avram: (Default)
avram ([personal profile] avram) wrote2003-01-13 11:56 am

Not goin' to the gym

It’s a few days after I found my local (about a 20 minute walk) branch of New York Sports Club, and I still haven’t gone there to actually exercise. I think I’m blowing $90/month for no benefit. I think I’ll cancel the membership, buy some adjustable weights and a workout bench for about the cost of four or five months club fees, and work out at home. Don’t know what I’ll do for cardio, but some exercise is better than none. Sitting around thinking about going to the gym isn’t going to get me into shape.

[identity profile] eleanor.livejournal.com 2003-01-13 09:05 am (UTC)(link)
I've found that if my gym is more than a five minute walk from home (and mine is now in the next building over) I don't go. Is there something closer to home? Also, I recommend getting a bike for cardio. K-Mart has cheap bikes that will do just fine around the city, including on long bike trail rides, although you might not want to use them for racing or long (50+ mile) rides. Also, they're cheap enough that it's no biggie if they get stoeln from time to time.

[identity profile] purpletigron.livejournal.com 2003-01-13 09:23 am (UTC)(link)
I found that having someone to go to the gym with made all the difference, and that I was just as unlikely to exercise alone at home as I was to make the effort to go to the gym alone.

I get most of my exercise by choosing to walk or cycle as my main forms of transport. But I wouldn't buy a cheap bike from somewhere like K-Mart - they can be actively dangerous (being poorly assembled and/or adjusted), and they may very well be built by people who are denied basic employment rights that you'd think we can take for granted. You would be much better off getting a second-hand bike - at least as cheap, the potential damage to the producers can't be undone, saves resources, and you will know for sure that you need to get it properly adjusted before you ride it!

[identity profile] bohemiancoast.livejournal.com 2003-01-14 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
Well, unsurprisingly, I recommend Dance Dance Revolution as a good way of getting cardio at home. In fact, my exercise regime is now so completely cardio (walking M to school, cycling when the weather improves, DDR), and lower body to boot, that I ought to be thinking about how to build some resistance into the mix.