Fifty Plus (50+) - That "use my head and go to the gym" post got me thinking...I HATE gyms (a rant)

I like working out (well, I like the results; sometimes the actual sweating is tedious), but I've never enjoyed gyms. It started when i was a runner, back when my knees worked. Beautiful spring day, 70 degrees, light breeze, and it seemed like half the people I knew would go do an hour on the treadmill instead of running outdoors.
That was 30 years ago, and it's worse now. EVERYBODY'S got a gym membership. Except for cyclists, I hardly know anyone who exercises outdoors. We had a run of 65-degree days recently (30 warmer than average) and I asked a guy I work with, an occasional cyclist, if he wanted to go for a ride.
"No, got to go to the gym," he said. So he did 45 minutes on the Stairmaster. Boy, THERE'S a good time...
I hate the atmosphere, which around here is either macho-competitive or hyper-social (my wife laughs at women putting on makeup and doing their hair before they go in to work out). I hate the damn juice bar in the lobby; get a nice pomegranate/lime/acai berry smoothie for only $7.50. I hate it that three months after I canceled my trial membership, they're still billing my credit card, and whenI complain about it, they say, "Sorry--tell you what: We'll give you a month free."
I don't want a month free, and it's not free anyway because you already took the money out of my credit card.
"But we'll upgrade you to a Gold Membership, and you can use the sauna and get a free locker."
That's all. I just hate gyms.

With the exception of going in to sign my boys up for gym memberships during high school (the gym near their school gave students a great price and they could fulfill their PE credits with gym time), I haven't been in a gym since college. Much prefer the open road (or open trail) to get my exercise.

The place where I live in NWA has a small exercise room with treadmills, weight machine, and a semi-recumbent stationary bike. I'll go in there only during snow/ice conditions and only if I'm desperate.

I used to do work for a handyman when he had overflow. He gave me a job of re-roofing a shed. It was a beautiful July saturday morning, I mean it was one of those "perfect" days. Not too hot, not a cloud in the sky, perfect. So I get there in the morning, the handyman is there with the material, ie bundles of shingles that had to be unloaded, etc. The customer come out of the house with his gym bag, and comes over to say hello. We have a short chat, go over the job. Then he says, "I'll be at the gym for a while, so I'll be out of touch" and he leaves. The handyman looks at me shakes his head and says "AT THE GYM!?! On a day like today he goes to the gym. He could help us hump these shingles across the yard for FREE. Going to the gym.....". Good honest work muscles, will beat gym muscles any time.

A gym is a necessary evil here in Minnesota, unless you prefer the alternative of a trainer in your basement. So I go. But that doesn't mean I don't hate it. I do. Hate it. With extreme prejudice.

As I teach at the university, I go to the U Rec center, which in some ways is better than a commercial gym - it costs less and I am exempt from social scene occurring among the students. But still, stationary bicycles/elliptical machines/treadmills/etc. are among the most boring devices known to human kind.

I like going to the gym due to the competitive aspects of it. Yeah its a meat market, and yeah people go there to show off...etc, but sometimes you get on the treadmill next to the other runner and you just want to try and out do them.

That is my experience atleast.

It also helps for crappy days when the weather is much to handle. I'm originally a FL boy and I'm not digging the 30-50 range of temps for being outside.

When I was a serious runner 25 years ago I couldn't stand any sort of indoor exercise, particularly treadmills; I'd rather run outside in 0deg weather. I've joined a gym, but only for strength training which I definitely need. At least every 5 minutes you're hitting a different machine. The gym workouts will be in addition to cycling. When I travel on business I'll use an elliptical trainer out of necessity, but 20 minutes with CNN or Sports Center is about all I can tolerate.

That's why my wife & I put together a home gym. No treadmills, etc. A leverage machine, dumbbells, and a hyperextension bench. Now I can just walk across the hall & my dogs keep me company!

Velo Dog,
Do you remember the smell of a change room in High School? It was putrid. Take the locker at the gym for free, then go to a high school and purchase the raunchiest running shoes and damp unwashed t-shirt you can from a student. Preferrably one who has body odor at the best of times. Put them in your locker at the gym.

