I want to exercise and get fit. Should I get a gym membership?
You’ve asked yourself this question, haven’t you? It seems that, for some, having to pay hard-earned money for a gym membership is the ultimate motivator. Sure, it might work for a few days or weeks after you’ve paid, but realise that your motivation cannot hinge on something external or you’re bound to be derailed at some point. You best hope is that it kick-starts your journey to fitness and you can sustain it in the long run, because ‘since I paid, I will be forced to go’ is said by no fit person ever. If you’ve got the right motivation, something internal (i.e. to improve on your current deteriorating health, to have energy to spend time with family, or simply to get more out of life), you’ll find ways to exercise, and location is the least of your problems.
The fact is, you can do it anywhere — at home, inside the gym, or outdoors.
But to start, there is one requirement — you need to be stronger than your excuses. Now, let’s suppose you’ve gotten over that hump, here are things to consider to make exercise work for you anywhere.
AT HOME
This is a no-brainer, home is the easiest and most convenient place to exercise. If you can’t even do it here, you must be one lazy individual. No, no, no, no! You can’t give me those excuses about being too busy at home when you have time to stream TV series, watch cat videos on YouTube, stalk your colleague on Facebook, gossip about the same colleague with your flatmate, or spend no less than 30 minutes on your face. Wait, I take it back. You aren’t lazy, you just aren’t making exercise one of your priorities. Exercise doesn’t have to consume much of your time, especially at home when you can do it practically naked. Ok…maybe I went too far. My point is, you don’t have to dress up, don’t need to travel and don’t need any equipment. Your body weight is all you need and you can make it short and sweet. Get your heart pumping and burn a tonne of calories even on a 10-15 minute programme. Look for body weight HIIT and body weight Tabata plans. Also, exercise first thing or very early in your day. Tick this one off immediately and you’ll instantly feel like you’ve accomplished something with the rest of the day still ahead of you.
IN THE GYM
If you ever decide to enrol, commit to it or you’re throwing away money. With the gym, time is of the essence. There’s a high dropout rate with people citing not being able to keep up with the gym’s demand of time. Understandably so. You have to factor in time travelling to and from, changing attire, and extra minutes waiting for people to finish their sets on machines. Most will tend to use the treadmill for warm-ups and you just can’t keep wandering around like you have no idea what to do as every treadmill is occupied. So look for alternatives! It’s the gym, take advantage of other equipment — the elliptical machine, the rowing machine, stair climber, etc. If people crowd the dumbbell rack and you need to curl, use barbells instead. Your success with exercising in the gym can sometimes depend on your ability to adapt and react. Limit your rest period as well, 90 seconds between sets is more than enough. The sooner you exit, the more likely you’ll be able to maintain your routine in the gym.
OUTDOORS
If you’ve read the last edition of ‘Staying Fit’, you’ll know the outdoors provide just as much of a challenge, if not more. Mostly, when you say ‘exercise outside’ people think of only running, but there’s so much more you can do. The Dubai Canal is a new attraction that draws runners and cyclists alike. Frisbee, volleyball, football, and badminton are staples in UAE’s beaches. And you’ve obviously been to one of the parks, right? Aside from the tempting smell of barbecue, there’re people sprinting along its padded tracks who only slow down because, you guessed it, the smell of barbecue. When they aren’t distracted by barbecue, these groups or individuals actually do body weight workouts. My personal favourite spot outdoors is the grounds of Skydive Dubai because of the variety of things you can do in such a relatively small patch of land. It’s happiness. No matter where you are, there’s bound to be a venue for you, and most likely, it’s free of charge! So go out right now and move it!
Exercising and getting fit in the process can be done virtually anywhere.
— Dwynn Ronald V. Trazo is a multi-award-winning visual journalist who has gone from fat to fit. He’s an active advocate of fitness who firmly believes health is truly wealth, and is now a certified trainer.
