Community post
Oversubscribed and Underutilised
For the first time in a couple years, I participated in a lesson at the gym. It was only a half hour flexibility session, but I was pretty sweaty after. Unlike many men, I do stretch, but I am not very good at pushing myself hard enough, so having it guided helps.
After the class I was having a chat with the trainer about the many, many gyms in the city (who I have been chatting with for the last few months on and off about life and business) and asked her a question.
How can there be so many gyms and gym types in this city, but most people are still out of shape?
Of course, I know the answer to this question, as did she. But it was interesting to consider that in a city of about 300K people and at least 200 gyms and fitness centres, not to mention all the other types of sports centres, tennis and padel, and martial arts places and similar - there should be a lot of fit people. After all, for these places to survive, they must have members. Sure, there will be some overlaps here and there where one person is subscribed to more than one activity, but there are a lot of gyms.
I suspect it is much like most subscriptions many of us have, where we overvalue the value it brings to us. For a gym, there is probably also the feeling derived from being a member, of actually getting some benefit from it - even when it isn't being used. In that sense, it might be a bit like a Ferrari, where the power can't (legally) be utilised on the roads, but just having it there makes people feel special.
I don't expect everyone to walk around like it is the set of Baywatch, but I do think that we are failing as a society to build the kind of environment that keeps us healthy. Exercise is just one aspect of it, as there is nutrition as well as mental and social health also, but all of these things tie into together. I don't think it is a surprise at all that the more physically unhealthy we get as a society, the more other problems we are going to have. And all these little misalignments add up to far greater issues, as they compound against each other.
There is not just one factor holding us back, there are many. But most of us still have the treatments we each need available to us - at least for the basics. Yet, like the apparent gym memberships, we do not utilise our resources well. We spend a lot to have access and spend a lot of time accessing, but what we are accessing and what we do with that information after doesn't seem to be getting used to improve ourselves. For the most part, it is just entertainment to pass the time.
We might not be quite there yet, but we are heading in the direction of the humans in the movie Wall-E, fed like cows, unable to carry our own weight. It isn't just the food we put in our mouths, but also what we put into our minds and our emotional centres. We are filling ourselves with garbage and well, garbage in, garbage out.
It is always easy to come up with excuses for our behaviour, but if we aren't getting the results from life doing what we are doing, I guess we have to change what we are doing. Because while the world is constantly changing, it is unlikely to arrange itself to create the environment we each need for a good life.
Part of culture today is being subscribed to have access, but what are we accessing? Is it actually helping us meet our daily goals, or is it just another façade we are using to cover an uncomfortable truth?
Taraz
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Replies (25)
Paying for the gym is easy, actually showing up week after week is where the first battle begins and i have failed multiple times. Lol!!
Consistency is the key to just about all success.
When I had a gym membership before Covid I have used it regularly. These days I use work gym and my garage gym and both are free 😀
Lol
I've always wanted to ask, if just gyming at home, with home made equipments, like lifting heavy things at home and just running around the block, instead of on a threadmill wont create or give the same desired effect?
Hello @tarazkp. Your observation about being ‘oversubscribed and underutilised’ is an accurate assessment of the times we live in. We often fall into the trap of filling the Smallsteps calendar with opportunities and resources, under the belief that ‘more is better’, without realising that too much can dilute the quality of the experience.
I appreciate your honesty in raising this dilemma. It’s important to understand that, although she is a multi-talented child with access to a wide range of resources, the factor that really makes a difference isn’t the number of activities, but the depth with which each one is experienced.
I would suggest that, when faced with that feeling of being overwhelmed by the options, you allow yourself (and allow her) the ‘luxury’ of simplifying things. Sometimes, making less use of certain external resources allows us to maximise the most important internal resource: connection and mindfulness in what she truly enjoys. What she’ll remember isn’t the list of subscriptions or completed tasks, but those moments when time stood still because you were truly present. I’m not just saying this to get out of it; it’s what I do with my son Matthew.
This really hit home for me.
I actually registered for a gym, went for a while, and then somehow abandoned it like it was a bad relationship.
I’m not out of shape though, but that stubborn belly fat is still there reminding me that registering for the gym and actually showing up are two different things. Sometimes, the real change begins when we stop making excuses and start being consistent.
There are a few pieces of exercise equipment on the street near my house. Sometimes, while out for a walk, I stop by and work out my back and chest muscles. But I don't go there every day—otherwise, I wouldn't fit into my shirts anymore :)
I remember when I was at uni we used to see people going "power walking" and wondering what their rush was and why they couldn't just enjoy their walk. Didn't find out til decades later that you're "supposed" to travel at enough of a clip to elevate heartrate.
I guess a lot of people if they're utilising their gym memberships or walking every day or whatever might be staying in comfortable ranges where things are going to progress extremely slowly (assuming that's kept up regularly).
Having a gym membership is easy, going there every week is the hard part 😀
Free is better. Most people I know with a home gym don't end up using it much or don't push as hard. Do you find that?
Yes it will have the same effect. The difference is in the person perhaps, as many don't have the dedication or consistency to work only at home.
I was going to say, it would be interesting to know what the ratio is between paying members at the gym and paying members that actually show up. I would guess there are a lot of people paying that don't really utilize it. Good for the gyms, but not so great for the people. I like the idea of having a membership, but I don't like the idea of people knowing my business, so I doubt I would ever actually get one.
No I find the convenience of being able to pop into there even for 15 minutes really helps to be very consistent. Basically if I have 15 minutes I can get a decent workout in. Before it would take me at least 15 minutes to drive to the gym so knowing that I have to drive back for 15 minutes that means that I should go for at least an hour so it is a 1.5 hour commitment at minimum and finding those slots on the family schedule is a lot more challenging...
Yeah I get it. I would hope I would do the same, but I am pretty sure because it is always there, I won't use it. Once I am at the gym however, there is no issue.
We tend to keep Smallsteps pretty free most of the time. She has hobbies, but nothing too extreme as of yet and we ensure she has a lot of free time to explore her own world.
I don't fit into mine for other reasons :D
I like that there are street gyms popping up these days. There should be more.
"power walking" I haven't heard of that for a while - used to be all the rage! Speaking of, is Rage still a music show on ABC? :D
Or more likely, go backwards because the speed of calorie intake is faster than the burn.
What kind of business would you do at the gym? :D
I would say that the biggest group of users are the ones who are there a couple times a month. The minority are the 4 times a week people.
Yep.
exercise, watch the diet - I am good at the first one, bad at the second.
They just don't need see me flailing about trying to make my fat ass less so. People are way too judgy these days.
:)
True, staying at home might not have you being as dedicated
I donno I don't really watch tv XD
Oh true, I do remember reading that as well, something about how people tend to grossly overestimate how much they burned during exercise so feel they "deserve" to eat as much as they want and also the body doesn't help by trying to force you to "eat back" more than you burned. And then the inevitable conclusion is that obviously exercising just doesn't work I guess.
even more obviously not considering any actual diagnosed medical issues