2 weeks, 3 weeks tops and they'll be asking you to move out. I promise.

i like working out (well, i like the results; sometimes the actual sweating is tedious), but i've never enjoyed gyms. It started when i was a runner, back when my knees worked. Beautiful spring day, 70 degrees, light breeze, and it seemed like half the people i knew would go do an hour on the treadmill instead of running outdoors.
That was 30 years ago, and it's worse now. Everybody's got a gym membership. Except for cyclists, i hardly know anyone who exercises outdoors. We had a run of 65-degree days recently (30 warmer than average) and i asked a guy i work with, an occasional cyclist, if he wanted to go for a ride.
"no, got to go to the gym," he said. So he did 45 minutes on the stairmaster. Boy, there's a good time...
I hate the atmosphere, which around here is either macho-competitive or hyper-social (my wife laughs at women putting on makeup and doing their hair before they go in to work out). I hate the damn juice bar in the lobby; get a nice pomegranate/lime/acai berry smoothie for only $7.50. I hate it that three months after i canceled my trial membership, they're still billing my credit card, and wheni complain about it, they say, "sorry--tell you what: We'll give you a month free."
i don't want a month free, and it's not free anyway because you already took the money out of my credit card.
"but we'll upgrade you to a gold membership, and you can use the sauna and get a free locker."
that's all. I just hate gyms.

yes! +1

I don't hate gyms because I've never belonged to one, and in fact I don't think I've ever been in one. When I lived in St. Louis I couldn't have afforded it anyway, plus we had a winter mountain bike racing series and cold weather road rides.

Now that I live in SoCal, the weather is good to excellent most of the time, so no worries. And, while strength training may actually help me, eventually, . . . the total cost/benefit ratio of the gym thng doesn't impress me.

Thanks for your rant Velo Dog; very entertaining!

Rick / OCRR

If you have a purpose- or the necessity- then Gyms fulfill a purpose.

I used to do a hard ride in June each year and it took full fitness to complete. I used to ride all year round but not to the ultimate or competitively. I had fitnesss but after the ride I used to start "Cooling" down on the training and only got in the odd Offroad Metric or 100 miler on the road.---- Yes the June ride was hard in comparison.

Then around November the weather starts to pull in a bit and rides only came about at weekends. Then you realise it is January and only 4 months to get fit- so down the gym as you cannot rely on having evening rides often enough to get the fitness in. So start gently at a low level and get the cardio vascular working and start to get the body mobile again in the weights room twice a week and by the end of April you are beginning to feel the benefit of all that "Extra" exercise coupled with the weekend rides that are getting harder and longer. But only 6 weeks to get that final fitness in so the evening rides are back with a vengeance. Finally about 4 weeks before the event and I found myself leading the youngsters up the hills on the 30 mile offroad rides and you peel off after that distance to get in an extra 30miles on the road to cool down.

Then the event and time to slacken off a bit in the training--Till January and you just wish you had got out for those 30 mile rides in the week as you now have to go to that bl**dy gym again to get fit.

Yes--I still hate the gym.

I hate gyms too and over the last several decades have amassed a lot of equipment for the home. Everything from several weight sets, a squat cage, a multi purpose work out machine to a $900 rowing machine. I'd rather bike/jog in the rain than run/walk or bike indoors, though we have a stationary bike for the wife. I've got a Roman chair/hyper-ext. bench on order.

We spend time in two homes since we have as yet not been able to sell our Florida house. So I joined a gym at the other place when they had a $100/year special. That allows me to do about four exercises where I need equipment. It's a pain, but it's temporary I hope.

It's not a chain, but a local Gyme. Open 24 hours 7 days/week.

Some folks are more motivated to work out in a gym environment or they don't have the space/$s for the gear. Gyms serve a very valuable purpose.

