Finding Your Place To Workout

 

Determining where you go and what you will do for your fitness goals are important choices. Will you go to a place (or a program) that makes you feel good about yourself and your fitness efforts, will it inspire you to keep moving forward?  The possibilities are unlimited with what you can do at home, in a gym or with specialty programs.

At Home

At various times in our life we all get moments when we are determined to start a new fitness routine and we figure why not do it at home.  The advantages of working out at home are convenience and lower costs.  We may rationalize that we can buy some equipment, fitness DVDs or just watch the free fitness programs on our cable TV channels.  I’ve seen studies where this works for a small percentage of our population; the rest of us often run into one of the following challenges.

At home there aren’t people to work out with, lots of equipment to choose from, and the energy of a health club or group fitness program are absent.  When working out around other people we can get excited.  As humans we are made to live in groups so therefore we tend to like being around others when working out.  It can add fun to what we are doing.  People can challenge us, make us feel comfortable, encourage us, entertain us and even help us to be accountable.  There’s always new things happening when you workout with people: new sights to see, new things to hear, new lessons to learn.  All of these things reduce boredom.  Without people it is easy to become bored and lose our interest and motivation.

Accountability can be another issue.  At home there probably isn’t anyone who is expecting you to show up for a workout, or anyone that will tell you “you can do 2 more!”.  At a health club or group fitness program you are part of something, you are a member.  Your presence is valued and when you want someone kicking your butt they can do that.

And then there’s taking time for ourselves.  Sometimes we just need to get away from home.  Some me time can energize and refresh us so when we return home we are happier whether we are a spouse, parent or single.

 

At A Gym

A gym covers three important areas for fitness success. It provides equipment, people and programs, which all makes for an ideal atmosphere for workouts.  Members of a health club as well as staff play an important roll, as I mentioned above.  When you walk into a fitness center it is great to see people you know or at least people who are friendly.  This makes us feel comfortable about being there and working out.  The human connections make a big difference.  And knowing that there are friendly and supportive staff that can help is a plus as well.  Falmouth Sports Center is known for being a comfortable place to workout because of the friendly members and staff.  There’s no competitive undercurrents, the music isn’t cranking, and the atmosphere is conducive to focusing on your workout.  People get to know each other; some have known each other for decades.

Group fitness classes are also a huge motivational factor at a health club.  The people, instructors and music make for an energy that is easy to go with.  Moving our bodies becomes fun, exciting and a positive group experience that you can always look forward to. If a place allows you to participate in multiple classes then all the better.  Variety can prevent boredom by trying new things, challenging ourselves and meeting new people.  241 Fitness at the Sports Center has a variety of group exercise classes to choose from including Zumba, Sport Yoga, Pilates, Body Sculpt and more.  Ally and Wendy are excellent instructors and I guarantee their classes will get you feeling great!  Check out their website at 241fitness.com.

 

Specialty Programs

Specialty programs can be effective as they can focus on your individual needs.  Working with a trainer, coach or program that gets you moving in ways that you like can make a big difference.  There are many weight loss programs additionally.  With so much out there to choose from I recommend considering whether or not the program is following one or preferably all of the 3 essential components of fitness: moving your body, eating healthy, and staying motivated.  If the program is making you…take pills; lose more than a few pounds a week; eat frozen dinners or food with tons of sodium, sweeteners or chemicals; cutting out essential food groups from your diet; not helping you to exercise;  making you buy equipment; or forcing you to take in less calories than your active body needs therefore making you go into weight gaining starvation mode….be careful.  (more on weight loss programs in future posts).  There is just no other way to lose weight in a safe and healthy way than moving your body often, eating right and giving you the support, encouragement or motivation to keep going forward with your goals.  Any other method is a waste of time and money and may be detrimental to your health.  The Motivations program we are now offering at the Sports Center will assist you with the 3 essential components, making them part of your lifestyle.

So on your fitness journey be on the lookout for people, places and programs that will help you get into or stay committed to living healthy.  Trust your instincts when for the first time you step into a health club, meet a trainer or start a program.  You will know what feels right, what you can connect with and what will keep you moving forward.

Todd

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 1st, 2012 at 6:46 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The views and opinions in the Enterprise blogs are those of the author and are not neccessarily shared by Falmouth Publishing.