If you haven’t been to a gym before, then you may feel intimidated at the idea of joining one. That’s something that you are not alone in feeling; many people feel the same way. The gym is a motivating place to be, full of supportive people who are all in the same position as you — to get active. I’m sharing six benefits of joining a gym (in a safe manner, i.e. social distancing):
Expert Knowledge
When joining a gym, you will be surrounded by people who have been going for many years. Not only that but most gyms will have qualified personal trainers who will be able to help you with any questions. Many also have classes on various exercise formats, such as yoga or cycling. When you go regularly, you’ll want to adapt your program to continue progressing. This could involve changing the exercises you do, eating more protein to fuel your muscles, or adding some weights instead of cardio. (I love oatmeal as a way to fuel up and get some extra protein in my diet. if you don’t like it, here are some tips for delicious oatmeal.)
Reduce Back Pain
Do you struggle with lower back pain or other pain? You aren’t alone.One way to reduce your lower back pain is to strengthen your lower back with some strength exercises or to work on your core muscle. Luckily, there are many machines in the gym that help this, as well as the expert advice from the personal trainer. If you don’t enjoy working out on your own, most gyms have exercise classes that you can join to help improve your fitness. These vary from high impact to low impact, depending on your ability.
Getting Active
One of the key benefits of joining a gym is simple, it helps you get active. There are so many different activities that you can do at the gym to help improve your fitness. If you want to do some cardio you can run, cycle or row. If you don’t want to exercise alone you can join some exercise classes such as yoga, pilates, Les Mills Hiit, or circuit training. Or if you want to you can do some weight lifting and build on your muscle mass and strength. Switching up your routine is a great way to keep yourself motivated.
Stress Relief
Going to the gym is a stress reliever. If you’ve had a busy day at work and just want to forget about it for a few hours, go to the gym. Maybe you need a break from your kids and want to take them to the kids center while you destress with exercise. Exercise helps increase your endorphins within the blood, which leads to a reduction in your stress levels. Plus, it’s hard to feel stressed when you are running a 5K, or trying to bench press your record weight. Try to find a friend who will go with you so you can both destress, and you will also have someone to motivate you to go on the day you are struggling to get the drive to attend.
Drink More Water and Eat Better
When exercising, you’ll instantly feel better when you’ve finished. When you get home the last thing you will want to do is eat something bad and undo all the hard work that you just put in. Through going to the gym regularly, you’ll find yourself naturally eating better and drinking more water to stay healthy and help you perform better. Not only that but by drinking the daily recommended allowance of water, your skin will feel better and you’ll find you get a deeper sleep. It’s always worth using a fitness app to track what you drink and eat, as by doing so you’ll see what nutrients you don’t get enough of.
Meet New People
The gym is full of like-minded people who have similar interests in you. By joining the gym you can get to meet these people and make friends with them. After a few sessions you may even find that through getting to know them more, you organize to train together, helping motivate one another. Gym classes are also a great way to get to meet people and make friends as these classes can be full of people. If you are nervous about going to the gym you could always bring a friend with you who can help you meet others at the same time as you. And if you’re nervous about social distancing, many gyms have procedures in place to keep everyone safer.
Overall, there are so many different benefits to joining a gym. From meeting new people to getting fit and reducing your stress, you’ll be bound to benefit from many ways helping your mental and physical well-being. All gyms are designed to support a variety of needs, so no matter your ability there will be something you can do at the gym.
When looking for a gym, try to find a gym that will let you try it out for a few days before signing up. This way you can see if you like it before committing to a month. The gym is not a serious place, take it at your own pace and don’t put any stress on yourself to consistently go. It’s necessary to have rest days — you don’t want to end up injuring yourself. Just work hard and achieve your fitness goals when you can.
Do you currently go to the gym? What sort of training do you do at the gym? What benefits did you get from joining the gym? Let me know in the comment box below, I would love to hear from you.