Al

Even more than I dislike working out indoors, I absolutely despise the high pressure sales techniques and long term obligations that many gyms push on people. I looked into a couple of local gyms and couldn't bring myself to do it. But last year my company installed a fitness center. I can go in before or after work and use the weight machines, free weights, elliptical machines, stationary bikes (upright and recumbent) or treadmills. This time of year there just isn't time to ride after work and the weather is often too cold or too wet for me to want to ride. I don't really like working out indoors, but weekend rides aren't enough to keep the fitness up and the weight down. So it has to be either the fitness center or the trainer between the rare rides.

I was leaving work on my bicycle and was asked by a co-worker who lived near me how long it took to ride home. "About 45 minutes."

"Huh! It takes me less than 20 minutes to drive home."

I asked him what he did once he got home. "Oh, grab my bag and go to the gym to get some exercise."

There are gyms and there are gyms, if you take my meanin'. This time of year, when I leave for work in the morning it is dark and it is still dark when I return. Biking is out of the question. So is cycling. My bicycles aren't coming out in the snow, for they are asleep.

My gym, on the other hand, lets me go online and read BF while on a exercise bike (wish they'd ditch those saddles though) or treadmill. I can push weight machines for upper body, leg, or core strength. I can attend a delightful 75 minutes of yoga, or a more demanding 60 minutes of Pilades.

If it wasn't for exercise I'd get no exercise at all.

Oh, I hate gyms. Hate ‘em hate ‘em hate ‘em. It’s the whole meat market/social thing and the stench of no maintenance and broken machines and grunting meat heads and people taking up lanes in the pool while not actually swimming and jacuzzi’s that are 140 degrees with 75% chlorine to kill all the VD that might be there and you’re wondering about the hair floating on the surface and the fact that while there is 1000 sf of locker room, no matter what, there’s always a naked dude hanging out right next to you while you’re putting your shoes on and you’re thinking to yourself “Hey Johnny, close the junk drawer, will you?”

<whew>

[/rant]

OK, all that said, I find it amusing that in good weather areas, there are people in the gym doing cardio. A couple of years ago, I was in Hawai’I and I went for a run…ran right past a gym. The entire ocean-facing window was lined with folks running on treadmills. I waved as I went by.

. . . the total cost/benefit ratio of the gym thng doesn't impress me.

Rick / OCRR

Golds Gym in our town is pretty reasonable: $33/mo. I may not keep it up forever, but at 65 my muscle mass is headed downhill fast.

A hundred years ago, nobody went to a gym. They had it right.
I'm not interested in wasting my time doing physical work that doesn't transport me to work or to the store.

Paul
(hoping for some sort of uber retrogrouch award)

Oh, I hate gyms. Hate ‘em hate ‘em hate ‘em. It’s the whole meat market/social thing and the stench of no maintenance and broken machines and grunting meat heads and people taking up lanes in the pool while not actually swimming and jacuzzi’s that are 140 degrees with 75% chlorine to kill all the VD that might be there and you’re wondering about the hair floating on the surface and the fact that while there is 1000 sf of locker room, no matter what, there’s always a naked dude hanging out right next to you while you’re putting your shoes on and you’re thinking to yourself “Hey Johnny, close the junk drawer, will you?”

<whew>

[/rant]

OK, all that said, I find it amusing that in good weather areas, there are people in the gym doing cardio. A couple of years ago, I was in Hawai’I and I went for a run…ran right past a gym. The entire ocean-facing window was lined with folks running on treadmills. I waved as I went by.

"...close the junk drawer" :lol:


I teach spin classes and lead a walking group at my gym. A lot of people go to the gym for the social aspect of group classes, and others want someone who will tell them what to do and push them harder than they would work out on their own. Personally, I do a much harder weight workout when I have a trainer picking the exercises for me.

And some people have a hard time working out at home. Going to the gym gives them a routine to stick to and they won't get distracted by things at home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-cpojkILO0

I don't endorse the company, they're probably crooked (http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2011/biggymripoff/) also.

I dislike them!!

I still go for strength training. I can ride most of the year in Houston; so, I rarely go to the gym for aerobic exercise only.

