Author Topic: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!  (Read 10771 times)

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #25 on: 06 January, 2011, 08:32:14 pm »
You've been to bad gyms.  Good gyms do all that but also work to retain their regulars. 

There's great wodges of time when I don't use my gym at all, but I put value on being able to turn up without having to scrounge together one-time money.  It's like popping into church, only without the paedos or the guilt.
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Manotea

  • Where there is doubt...
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #26 on: 06 January, 2011, 10:58:45 pm »
I've been going regularly for the last year, 3 sessions a week when I can. Generally my program has been Concept rower warmup for 2km, then a simple upper body weights schedule, then core. Takes about an hour all in. I was just starting to add some leg work (squats, extensions, curls) when I got distracted with the Concept rower challenges. I'm sure that will pass but I expect I'll return to my previous schedule (no legwork) once my bike mileage goes up. Also take a weekly Pilates class. About £40 a month in my local Council gym. It's just been refurbished and very nice it is too.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
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Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #27 on: 07 January, 2011, 12:13:45 am »
In my opinion a lot of the comments are missing the key point.

Gyms are commercial organisations where profit is key. All the effort goes into attracting new members, who typically go for a week or two, but are tied into long-term payments.

I've found them to generally be cynical "membership churning" organisations. Before you sign up - you're their best friend. Once joined you're ignored. Classes are overbooked, and those who pay the instructors a private coaching fee get priority.

If all the members went twice a week the gyms would be rammed. Get them in, then discourage attendance seems to be the business model in my experience. It's nothing to do with fitness at all!
Yup. & pretty much the only places that allow PAYG are council-run. I find this quite telling.
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #28 on: 07 January, 2011, 10:00:14 am »
VFM can only be decided by the user, not by someone pontificating in the Guardian.

The pontificating may have something to do with the 'Get fit for free' guide they're giving out in the weekend's Guardian/Observer.
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itsbruce

  • Lavender Bike Menace
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #29 on: 12 January, 2011, 10:43:39 pm »
Coming late to this thread, the right gym can be great.  If it's run properly and has attracted the right crowd, then a gym can be a very welcoming, accepting place.  You see people of all shapes in my gym and the general ethos is that you're there to meet your own goals and do the exercise that's appropriate to you.  Pointing and laughing is unheard of, help and advice offered all round.

I also hate this idea that it's all about weight loss and aerobics.  That's an unhealthy obsession, one repeated in that article and by some people in this thread.  Fitness is about more than weight.  Being generally fit makes you feel better and makes it easier to keep to an even weight.  A little strength training - or resistance training - is also something everybody can benefit from.  Particularly those of us who are approaching 40 or have gone past that milestone; your muscles start to waste away, left to themselves.  Some resistance training and impact training can reverse that.  Good for the joints as well, in moderation.
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andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #30 on: 12 January, 2011, 10:52:42 pm »
I'd just like to add that this season's fashions for gym ladies* are tight black with Barbie-pink detailing. O:-)




* Based on a survey of the students on the steppers.

** Last season was grey marl and princess pink. 
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
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Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #31 on: 14 January, 2011, 10:18:49 pm »
Princess pink vs Barbie pink?  OMG  ???

"What a long, strange trip it's been", Truckin'

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #32 on: 14 January, 2011, 10:36:59 pm »
Details are important.  Princess pink is so last season.
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
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Tigerrr

  • That England that was wont to conquer others Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
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Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #33 on: 21 January, 2011, 11:35:17 am »
I have had gym memberships for many years and if you use the gym it can be really great.  You can get a great workout,  with music, etc etc. Without getting wet cold or so on and with a shower and sauna after.
When I used to go a lot I built up fantastic muscle strength and combined with audax cycling I was fit as a anything and felt like superman.  Not sure I will ever get back to that but I would never have done it without going to the gym.
Of course there are lots of different types of gym - from hardcore sweatbox to yummy mummy posing zones.

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LEE

Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #34 on: 21 January, 2011, 11:52:24 am »
If I could justify the cost I'd join the Gym again.  I used to love going there.

It's not all about body-building (my memebership covered the Swimming pool, various classes and the Solarium complex).  Gym -> Pool -> Steam Room -> Jacuzzi -> Home.  What a wonderful start to the weekend.

