We always try to do what is right for our minds and bodies. We try to eat healthily, we move as much as we can, we play hard, we work hard(ish)… we’re trying to squeeze every ounce out of life! So what doesn’t help is when you find conflicting opinions about health and fitness presented as news.
There is no one perfect workout, diet and lifestyle routine that we all need to find. New information and published studies does not mean that previous information is automatically wrong. The media will churn out exploitive, click-bait articles to play on our insecurities and confuse us with studies, and claims of a ‘new solution’.
Every so often, some smarmy post gets all over the web, screaming “Gym bunnies are wasting their time!” or “Is the gym actually good for you?”. But we’re here to stamp our feet and proclaim to the skies that exercise is never a waste of time. No matter how many tweets a ‘new study’ churns up.
Moving is always good for you, and the more you do it, the better and more awesome you’ll feel! But you have to make sure you’re exercising for the right reasons to ensure that it’s sustainable and it will become a consistent habit. Time to have a rethink about your goals and why you’re hitting the gym!
Ignore the studies: Exercise is never a waste of time!
A recent study by Dr H Pontzer from the City University of New York has suggested that those of us who regularly hit the gym or fitness classes are wasting our time. Que?! Their tests to support this claim is that our bodies adapt to higher activity levels, meaning our metabolism adjusts and burns fewer calories.
The holes in this gym generalisation:
1. The study suggests that the only reason to exercise is purely to burn calories and that people go to the gym to lose weight.
2. It appears to imply that it’s a waste of time to do more than the minimum of activity. In a world where inactivity is now one of the biggest killers, it’s an extremely dangerous claim to push in people’s faces. To see high volumes of Google searches showing ‘is the gym good for you?’ and ‘is exercise a waste of time?’, clearly some people are doubting the benefits of going to a gym.
Why losing weight shouldn’t be your main fitness goal:
Our mission is to get people to move more. This mission is supported by the fact that it increases health, happiness and the energy to live a long and awesome life! We’re not cheerleading people to exercise to lose weight or get ripped with a hard-ass six pack. Nope, not here at MoveGB.
If the reason you haul yourself to the gym is to chase the calorie burn, then you need to restart your mind frame, reboot your motivations and switch on to a new outlook on ‘what is healthy’.
8 reasons why you shouldn’t join a gym to lose weight:
Don’t move because you want to look picture-perfect on the beach…. this is why we want you to move!
1. Move to feel all the post-workout endorphin feels!
2. Move to feel the blood pumping and feel alive.
3. Move to sleep deeper!
4. Move to play football with your kids, and keep up!
5. Move to run up that hill and reach the top without being puffed.
6. Move to splash in puddles on a long walk with the grandkids.
7. Move to feel proud of what your body can achieve… and how much more it’s achieving every day!
8. Move because you have been blessed with a body that allows you to move freely. Amen.
Why should I join a gym?
Exercise is never a waste of time… but the way you approach it could be. Finding a fitness goal which allows you to grow consistently and develop is key, but so is finding the right workout routine for yourself.
Studies may say that ‘the gym is bad for you if you go everyday’, and to a degree we kind of agree. But only in the way that we believe that you need to mix it up and involve a variety of activities. A regular gym membership isn’t as effective as we’ve been led to believe - the average gym-goer in the UK gives up on regular visits after 8 weeks, due to boredom. Be sure to inject variety into your routines!!!
Do a variety of activities to find the one that you love which lead to joy and achievements! This will provide infinite motivation, so focus on these immediate rewards that you get from your loved workout. Not a long-distance goal of large weight-loss, which is known that it won’t be enough of a motivation to turn fitness into a long lasting habit.
Is the gym worth it?
You bet your bottom dollar it is… but you must also move in a variety of ways outside of the gym. Avoid that boredom! Mix in classes and activities outside of the gym and the variety will excite and motivate you, plus injecting variety into your routines will use more of your body’s capabilities and avoid any plateau in fitness.
But since a single gym membership doesn’t give a lot of variety, a multi-gym membership is a top way to combat any workout boredom. MoveGB’s multi-gym membership allows you to pop into hundreds of gyms, swimming pools, classes and other fitness activities across the nation. Add variation to your gym routine and you’ll see results – fitter, stronger, faster and just more darn happy!