I have a fairly inexpensive monthly fee. I was a member when they opened. I am disappointed that they haven't upgraded any equipment since they opened.

There are a lot of weird people that tie up the weight machines. They often sit on a machine and do multiple sets with very light weights and long rest periods.

When they invent a machine that mimicks snow shoveling then maybe..........Our YMCA is great for moms with small kids. Mom or Dad can work out and kids can play or swim and still be close.

When they invent a machine that mimicks snow shoveling then maybe..........Our YMCA is great for moms with small kids. Mom or Dad can work out and kids can play or swim and still be close.

^^ Just came in from shoveling my double width driveway, while all the neighborhood men were out with their snowblowers. I love everything about shoveling snow!

There seems to be a north south divide here. I don't go to the gym at all in the summer -- I'm riding every day anyway, and it's a much more enjoyable workout. But in the winter I have to do something, or I go stir crazy. OK, I can skate or ski some of the time, but that's only a couple of times a week at best. So I need spin classes to keep my biking muscles alive, and weights work to keep the rest of the muscles alive. And I'm with CBad. I need a class to give me the motivation, and to ensure that I keep going for more than 10 minutes or so.

What I really hate is gyms in January, when the New Years Resolutioners come out and crowd the locker room something rotten. By February things are somewhat less evil, and March is usually just fine.

I joined one just before Thanksgiving, for several reasons:

1. There are a bunch of them around here, and competition among them for memberships is fierce. That translates to reasonable costs (~ $30/month), and no long-term contracts. Plus the membership came with 3 complementary sessions with a trainer, so my workouts are better focused toward my desired results than I would have come up with on my own.
2. The one I picked is 5 blocks from my home, so it's convenient.
3. Spin classes are much more likely to keep up my winter mileage base than relying on outdoor riding (I'm not big into winter riding), or on setting up my 30 year old wind trainer in the basement.
4. I need resistance training for most all of my body parts, and the machines are a quick, easy way to do it.
5. The sauna is really nice when the outdoor temps are hovering around 0F like they are here today.
6. The meat market aspect of it isn't hard to tolerate if you can convince yourself to look on those folks with some degree of disdain. ;)

Local municipal rec center membership is $11/mo. Keep it for bad weather, even though I have a universal machine in my garage. Too big a woose to bike in cold weather...

300 days/year of sunshine, mild temps, lots of great roads, and folks still go to gyms here in Southern California. That ranks right down there with going to a tanning salon when you live in sunny So Cal.

I'm not a big fan of Gyms either. Or are they called "Fitness clubs" now? Who knew?
Besides all the stuff already mentioned, the competitive nature of the whole thing, the people who apparently just want so show off, the women who actually put on makeup to work out, there is one more thing: In the winters here, gyms seem to be petri dishes. Whatever is going around, you'll, catch it at the gym. Now, I'm no germaphobe. But, I have not desire to get the latest headcold, flu, or stomach virus from hell that goes around the Boston area every year, right about now. Everyone I know who goes to a gym gets sick more often than those who don't. At least, that's what it seems like.

On women who put on makeup to go work out... Aren't these the same ones who worked as pool lifeguards as teenagers, and put on makeup and jewelry while doing their lifeguard shifts?

One more thing... What is the deal with these people who drive to the gym, then get all cheesed off when they can't get a parking space near the door? Some sort of suburban value thing, or what?

300 days/year of sunshine, mild temps, lots of great roads, and folks still go to gyms here in Southern California. That ranks right down there with going to a tanning salon when you live in sunny So Cal.

Or buying bottled water...

One more thing... What is the deal with these people who drive to the gym, then get all cheesed off when they can't get a parking space near the door? Some sort of suburban value thing, or what?
No. Some sort of suburban value thing.

I used to spend a lot of time in a local gym. It was small, and once I became a regular, very friendly. The meat market aspect wasn't a problem as it was mostly men who were serious about lifting. Over the years the location, the people and I changed. I got back into biking and gave up "serious' lifting. I keep a bench and a small variety of dumbells at home and use them primarily in the winter when the biking pretty much disappears. I can't imagine going to one of the big gyms.

