Should I Join a Gym to Lose Weight?

Continuing our discussion about the best exercise for weight loss...

Now that you have answered the questions to assess your preferences, let's talk about options.

If you are comfortable working out in public you might consider joining a gym. If you are not comfortable working out in public "no way, no how"...will talk about some other options tomorrow.

Some advantages to joining a gym:

• you will meet other people and have a social connection as well as get exercise
• you will get encouragement and support from people you meet
  
• a degree of public accountability
• they provide the equipment (and they should provide instruction)
• accessibility--some gyms are open 24/7! So you can workout on your schedule
  
• there may be classes to help provide variety to your workout
• if you don't know what activity you enjoy, a gym can be a place to experiment and figure it out!
  
• sometimes paying for something makes us more likely to stick with it!
• a lot of gyms have saunas, whirl pools and swimming pools--things you probably don't have access to otherwise

If you like variety and are social a gym might be a great fit for you. But just because you are not social, don't discount a gym.

Gyms can provide structure if that is what you want, but they also allow you to workout on your own...to your flexible schedule.

If you like having music, some gyms pipe it in...others only have music during a class...so you can have quiet or your own tunes if you prefer.

Remember, you can always try a gym out...it isn't a lifetime commitment! You can change gyms if this one doesn't work for you...or if you find that you prefer to work out solo!