I hear it over and over and over and OVER again!
There’s plenty of people out there who have never touched a dumbbell or ran a mile in their entire life.
When the New Years Resolution kicks in and they want to lose some weight, what’s one of the most common pieces of advice?
World’s workout advice for a newbie?
I’m sure you’ve heard it before too:
“Join a gym.”
How idiotic!
Every single January, there’s ALWAYS a huge surge of people who flock to the gyms and sign up for an expensive year-long contract, hoping they’ll be able to finally lose that spare tire around the midsection.
Fast forward to July, and most of them have used the gym a grand total of 5-20 times since they’ve joined. By now they’ve given up because that New Year’s resolution has failed. They quickly got burnt out from trying to eat differently, exercise in ways they’re not used to, and trying to change long standing habits too quickly. It NEVER works.
BUT, they’re still paying for that gym membership. The gym is laughing all the way to the bank!
Most big name gyms don’t want you to lose weight.
Here’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about:
Screw these gyms!
(Pic via npr.org)
What should I do as a newbie to exercising?
You don’t need to spend a ton of money to get healthy. My best workout advice for a newbie is to learn body weight exercises.
You’re literally surrounded by stuff that can be used as weights for exercise. That includes your own body! My number one suggestion for newbies is to learn how to do some simple body weight exercises. There’s tons of them out there for all skill levels.
Back when I was obese and made the decision to get healthy, I foolishly joined a gym like many newbies. I slowly learned I could have saved a lot of money by getting stronger at home! I started with things like body weight squats and push ups. About the only good machine I used at the gym was the assisted pull-up machine. Honestly, I didn’t need it.
Not sure where to start with body weight exercises?
Take a look at these:
Mark’s Daily Apple has a wonderful beginner’s list.
There’s also a very helpful community over at Reddit as well.
Here’s a great beginner’s guide with VIDEO!
Use what you have and slowly strengthen yourself. If you’re serious about losing weight, correcting your diet and consistent exercise is the first big step.
Keep at it and stick to the basic stuff.
Plus, if you’re just not ready for these kinds of exercises, you won’t be stuck with an expensive membership. Instead, concentrate on losing weight by changing your eating habits. The more weight you lose, the more energy and strength you’ll have. If you’re serious about it, you’ll feel like you’ve got a whole new body after a while.
Then you can jump back on the exercising bandwagon.
Keep doing the basic stuff until it gets too easy.
Once the basic body weight stuff is too easy, that’s when you can buy some equipment to get more out of your workout. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than a monthly membership and you can sell it if you get sick of it.
Here’s a few of my favorites from my store:
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When should I join a gym?
Personally, I believe gyms are really only useful for weight lifters.
In my case, I’d love to just buy a home gym set for myself, but I have no room for it. Since I need specific weights to properly build muscle, a gym is worth my money. Otherwise, if I really wanted stuff like a pool, specialty machines, or specialized trainers, then I might want to join a gym.
Depends on what your goal is and how much you want to spend. If you’re just starting out, you really don’t need one.
Have you wasted money on a gym?
Do you think it’s worth the money?
Comment below!
Your friend,
-Yossif
Pic credit: http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/12/17/img_5236-9bbdc3dc64ff4e1348aec1b97b7cbeb9d61c789a-s800-c85.jpg (http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/12/17/371463435/episode-590-the-planet-money-workout)
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