I try to hit the gym 3 times a week when I am home, to work on upper body strength. I either ride or run before work, the stop at the gym on the way home. a couple of years ago I did add serveral machines to the workout for my lower body; horizontal leg press, leg extensions, leg curls, and the glute machine. One trip to the gym is on Sat afternoon. I usually ride around 60 miles on the club ride , so, I reduce the weight on the leg machines by at least 25%. It does make my legs feel better.

A year before I re-entered cycling, I bought a elliptical for quite a pretty penny. I really tried to like it. I placed it in front of a TV to occupy my mind during the mindless exercises but I was bored, bored, bored. After the elliptical was placed in the garage, I started looking at bikes again. One things for sure, bike rides are never boring, even when I ride the same routes. In retrospect, I wish I would have used that elliptical money for my new bike. I was sure shocked to see how much even entry level bikes cost.

Sorry one more... :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4i8SpNgzA4

One things for sure, bike rides are never boring, even when I ride the same routes.

Kenneth Cooper said he once thought that stationary trainers and actual bicycles gave the same exercise. After years of observation, he noticed that as soon as the timer dinged on a stationary, folks hopped off. On real bikes, it wasn't unusual for the riders to spontaneously decide to "go the long way" or "add a couple hills".

"I hate the gym" chapter 3583.

It's too cold to ride outdoors today (high of +4°F), so I decided to go to the gym. One advantage of my gym is that it's the university rec center and it has a field house with an indoor track. Though the track is only open limited hours (the track team uses it the rest of the time), it's supposed to be open on Saturday afternoons. But on getting there I discovered that it was closed for a track meet. What to do? Since I had my running shoes, I decided to settle for a treadmill. But then, on getting to the treadmill, I discovered that the battery on my ipod had run down.

Now that is DULL. Running on a treadmill without music.

While I would much rather be riding my bike, right now it is -2. I do not ride in the winter around here, as the roads are dangerous and people are unprepared for cyclists in the winter. I am lucky, though.

I do go to a gym. My wife works for a major health-care provider, and relatives can use the cardiac-rehab/employees gym for free. treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes, weight machines, free weights---everything clean and in great working order. Several large screen tv's, too---although I either listen to iheartradio or tunes on my Ipod. Another great thing is that people are very professional there---healthcare people, etc---and are much more interested in cardio fitness than banging weights and trying to impress each other.

TSC

Guess I'll have to say a few words for the poor, villified commercial gym. I joined in the fall just over a year ago mostly to keep my son company. When spring came I was 50 pounds lighter, and when I jumped on my old bike my legs felt 20 years younger. I started riding more, bought a better bike and continued losing weight and getting fitter. The gym didn't change my life, but joining gave me the little nudge that got me started in the right direction. Sure, riding a real bike and paddling a real kayak are better -- they just aren't always available, especially in the winter. This gym is two blocks from home, clean, friendly, and well equipped. It's boring, but I can read the paper on a stationary bike or watch TV on a rowing machine, so an hour passes fast enough. When there's no snow I ride my bike every day, stop at the gym for some upper-body work, then ride some more. On a day like today (minus 25), I'm glad the gym is there. I'm too old to worry about the whole competitive-social-showoff scene, and it's very minor at this gym anyway.

I like working out . . . . . . I just hate gyms.

Hey 'Dog! Thanks.

I was 'that' close to hooking up with a local gym for a couple of months in the deep-freeze we're getting in West Virginia.

Your post forced me to remember why gyms truly suck and to review my own list of stuff I loathe about 'em.

It all comes down to a kind of existential emptiness, pumping and sweating like faceless gray warriors trudging off on a meaningless mission. . .or something.

In the end, there is "no bad weather, just bad gear".

Thanks again.

300 days/year of sunshine, mild temps, lots of great roads, and folks still go to gyms here in Southern California. That ranks right down there with going to a tanning salon when you live in sunny So Cal.