(Hmmm..I think I'm talking myself into it.  Post PBP perhaps)

Weight loss is about calories in vs out. 30 seconds lifting a huge Barbell won't burn as many calories as an hour cycling. That's pretty obvious.  Gyms are however full of Cardio machines that will allow calorie-burning equal to cycling on the open road.  It's all down to the user and what they want to achieve.

There are plenty of overweight blokes with huge biceps, big guts and skinny legs in most gyms, proving that bicep curls don't burn many calories.

I can't blame the gym for me paying but not turning up, If I went every day it would be £1 a session and I could stay all day if I liked, that's great value.  The pool and Sloarium complex is generally full of retirees for the "Early Bird" sessions.  Once I get my bus pass I'll be joining them.

simonp

Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #35 on: 21 January, 2011, 12:19:42 pm »
I find it amusing when I'm rowing at a steady 2:08/500m, which puts me in an endurance HR zone, and I see someone sitting at 2:30/500m, or worse, in the case of some of the ladies, 3:00/500m.

Someone who goes on and does 3:00 for a few minutes is probably only burning 15 calories.  Utterly pointless as aerobic exercise.

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #36 on: 21 January, 2011, 12:22:04 pm »
Lift a huge barbell for an hour and it'll burn the universe.  You're right: they're different things.  But moving big weights big distances is big energy: physics, sweat and my Suunto all concur on this.  :)

The gym isn't all about burning calories either.  Therein lies the exercise-induced-anorexia madness pit, tread carefully.

It's as much a multi-use tool as a bicycle or a biro. 
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
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mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
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Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #37 on: 21 January, 2011, 12:22:28 pm »
I find it amusing when I'm rowing at a steady 2:08/500m, which puts me in an endurance HR zone, and I see someone sitting at 2:30/500m, or worse, in the case of some of the ladies, 3:00/500m.

Someone who goes on and does 3:00 for a few minutes is probably only burning 15 calories.  Utterly pointless as aerobic exercise.

But Sir Steven could row 30% faster than you at the same HR. Does that mean you're not burning significant calories?
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

simonp

Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #38 on: 21 January, 2011, 12:31:49 pm »
I find it amusing when I'm rowing at a steady 2:08/500m, which puts me in an endurance HR zone, and I see someone sitting at 2:30/500m, or worse, in the case of some of the ladies, 3:00/500m.

Someone who goes on and does 3:00 for a few minutes is probably only burning 15 calories.  Utterly pointless as aerobic exercise.

But Sir Steven could row 30% faster than you at the same HR. Does that mean you're not burning significant calories?

It's non-linear: the energy expenditure rate from going from 3:00/500m to 2:00/500m approximately triples.  3:00/500m is 60W.

Burning 200 calories per hour is about the same as going for a stroll.

mattc

  • n.b. have grown beard since photo taken
    • Didcot Audaxes
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #39 on: 21 January, 2011, 12:35:59 pm »
But some people can't row at 2:00/500m, and never will (some older folks perhaps could a decade ago, but never again!).
Has never ridden RAAM
---------
No.11  Because of the great host of those who dislike the least appearance of "swank " when they travel the roads and lanes. - From Kuklos' 39 Articles

Pancho

  • لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #40 on: 21 January, 2011, 01:12:16 pm »
Before I was a full-on car free, commuting cyclist (and, indeed, before we were parents) Mrs P and I were gym members[1]. Every day after work we'd go for a swim followed by sauna[2] or steam room and coffee in the bar. This was some time ago and it cost over £100 a month but we got a lot of value out of it.

Then I became a cyclist. I'm fairly certain that a 9 mile e/w commute must be good for weight worriers because, when I bought a car, I gained a stone a month for three months and to buy new clothes.

[1] That reads misleadingly. We could never be mistaken for healthy life style types. Well, I couldn't. Mrs P used to be a professional dancer so I suppose she could.

[2] What is the clothing protocol for gym saunas? In ours full nordic nudity was the order of the day which caused me embarrassment when I used another UK sauna once - where they expected you to wear trunks or something.

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #41 on: 21 January, 2011, 01:32:02 pm »
General UK public sauna is trunks unless you've hired it, in which case whatever you like (though the top hat is a bit funny).  Local variations abound, so it's perfectly normal to ask at the desk. 
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
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Jakob

Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #42 on: 21 January, 2011, 07:45:03 pm »
I find it amusing when I'm rowing at a steady 2:08/500m, which puts me in an endurance HR zone, and I see someone sitting at 2:30/500m, or worse, in the case of some of the ladies, 3:00/500m.

