is important to think of the reasons you are wanting to go to the gym and I think that makes you think about it a bit more. My experience of going to the leisure centre gym made me stop going very quickly. The benefits for me is that the leisure one offers extras, when you join a leisure centre gym these days it tends to be a membership of the centre as much as the gym. As with all things, their marketing department have found people will spend more money if the list of things available (that 90% of people will never use) looks impressive – Oooo cynical me is coming out again.
The local leisure centre for me is nice. There is a large pool, and courts for the usual sports, there is also the gym and the gym has a health suite with a small private pool, sauna and steam room. To this day it still sounds like a nice idea to use the gym and then have a steam or sauna BUT The Gym is not good. This gym and a couple other leisure centre gyms I have been to tend to be similar, it is a mix of teens, the coffee drinking mums and a few people who are a bit more serious but not that many and I never felt the place. There was no drive in the room, commoradery or desire to work hard.
Also with the goals and reasons for starting and how the gym worked for me and my headspace in the end it would not be open early enough either as I wanted to be there and starting at 5am. My son at this time had joined a Pure Gym here in the UK which is open 24 hours which I liked the idea of. As we know, not all gyms are the same, but I had seen this one from the outside and to be honest it looked intimidating but I decided I didnt care and to put the big boy pants on!
My Gym Choice – PureGym
Not all gyms are the same but PureGym offers 24hr access, quite a wide selection of machines and also there are classes included and to be honest I think the pricing is pretty fair. I signed up for a trial one day and went with my son so that he could give me a list of machines to try, and set some starting weights, so that I KNEW what to do when I went early in the morning. That first session with him also helped me with taking the fear from the gym. If you dont know someone that can offer that intro, which I had with my son, there are staff there that can also give you an intro and it is WELL WORTH IT.
So on MY One Day or Day One moment (put up or shut up), I went at 5am as the brain was kicking in – I had written down in my exercise diary what to do so we went with it. Whilst it felt strange because it was new it FELT SO MUCH BETTER than the local leisure centre gym. Do remember that people at the gym ALL have their reasons but at that time in the morning, it felt like you were with the serious people, you were ALL making a POSITIVE MOVE towards goals – there was a vibe. The feeling was so much different. I felt sourrounded by people that were serious with what they were doing and it lifted MY GAME.
Still to this day this is how I feel in that Gym at whatever time of day or night that I go. I have been going to the gym now for coming up a year and todays version of me is SO MUCH different that to that version of me. I feel like a different person now, only 1 person has tried to talk to me so am not in the cool gang yet – but I am fine with that. I see the people that have the appearance I aspire to, the low body fat, the clear muscle definition! These are the types of people I want to work with and maybe one day I will as I still have a feeling of being a fraud.
I still really like it though! I feel comfortable in the space, I like being sourounded by people that have achieved what I want to achive and that I AM ACHIEVING but it takes time. When I started the journey I wanted to lose weight basically. Now I WANT WHAT I CAN SEE and I will work to get it – I want ABS!
The key take away from this, is this – Not all gyms are the same! This means dont try a local one and think “The” Gym is not for me, you just need to find the one that works for you!! I have tried the clubs that are hundreds a month based on small group sessions – Not For Me. I have tried leisure centres – Not For Me (but would like the sauna and steam room). I have tried classes – Not For Me. I found the gym for me – and I am going to stick with it.
Try more than one Gym if you think you dont like it as you might suprise yourself. But think what you want from it. Of course – Also make to to decide One Day or Day One! Go for it
