Why Didn’t I Cancel My Gym Membership Ages Ago?

The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping up and down.

Rita Rudner

Several months ago I wrote a blog called Confessions of a Gym Rat about my struggle getting into a gym that I really didn’t like. It was in a basement, old, rundown, badly laid out and not cheap. I’ve been working out in gyms since the mid-70s so not going to a gym didn’t appear to be an option. Unfortunately this was the only gym close to my house since Goodlife bought the big, bright, well laid out gym that I was a member of and then closed it to drive people to the basement. Although I considered going to a gym that I had to drive to, realistically I knew that wouldn’t work. After many trials and tribulations I finally cancelled my gym membership and found a great alternative.

I live in mid-town Toronto in what I affectionately refer to as my 700 square feet of splendor so a big home gym setup was not feasible. However, with a little creativity I can now do as good a workout or better than I did in the gym in very little space and for very little money. I bought a frame-less step machine. It’s literally just the steps so it takes up very little space and it’s under $100 on Amazon. I learned how to train in an old body building gym so I’ve never worked out with machines, only free weights. I rounded out my “home gym” with a few sets of dumbbells (which also take up next to no space and are very inexpensive). Since I’m Jewish, guilt is a powerful motivator for me which is why I strategically placed the stepper and the dumbbells in front of the TV. Every day I find a one-hour TV show that I want to watch and hop on the stepper for the hour. Afterwards I do a weight and ab work out. I’m now working out daily and more efficiently than when I went to the gym. It’s easy to find the time at home and the shower is just a few short steps away. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I really love my home setup and would never rejoin a gym.

If swimming is such a good way to stay in shape, explain whales…

Unknown

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Confessions of a Gym Rat

I don’t exercise. If God had wanted me to bend over, he would have put diamonds on the floor.

Joan Rivers

I’ve been a gym rat since my brother got me into weight training in the ‘70s. I actually like going to the gym; if I like the gym. My problem as of late is that I really dislike my gym.

The issue is the state of the fitness industry. For these last breathless 40+ years I’ve always belonged to single owner gyms, or small boutique style gyms. They were spacious, bright, well laid out, clean and had modern equipment. I avoided the big chains like the plague, until now. Realizing that the cheapest way to acquire members was to buy single owner or small gym chains with active memberships, Goodlife went on a buying spree. So, over the last number of years, every gym I was a member of now is part of the Goodlife chain. They closed the upscale gyms that they acquired and kept the run down, badly laid out gyms with old equipment. The good news is that there is literally a Goodlife gym on every corner. The bad news is that there is literally a Goodlife gym on every corner.

You and I both know that if a gym is not conveniently located you’ll never go. So, I am left with Goodlife around the corner from my house or I have to drive to one of the few non-Goodlife gyms left. And, in the long run that's probably not going to work. I’m trying to get used to going to a gym in a basement with no natural light that’s badly laid out with old equipment. The result is that I rarely go, which has to change. I’ve been committed to fitness and health for my entire adult life and I refuse to let a gym defeat me. I’m going to force myself back into a gym routine at a gym that I hate before I throw in the Goodlife towel and try a gym I have to drive to.

I’m opening a gym called “Resolutions.” It will have exercise equipment for the first two weeks of the year then turn into a bar for the rest of it!

-Unknown

Make someone smile today.

Geri