The Gym; Where Does It Fit In?

Apr 10, 2012 by Tatianna

 

Hi everyone,

I hope you had a wonderful Easter holidays and you had some chocolate eggs ( I was good, I didn’t have any, cause I didn’t really want any, I only eat chocolate when I super crave it 🙂 ).  Today we have another guest post by Imogen Reed.  He wrote an article for Loving Fit a little while ago called ” Break Into A Sweat But Don’t Get Broke ” and I invited him back to write for us once again.

 

Choosing a Gym Facility

 

Joining a gym or exercise facility can be a costly decision and quite a commitment to your bank balance and you have to deliver a return on your money. Conducting the appropriate research into the type of gym for your needs is a valuable use of time to ensure you get the right plan for you. Some high end branded gyms will be costly but have the state of the art equipment many crave and aspire to. Others at the other end of the spectrum might offer a pay as you go facility to allow you to trial getting into the routine of making the gym a part of your life. Some will offer many classes at various times of the day, evening and weekend, while others will be less frequent and have less on offer. Some have a pool, sauna, jacuzzi, and others a large CV arena.

Many gym membership holders will be the stereotypical body beautiful, conditioning their bodies and pushing them to the very edge. Conversely the severely unfit and obese will also be found in gym clubs and of course all body shapes and sizes in between these two extremes. In short the local gym club is a reflection of the varied community it serves.

People contemplating taking out a gym membership must consider how realistic the gym is in their already hectic lives. People with kids have childcare issues to consider, people with busy jobs and irregular shift patterns have to look for a gym which supports their needs. For example a parcel delivery driver who may be nationwide at any given point in the week needs to know the gym will be open to accommodate his or her irregular exercise hours. A teacher who loves Body Pump classes will want to know that in the evenings and weekends there is a good choice of access to the gym and appropriate classes.

Whatever supports your goals and lifestyle should dictate your choice. Decision made, you can begin to plan your exercise program, goals and
measures.

 

 

Goals and Aspirations

 

When taking up a new exercise regime it is important to have a goal to aim toward. Maybe it is to attend a number of exercise classes per week to meet new people and keep your motivation going. Perhaps it is to lose ‘so many pounds’ at which point you might set your sights higher at a more challenging weight loss goal. Maybe it is to learn a new skill such as Body Combat or Zumba Fitness dance.

 

Zumba Fitness; Join the Party!

 

Zumba Fitness is a Latin inspired dance fitness program which is quickly rising in popularity over the US and UK in a craze style of fitness exercise classes. Many local halls, working mens’ clubs and private gyms are increasing the presence of Zumba on their timetables. Classes are often packed, embracing the Latino spirit in a fun yet challenging exercise class mixing old and new music with modern contemporary moves. Branded with the strapline ‘Join the Party!’, Zumba is becoming a social experience as well as an exercise class and its infectious passion and high energy workouts lead to a lot of smiley and sweaty faces leaving the gym hall!

Funny to think that this popular dance class was borne out of a happy accident when Alberto Perez, its accidental founder, in the 1990s arrived at an aerobics class he was due to lead without his prescribed music. He improvised with his personal mix tapes which were in his bag and which happened to be salsa inspired, and Zumba in some guise was born!

 

Les Mills Training

 

Another popular element of gym timetables across the country are classes branded under the Les Mills training program including Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Balance and Body Attack; stringent and incredibly challenging core and strength training to sculpt the body. Les Mills claims presence across 80 countries and touches millions of people across some 14,000 clubs.

 

Traditional Gym Workouts

 

Many hardened gym members will never be spotted in an exercise class and join the gym to train on a personal level with very specific goals. They will focus on resistance (weights) training and Cardio Vascular (CV) training which is any exercise increasing their heart rate giving their heart, lungs and circulatory system a full work out, for example running, stepping, cross training and the like.

 

Exercise Can Fit In!

 

Whatever your exercise goals and your motivations for considering joining a gym or exercise class, it is important that you make a commitment with yourself to fit the gym into your world and the gym in turn will help support you to achieve your fitness goals. The most amazing transformations are happening across gyms, unlikely and larger than average’ bodies are shaping up, toning up and ultimately extending their lives by significant numbers of years, and how ever each person goes about their unique fitness journey they should rest assured that they are doing it for themselves, for their future health and for the fun which it will bring to their lives.