Wogster

Heard someone the other day at work, middle aged black lady, said she wanted to get to 120lbs, from 180lbs (although she appeared to be closer to 280), complained about how expensive it was to go to a gym.

I said you don't need a gym, throw out your TV and trade your car for a bicycle, any trip you can make by foot or bicycle you do that way, use transit for anything else. I then explained how even though it was nearly 2km to the subway station, and it was -10℃, and I am still recovering from a broken arm, I was walking to the subway...... I actually like that walk after sitting on my donkey all day, the walk is quite invigorating.....

She asked about the TV, I explained, the TV is a double edged sword, first you sit while watching it, and the 10,000 food ads you see every year encourage you to snack, calories in, without calories out, equal putting on weight. The time gained, not watching TV can be used for activities, like going for a walk or a bike ride, or playing a sport.

Comments?

X-LinkedRider

I agree with the TV bit. I would say for losing weight, a bicycle is a better option than the gym. most people that feel like they need to lose weight, are way to self-conscious about they bodies to follow through at the gym on a daily basis. Plus you tend to not lose as much weight as you do converting fats into muscles.
I think riding a bike on a daily basis is the best way to ensure a healthier weight plus guarantee the cardio.

flip18436572

I will take the gym membership. You can do so much more at a gym and they have better equipment then I will every be able to afford. The elliptical that I use would cost me 5 years of family membership. The treadmill would be closer to 7, The swimming pool, I would never reach the number of years. They have $250,000.00 pieces of equipment to keep the pool area working properly.

I agree with the TV, but you can also say the same thing about the computer.

Neil_B

Ditto on the gym. Cyclists need to keep the upper body and core in shape, and they often overestimate the calories burned by riding.

Yogurt

I prefer the bike over anything because I get to actually be outside and look at stuff as I pass by. (Pretty profound stuff there.)

Neil_B

Yes. Did she come up with other excuses to keep her fat lifestyle? Most of the time we don't give up so easily.

X-LinkedRider

Having a gym membership is always nice, but I can definitely see why people have trouble going on a daily basis. It's not like there are not plenty of other ways for us already physically active people to keep our upper bodies strong. I rock climb/repel/and work out on my own as often as possible. Though to be honest, the mixture of the Bike and Rock Climbing is the best all around I think I can get.

Plus. I like fresh air, and not having to smell every other person in the gym with me. Just my $0.02

v1k1ng1001

Ideally both work the best. If you want to lose weight coupling aerobic cycling workouts with free-weight strength training melts the lbs faster than anything else I can think of.

But generally the issue seems to be doing what is fun. I like to lift once I'm at the gym, but generally it is a chore just fitting it into my schedule. Cycling, on the other hand, is far more enjoyable. Hence I can always find time for a ride.

If someone is just getting back into exercising, I would say to start out with what is fun for them. That way they're less likely to give up on it.

Oh, and most of us mortals can get a good strength workout at home with little or no equipment. My friend grew up next to this guy who insisted that all you need to become Mr. Universe is a 45 lb. bar.

v1k1ng1001

I don't climb but it seems like it would compliment cycling very well.

X-LinkedRider

I would say it compliments nearly perfectly. Still using your legs and cardio, you build the rest of your upper body while stretching pretty much all at the same time. I have never left a climb without a little stinging in the arm and a smile on the face. I am trying to put together a trip. Biking/Climbing if anyone is interested.

StephenH

One of the challenges I've had in keeping my weight down is finding exercise that I like to do. Doing anything at a gym just ranks way way down on the scale of attraction for me.

I found hiking up hill in the mountains to be a great workout. And I've found bicycling to be pretty good. Not that they work your whole body, but it's something enjoyable to do and that helps you do it. That gym is great if you like, but if you don't care to go, it just doesn't really matter how much equipment they have there.

v1k1ng1001

When I lived in PA I used to trail run in the mountains. Running on dirt/gravel is much easier on the joints! I can't run very often or for very long on pavement.

Actually running fire roads late at night is great fun, although impractical for most.

Spartan112

I like the scenery of riding, but I also like the scenery of my gym...wink, wink...