There isn't much (if any) sunshine before I leave for work at 5:30, nor is there much (if any, or not for long) in the evening after work during late fall, winter, and early spring. I rode my bike after work (in the dark, or at dusk when visibility is not good with setting sun in drivers' eyes) for 2 winters and disliked it so much I could hardly wait to get home. I get what you're saying though --- but it's not that simple for the working folks with long commutes who leave and return home in the dark.

Also, there are other reasons to go to the gym, including swimming, weights, and other options. At least at our gym. If I just wanted to ride and nothing else, I'd set up a trainer at home to ride when the sun isn't shining.

We use the gym (right now in a 30-day free trial after 21 mos. of nothing buy cycling) for the workouts we don't get on the bikes. With good tunes I can stand the elliptical for about 30-45 min. for a different kind of exercise, and I like lifting weights. Recently I started taking TRX classes, and am enjoying them very much.

We had a great set up in our garage, where I trained clients as well as us, but after while I found it too easy to get distracted. Going somewhere that I don't have to clean or maintain works better for me.

I'm sad to read so many negative experiences with gyms/clubs...the 4 to which I've belonged in the last 20 yrs. have been very rewarding. The pain and suffering are self-inflicted.

We use the gym (right now in a 30-day free trial after 21 mos. of nothing buy cycling) for the workouts we don't get on the bikes. With good tunes I can stand the elliptical for about 30-45 min. for a different kind of exercise, and I like lifting weights. Recently I started taking TRX classes, and am enjoying them very much.

We had a great set up in our garage, where I trained clients as well as us, but after while I found it too easy to get distracted. Going somewhere that I don't have to clean or maintain works better for me.

I'm sad to read so many negative experiences with gyms/clubs...the 4 to which I've belonged in the last 20 yrs. have been very rewarding. The pain and suffering are self-inflicted.

My experience as well. Our gym is actually a local community club, where we see some of the members of our bike group and it feels like a social outing to go there. It offers many options that I don't have at home or out on the roads.

At first, I marveled at neighbors packing up to drive to the gym to workout indoors while I was taking off for a beautiful bike ride here in Northern California. What a waste of time, money, scenery, and fresh air. And PAYING for mindless gerbil activity, to boot.

THEN, due to long hours working at computer and the only exercise I got was on the bike, I ended up with a frozen shoulder that was cured through surgery. Post-op physical therapy was a prescription to go to the gym and do all those pull the weight down things. I hated the gym. I did the cycle of exercise machines, which we dubbed "stations of the cross" for a couple years.

THEN, I noticed that I was avoiding the gym during nice weather and heading up to the hills on the bike, so the gym became an unnecessary expense.

AND THEN, after working a long project, I found myself with the other shoulder frozen absolutely stiff and immovable. Quite suddenly that set in, only a couple months after quitting the gym.

SO... Gym may be necessary evil.

I work out at home these days. I have, in the past, gone to gyms. Some people need the community to get motivated, but I just can't take the time needed to go, dress, workout, stand in line at machines etc. I get my cardio on the street with my bikes and use powerblocks at home for a weight workout. That way I can spend about 15 minutes while I'm watching the news and work a different body part each day. It has worked much better for me over the years.


Marc

While I have absolutely no interest in modern commercial gyms, I do have fond memories of the weight room from back when I was on the wrestling team about 45 years ago. In those days, serious weight training was the domain of wrestlers, and it was fun to observe how the other athletes seemed intimidated by us.

Nice big cast-iron free weights by the York Barbell Company -- using them made me feel like an initiate into some strange, ancient warrior fraternity. Everything reeked of sweat and BENGAY, and it was everything that a modern gym tries not to be. Old boxing movies capture the ambiance pretty well.

The head of PE at my local high school was a buddy of mine, so I got to use their weight room when I was home for summer vacation. I'd work out with barbells all morning, then run over to the local swim club for the afternoon. The room was so small I had to go out onto the basketball court for standing overhead lifts.

Mr. Powers, I'm really sorry that I made a half-inch dent in the floor of the basketball court when one of the collars slipped during an overhead lift.

Paul