Gym Membership?

 Once I made up my mind to start exercising joining a gym was just not an option for me. First and foremost I just couldn’t afford it. Secondly I have done the gym membership thing a number of times and it just wasn’t for me it didn’t work and it was a waste of money. If you can afford to join a gym and that’s your thing then hey by all means go for it. I had to think outside the box. I will say this much that when I did join gyms in the past I found the 24 hour gyms to be the best choice. It gives you flexibility with plenty of time per day to find a slot to get in there.

 This go around I thought it would be best for me to work out at home. I already had 2 dumbbells, 1 barbell with a few plates, a small heavy bag with gloves, I had a set of push up bars and a good jumprope I just had to clean the dust off of them. My wife and I had just moved into a new rental home which we currently live in that has a two car garage. I was willing to park my car in the driveway so that freed up half a garage. My wife wasn’t about to give up her new parking spot but I could work with half no problem. I didn’t have much cash on hand but I had just enough to buy myself a big heavy bag. 130 cm (51 inches), 40 kg (88 lbs) for about $120. It was the best investment ever. I have and still use it almost every single day. It is great for cardio and to build up endurance not to mention it works wonders if you struggle with anger issues. Get pissed off, take it out on the bag and burn off a couple hundred calories while you’re at it. You also sharpen your self defence skills in the process. I highly recommend getting a heavy bag or joining a gym that has one. With the purchase of that bag I was set and ready to go. A bonus was that I could hang the big heavy bag next to the smaller one which I lowered for my son to use.

 Before I get into what my first days and weeks of training were like I just want to say this; I know not everyone has a garage that they can turn into a gym. But it could be a basement, or an attic, a spare room possibly or right in your back yard. If you live in an apartment a hanging heavy bag may not work but you may be able to get a standing one either way you can still put together a nice set up that works for you. I have added to my home gym little by little which I will get into as well. The main point I am trying to get across here is where there is will, there is a way. A great example are prisoners. Some prisoners are locked in their cells 23 hours a day and they train in their cells doing body weight workouts. I know some of them roll up their mattresses and tie them with a bedsheet and they use them for a makeshift heavy bag. As I mentioned earlier if you can afford the luxury of joining a gym then great, but if you can’t do NOT let it stop you. I didn’t let it stop me not one bit. If you are not into weights or hitting a heavy bag that’s ok just find what you like to do whether it’s walking, running, hiking there has to be something you can do to get some exercise. I know all the excuses believe me so get rid of them. Home gym, gym or what ever you choose just look to start out gradually. Even 10 minutes per day hell even 5 minutes per day to start is something and you know what they say; something is better than nothing.

 One final suggestion I would like to add which I will probably repeat a number of times. Set realistic goals! If you have neglected yourself for years you can’t expect to get the beach body within a few weeks or months for that matter. A lot of people myself included in the past set themselves up for failure with unrealistic goals. People will join a gym and spend loads of money on stuff like training gear, books, workout plans you name it. They go into it with these elaborate workout schedules or training plans that are ridiculous. To make things even more difficult they’ll incorporate a diet at the same time and it just becomes overwhelmingly too much. I can definitely recall joining a gym and working out so hard on my first day that I would get so sore it would take a week or two before I can go back. A week or two is enough time to talk yourself out of continuing. An airplane doesn’t just shoot up into the sky. It gradually rolls out onto the runway. It slowly begins to pickup speed and gracefully begins to take off. It slowly climbs to it’s height and airspeed before levelling off. Be a plane. Now let’s hit the runway.

                                                My son checking out his heavy bag.