I do both, especially now with it being too cold to ride (for me anyway). I've taken up running on the TM and I compliment that with riding my trainer in the basement (waaaaayyyyyy more boring then the gym). I really need to hit the freeweights though as I've kinda plateaud at 201 and I need something to jump start my metabolism.

StephenH

I tried trail running, and gave it up in a hurry.

One of the things I was trying to do was to get in shape for some of the 14'ers in Colorado. I would go out to Horsetooth Mountain Park and hike up in the afternoons or evenings. That was about 1500' up, and I got to where I could make it in under 40 minutes.

But then I got the bright idea of running back down. That worked fine until I dodged off the trail to meet some people and sprained my ankle. All the sudden, instead of getting more fit for the mountains, I was getting less fit. I figured out to just walk then.

One time when going up in the mountains, a guy actually passed me jogging up. But after he passed me, I think it took him a half hour to actually get more than 100 yards in front of me. He was "running", but really not going that much faster than a walk.

flip18436572

I agree with doing something you like, but I do not feel that just bicycling will do me much good, unless I want huge quads and nothing else.

I enjoy a lot of sports, so I don't always need a gym, but I enjoy pushing myself, and for a while there that meant getting out of bed and going to the gym and walking 2 miles every single day. Then I tried a treadmill and adjusted the angle and speeds to give it some variance and also to push myself a little more. Then a lady asked why I only walked and said I was embarrassed about my weight and needed to slowly improve to not hurt myself. She got me on one of the elliptical machines, and I use it quite often. I also started adding weight lifting to my cardio and increase my work out weight by 100% in less than 6 months.

I also play racquetball, tennis, basketball and volleyball that can be done indoors with out gym membership. When the weather is decent, I try to do those things outdoors, but I make myself go to the gym everyday for one thing or another, and I now feel guitly if I do not go to the gym.

Air

No one needs equipment to weight train. You tell me any machine/movement that a gym provides and I'll show how you can replicate it without buying anything. It was something my 7th grade gym teacher taught me and was one of the best lessons I've learned. Easiest example - bench presses can be done by elevating your feet and doing pushups. Pushups too easy? Throw a backpack on. Change the angle? Walk your feet up a wall until you're benchpressing your body weight. [Note - for anyone with injuries or disabilities (say like The Historian) some of the machines at a gym can provide a safer method so I'm not saying there's not a place for it]

I can't stand gyms. The time I'd spend going there is time that I could be doing anything else fun (volley ball, football, riding, swing dancing, etc...) that could burn just as much. For some people if they pay for a membership they're more likely to go. If so - awesome. For most people they'll pay, go for a few months, and that's it saying they'll go the next day as the pounds add up.

Incorporating a healthier lifestyle by walking more, climbing more stairs, getting rid of the TV, eating better, etc... can go just as far as a membership.

cluelessgoon

The picture posted is of Chris Dickerson - world class bodybuilder, who used a lot more than a 45lb bar to get into that shape. Tom Platz is a better bodybuilding role model for cyclists. After marathon leg training sessions he would ride a road bike 20 odd miles. He also required more than 45lbs for the feat

izzythedan

I like to ride my bike to the gym.

Neil_B

So do I. I have a choice of gyms - my membership covers two locations. One is 24 miles round trip with hills, and the other is 16 miles with HILLS!

Neil_B

I agree with this statement. Freeweights and body weight exercises are great if you can do them. They provide work for both primary and secondary muscle groups, unlike machines which isolate the muscles they utilize. Personally, I use machines to work on the major upper body muscle groups, and stretches to work the supporting muscles in my back.

Incidentally, it was using freeweights and getting sucked into the culture of "more and bigger plates" that you find in many gyms that caused the back injury that led to my scoliosis diagnosis. It's so rare that you find a guy pumping iron with a twisted spine that none of the trainers thought to warn me against certain exercises. Of course, it wasn't their responsibility to do so, but it would have been nice if they had. Of course, knowing me, I would have ignored the advice and just gone out and done what I wanted to do.

Neil_B

How is that worse than the folks who buy bicycles that gather dust in the garage?

