Finding the Right Gym

By Jean Griffiths

At some point in our overweight and unfit lives we've all had the new year's resolution to "join the gym" and come the first week in January we run off to our local gym, sign up for the obligatory year's membership, go 2 or 3 times and then never go back.

Maybe every couple of months we get a burst of energy/guilt and go back once or twice but never really get into the whole gym thing and curse every time we see the "only 1.48 a day", as the gym manager put it, coming out of our bank account. It"s not the 1.48 that bothers me it"s the 540 per year that's making me sick.

Anyway, it"s no wonder we develop this deep rooted hatred for the gym, to the point where I had to break up with a guy once because he was called Jim.

Let's take a step backwards for a minute and try and repair this "12 months with the first month free", rift.

Let's think about why we didn't actually keep up our planned three times a week down the gym. (Here's a list)

Too many people in there
Embarrassed with the size of your ass
It was raining
Can't work the machines properly
No one to go with
It's raining again
They keep watching me
Too tired to go
It's too cold
I haven't got an iPod

The list is endless, it's at least as long as your arm. Now what's gonna make this relationship work? (Here's another list)

Buy an umbrella
See if there is a gym near you that has women only sections or women only days
Book a couple of sessions with a fitness coach. Get them to do an assessment of your fitness and ask them to write you out a training program.
Don't think about exercising to lose weight think about exercising to get fit. The fitter you are the more weight you will lose.
Join a Step class or Tums and Bums class or even a yoga class at the gym
Try and find a mate to go with, once you get into it, your friends will want to follow.
Force yourself to hang in there. Nothing sustains motivation better than results
Treat yourself. You've done well.

There are many ways of keeping fit including walking, swimming, running, all sorts of ways but the gym can be a really great place to get yourself back in shape.

Give it another go...

go on,

give Jim a call.