Friday, August 22, 2008

Quit the Gym

Man doing a pull up on a doorway pull up bar.
Door Gym Bar with Longer Hand Grip - Pull up / Sit up / Chin up

Thoughout this blog I will constantly stress the importance of maintaining ones health. So why would I suggest dropping one's health club membership. Have you ever noticed how nice most health clubs are? The various machines available are extremely expensive. They generally have a very high employee to customer rating. And, some employees have special certifications and receive quite nice salaries. Further gyms are a liability nightmare. No matter how safe you try to make the establishment there are so many ways that patrons might be hurt from a weight dropped on the toe to slipping in the shower.

Gym memberships seem expensive but when you think about all the costs of running a gym they are truly cheap suspiciously cheap. The way that gyms are able to offer such wonderful services is that they have many members who never attend the gym for each member who attends regularly. Those who never quite make it subsidize those who do.

If you even view quitting the gym as a possibly ,than you are almost certainly in the former category. One of the realities of tough economic times is that those who experience them can't afford pretense. Further, if you never found time to make it to the gym before your started having financial problems you almost certainly won't now.

But exercise is very important. Here are some reasons that you should not turn to a gym. Firstly there is a time issue. Unless you are lucky enough to have a gym in your office or apartment building you are going to have to get to the gym. This waste valuable time you could be using to look for your third job.

Secondly there is the expense. Even though gyms are subsidized by legions of slackers they are still a big expense that you do not need in your life right now. Aside from the fees, there is also the pressure to dress up to the standards of the others who working out. This can really add up. But most importantly it is vital that every member of the family work out regularly. This includes the children. Even though their are family deals, they add to the price just at a slightly reduced rate.

Unless you have a specific health problem, or are training for a specific sport, walking is all the exercise you need. In future entries I will explain why in the Bush world walking is going to be a major part of your life and why that is good thing. So, instead of getting everyone together driving out to the gym, dressing up like you are about to compete in a swimsuit competition and driving back, everyone can just set off. You should walk at a fast speed where it will be slightly uncomfortable to talk. But even in silence the social nature of walking in a group is very conducive to one's mental health.

A note about running and why it is not a good idea when you are in financial stress. The human body simply was not designed for the amount of running that many runners engage in. Running is addictive. If walking is one glass of wine with diner, running is a bottle of Tequila drunk on an empty stomach in the hot sun. Times of financial stress make one prone to addictions. So, avoid spirits and running.

Further many runners run on sidewalks or roads which is murder on the joints. To mitigate the inevitable joint injuries you will end up spending a fortune in runner shoes which you will literally run through at an amazing rate. Even worse, the federal government provides no partial or temporary disability, which means that unless you live in a state that does, such as California, or you buy disability insurance from the talking duck; if you get hurt and are unable to work your second job, it could be a bad time.



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