Fitness Studio

We all want to be in shape, not only for the health effects - longevity, not getting sick, etc, but also because we like the idea of being able to do things - and let's face it, the effects our fitness level have on those we desire cannot be understated. So it's not too difficult to agree that being in shape is a good thing. The question is, how do we get there? These days it's very easy to get dizzy looking at all the whiz-bang fad diets and crazy workout schemes, not to mention the army of "lose weight quickly" pills we can buy with questionable sources and questionable results. None of that stuff is worth the time, effort, and potential health hazard. The truth is that a fitness studio can help you get the body and health you want, for one main reason.

The entire fitness and diet industry keeps throwing tons of marketing at people, trying to make us feel insecure and searching for a quick fix solution that'll end our body insecurities forever. What they're hiding is that the true way to having the body you and others want and being healthy is super simple. All you have to do is eat less and exercise more. That's all. Eat less than you do now, and more protein and fewer carbs. Exercise more - 3 hours of cardio spread out over each week, and lifting weights 3 times a week, at least one day apart. You may be wondering why I suggest signing up for a gym or fitness studio after already having given out the secret of the health industry - that their products are useless, and the solution to all exercise problems lay in our decisions and actions, not some pill or ab roller. Simple answer!

Fitness Studio Motivation

My path to greater health and fitness isn't a tough one. In fact it's so simple that it needs to be dressed up with marketing in order to be worth any money! The problem is motivation. 3 hours a week on a stairmaster or recumbent exercise bike isn't easy - nor is getting in the squat rack and doing sets of full range of motion squats (don't listen to people who say they're bad for the knees, go down the whole way). We like the idea of being in shape, but we don't like having to actually get there - we want the journey to be over already. Here's where a fitness studio arrives on the scene. First off, the logistics. Most people don't have a stairmaster at home. Or a set of free-weights, or a bunch of other cardio weightlifting equipment and machines. Signing up for a gym gives you instant access to these tools so you can cross off "I don't have X" on your list of excuses for not getting in shape. Not only that, but gyms have other classes too - spinning, pilates, yoga, jazzercise, crossfit, etc. Classes that will gather up people who want the same thing and use each other to motivate. And when you're done, many gyms have massage studios where you can get a foot massage or work out the kinks in your back.

More importantly, though, a fitness studio membership gives you a place to go where you work out. That's what you do there. Nothing else. People don't go to the gym to hang out and relax, they go there to push themselves, do better than last time, and go the distance. That's what a gym is for - it's the place where people leave better than they entered. Ladies, if you don't want people seeing you in your workout clothes until you get in shape, I hope you notice how circular that is. The thing about gyms are that people don't go there to socialize, they don't go there to check each other out - fewer people will be looking at you while you in yoga class than any other time of day. Just sign up and do it. That's motivation right there - the key to getting in shape. I'll bet some of you will love it so much you'll get a compact exercise bike for your office so you can workout while you work. Or install an above ground swimming pool at home and swim during the summers.

My prescription above isn't rocket science, it makes perfect sense: eat less, eat more of things that help build muscle, fewer sugars, and push yourself physically at a sustained pace for hours a week. Simple! The part not in the equation is motivation - you have to want it enough to actually do it, or none of this will be successful. Not only does forking over a membership fee each month help you motivate, but simply going to a place where people are there to work out and that's it will have an effect on you. No one's saying you arrive at the fitness studio and become a world-class athlete, just go there every single day and do something. 5 minutes on the treadmill today - then 6 minutes tomorrow. 3 weeks from now you're running a couple miles a day, and that's a couple miles further than you ran all of last year. Then you add some rowing machine time, some recumbent exercise bike distance, and then some weightlifting machines. Next month? switch to free weights and swimming. When you get bored or stop making progress, switch it up. The only key is that you keep going. Recognize that it is now part of your life, accept it, and just do it. You don't really have any excuses anymore, do you? After all, now you're a part of a fitness club - you want to get in shape and are making it happen.