One point we are forgetting in this thread is that gyms are not just to exercise. They are to exercise with people. One reason I enjoy my gym is I meet people I know, people who also have a commitment to improving themselves through fitness. I've had meals with some of these folks, watched football games - Eagles losing, as usual - and gone on bike rides with them. Yes, there are sometimes jerks at such places - the woman on Friday who tactlessly asked me "what's wrong with your back?", the fellow who described me behind my back as "that guy who can barely walk" - but you may find some people you really hit it off with. One of them is my riding buddy, and sometimes auto mechanic, Dennis. The posting below is from my blog:

*************

Today's ride was 16.8 miles on the Perkiomen Trail, from Schwenksville to just past Collegeville. My partner in two wheeled crime was my buddy Dennis from the gym. That's him coming towards me at the trail crossing on Ridge Pike in Collegeville.

Dennis just recently got a new bike, a Trek 7500 FX, and he regressed to childhood while riding, with bunny-hopping puddles on the gravel trail being the least showy of his stunts. He's a considerably better bicyclist than I am, but despite his being miles ahead of me in ability, we rode together and had a great time. Dennis brings out a less subdued, earthier, wittier Neil than the public sees or reads, and I want to share some of our riding conversation with you.

At one point on the trail, we came across a small sign marked "Deaf Dog Area." "I guess we can insult the dog without hurting its feelings," I said. And right on cue Dennis came up with "Hey dog, your mother was a *****!"

On the way back we were discussing my non-existent love life. "Perhaps you should try a new approach. Come up with a new line."

"Ok. Dennis, you know right now I'm not wearing any underwear? Why did you ring your bell?"

"That was a rim shot."

While drafting me, Dennis shared some observations on my scoliosis. "Your right shoulder is all scrunched up and forward of your left. I've never seen anything like it. What's that bulge? Is that a bone sticking out? Neil, that squeak isn't coming from your bike, it's coming from you!"

Only a true friend could abuse me in such a manner, and Dennis is such a friend. We first met at the gym more than a year ago. I had been exercising for a month or so, and was 360 pounds. I was determined to succeed at losing weight, since I knew this might be my last chance to reclaim my life. Despite my determination, I was often discouraged. Exercise is as tough as learning to ride a bike if you've never exercised before. And no fat person enjoys being looked at as if they were a freak, and this sometimes happened at the gym.

Although I didn't see him often, when I did Dennis was very encouraging to me, in a casual you-can-do-this-but-you're-gonna-hafta-because-I'm-not-pushing-you manner. Dennis himself had dropped nearly 80 pounds through hard work, and he knew as well as anyone that the only person who could make me lose the weight was me. As I became more confident and my weight loss increased I would often use the elliptical trainer next to his and we'd talk for a half hour or so. Because he was enthusiastic about his own progress, it was easy to be enthusiastic about mine. He'd show me photos in the fitness magazines he was reading. "Look, there's you! And here you are again. This magazine is filled with photos of you!" Sometimes he'd pass by a machine I was using and say "Go Neil go!"

Well, Neil is going now, 137 pounds lighter, and I was going yesterday on the Perkiomen Trail. As we rode on I asked Dennis if he ever thought he'd see me on a bike. I don't recall the answer, or if he gave an answer. The important matter is that I AM on a bike. With some help from friends like Dennis.

Air

Almost no difference. A bike can be incorporated into a lifestyle of transportation - in effect 'free exercise' (along the same lines as parking at the back of a parking lot in stead of the closest space, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, etc...). Once riding for exercise feels like work more than enjoyment that bike will probably get less use just like that gym membership.

That's pretty cool - I don't know anyone around here that have met people at a gym and I have friends who go pretty regularly. Maybe because one membership gives access to many locations? :shrug:

Air

Did you work with the trainers or just go in on your own? If you were working with them I'd argue that it would absolutely be part of their job to help provide a safe and injury free exercise regiment. If not then yeah, I'd guess they'd assume you knew what you were doing unless you were doing something odd.

Neil_B

I just got some general advice and orientation from the licensed trainers, and lots of specifics from the gym rats who think they are trainers. The spinal curvature wasn't as noticeable when I was 385, which is when I got most of my advice. Heck, I didn't even know I had it!

v1k1ng1001

Hey, I'm just repeating what I heard. A friend of mine grew up down the street from Dickerson and they worked out together once a week for a couple years. He said that when Dickerson would do his bar-only workouts people would just stare because this huge guy working out with just a bar looked so ridiculous.