A Dose of Health

This is really a rhetorical question. Gyms are a great place to workout, socialize, get motivated, increase physical fitness and, if you’re not careful waste a ton of money.

I’ve probably done all of the above when it comes to joining a gym. I get suckered in by all of the great equipment, the fun aerobic classes, the Olympic sized swimming pool and the loud pulsating music of the spinning classes. I’m all gung ho for a few weeks, even a month and a half and then something happens. Whether it’s a cold/flue, an injury, an out of state wedding, vacation or a child’s stubbed toe, something always happens and I stop going. Once I stop, it’s hard to get back into the rhythm again.

Unfortunately, the monthly membership fee doesn’t stop when I do. Each month I look at the monthly fee vowing to return to the gym and I never do.

Gym Precursor

I think I’ve finally found the solution to the wasted gym membership. The answer is a gym precursor. A gym precursor is all about engaging in a fun activity that requires some sort of physical movement. For example, join a learn to roller blade class or take a belly dancing class. In my case it’s a learn to row class.

By doing something you truly love to do, you’ll take the time to develop the muscles and gain the flexibility necessary to become proficient at the activity. Personally, I find that rowing requires endurance, so as a result of rowing, I started running again on my non rowing days. I don’t like running, but if it makes me a better rower, so be it.

My Gym Epiphany

My mistake, I now realize, when it comes to gym membership is that the gym is not my be all and end all. When I thought about physical fitness and getting in shape I thought of spending time at the gym whipping my body into shape. Instead, I now understand that the gym is a necessary means to an end. It helps me to be better at what I’m passionate about.

I now think of going to the gym and using the necessary equipment as a means to improve my rowing. Let’s face it football players play football but utilize the gym to become better football players. The same goes for swimmers, dancers, ice skaters, baseball players and so on.

Back to the Beginning

Are gyms really necessary? No, they’re not absolutely necessary. However, their equipment sure comes in handy when it comes to developing the necessary skills to perform well at a particular sport.

I don’t understand why the idea of eating whatever you want and still lose weight is such a hard one for us to understand. It’s basic science. If we burn off more calories than se take in, then we’ll lose weight. If we want to eat a lot, then we have to burn a lot. It’s really simple.

Don’t take my word for it. Check out Michael Phelps.  He has to consume 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day:

Fuel for Phelps –

Improper Focus

We tend to focus on the wrong part of the weight loss equation. When faced with losing weight most people begin by cutting back food intake or eliminating certain food groups entirely. If we would only increase our activity level, we wouldn’t have to make such severe dietary changes.

The Choice is Yours

I can hear complaints already about how hard it is to exercise and how you don’t have the time to exercise. All I can say is that if you really want to lose weight and eat whatever you want, you have to move a lot. The choice is yours.

The other day at the grocery store checkout line, I got to watch the thin woman in front of me place her items on the conveyor belt. She was dressed in white shorts and an aqua blue top. All of her clothes were form fitting.

Although she had an attractive figure for an exceptionally thin woman, something struck me as odd. I did a quick glance up and down and realized what it was. This woman did not have a hint of a muscle anywhere on her body (at least from what I could see).

Her arms and her legs lacked muscle tone. Yes she was thin, but she probably had a high percentage of body fat. When she walked, her thin little calves jiggled.

You Are What You Eat (Or Don’t Eat)

I then looked at what she was purchasing. It gave me a clue as to how she developed such a physique. She had in her cart 4 cases of Diet Pepsi, two packs of gum and 3 boxes of something that I couldn’t figure out what it was.

If she had on long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, I probably would have thought her to be a fit individual. However by exposing her toneless arms and legs I quickly came to a different conclusion.

Thin at What Cost?

We live in a weird society that glorifies being thin. There’s no doubt that too much extra weight can tax the heart and other organs and systems in the human body, but being an unhealthy thin is no better. The type of thin the grocery store woman displayed made me wonder how long her bones were going to be able to carry her small frame without breaking.

Although she was very thin, I would bet that her body fat percentage was high. After all, she barely had any muscle. Muscular calves don’t jiggle, fatty ones do. Check out this article on skinny fat people and this one about being fat even when you’re not overweight .

Is there a purpose to this post?

Yeah, there is a purpose to this post somewhere in all the verbiage. What I’m getting at is that being thin isn’t the be all and end all. Being healthy is. If you’re packing a few extra pounds but you have healthy bones and muscle tone, I’d take that any day over being artificially thin (living on diet soda and cigarettes) and jiggly.

Just my opinion.