Someone who goes on and does 3:00 for a few minutes is probably only burning 15 calories.  Utterly pointless as aerobic exercise.

But Sir Steven could row 30% faster than you at the same HR. Does that mean you're not burning significant calories?

According to the computer on the rowing machine, I doubled my calorie output after being taught how to row properly better, yet if you'd put a HR monitor on me, you'd seen that it was actually a lot easier.

simonp

Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #43 on: 21 January, 2011, 09:11:23 pm »
Well, maybe they're inept rather than just not working hard enough. :)

The problem is not knowing how to use the equipment properly is part of the problem. They should get that advice from the gym.

Typical young female vo2max is 40; male 45. Mine is not that much higher. If im rowing at 3x the intensity for 5x the duration then something is not right. Maybe it's me. :)

Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #44 on: 23 January, 2011, 12:49:56 pm »
One of the problems with going to a gym is it is easy to fool yourself with it.  If you are going there for cardio to lose weight and burn calories you need to do the work.  If you drive there then sit on an exercise bike twiddling a low gear at low cadence or walking slowly on a treadmill, then no, it's not going to happen, especially if you have a food reward afterwards.  If I decide to go for a bike ride and I'm going to ride 25 miles then I've burnt x calories, but equally, if I go to the gym and work hard for an hour or two doing proper cardio exercises then I've burnt those calories too.

As Andy says, it's not all about cardio.  I *could* spend all my time riding my bike, but I go to the gym to do weight work for core strength and stability.  I'm generally not going to lose weight from it, but I understand that for the goals I want to achieve I need to do *both* cardio *and* strength exercise. Weight exercise is not all about the bodybuilders - it's about flexibility, core stability, mobility.  There's also the fitness classes.  Some people like the motivation from them.  It's effectively having a personal trainer in a large group - you don't need to have a plan, you can be told how to work out.

The key thing about whether you get value for money from a gym is knowing why you are there. You might want to sit in a sauna & jacuzzi for a couple of hours a week, if you are happy to pay the membership to do that, then that's fine.  You might want to do high calorie burn workouts 5 times a week; if you are happy to pay the membership to do that, then that's fine too.  If you want to walk on a treadmill once a week and know that that is all you are there for, then as long as you are happy, it's still value for money. 

As for being able to do most stuff outdoors for free: I live by the sea.  I could go swimming in it every day.  That doesn't mean I want to.  ;)

SteveS

  • What's over the next hill?
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #45 on: 30 January, 2011, 11:02:19 am »
Value for money is all a matter of perspective. I used to not be a member of a gym 5 miles away and I'd ride over to it, remember I wasn't a member and ride home again; about 40 minutes. I'm now not a member of a gym that is 20 miles away and I get 3 hours worth of excercise going there for the same price.

simonp

Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #46 on: 30 January, 2011, 12:16:21 pm »
Someone was doing > 4:00/500m next to me the other day.

4:00 is 25 Watts. Even as a warm-up that's useless.

 :facepalm:

Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #47 on: 30 January, 2011, 08:21:59 pm »
I used to really enjoy going to the gym when before my last redundancy. It was something to do at lunchtime, something healthy, going there to do something meant it separated the exercise from everything else and made it 'me time'. I had to go as part of my rehabilitation for my broken pelvis and I started to enjoy it. I couldn't have done the exercises without the equipment there and I wouldn't have recovered so well so quickly.The cost was motivating, if it was free I would have been tempted to miss sessions, but I forced myself to go to get my moneys worth.  I went to do some exercises, being there with other people exercising was motivating, I am certain I wouldn't have done the same stuff and improved myself so much if I was exercising privately. It's not a con. No one decieved me.

CrinklyLion

  • The one with devious, cake-pushing ways....
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #48 on: 31 January, 2011, 01:25:50 pm »
Someone was doing > 4:00/500m next to me the other day.

4:00 is 25 Watts. Even as a warm-up that's useless.

 :facepalm:


As in 4 minutes to row 500m?  Even I was never that slow!

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: Don't go to the gym - it's a con!
« Reply #49 on: 31 January, 2011, 01:49:09 pm »
Could be deliberately easy rehab of a gammy back or shoulder.

Or just a newbie.  Everyone starts somewhere.
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
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