If you are like me, you would prefer to train at home or outdoors. Doing your training this way gives you a lot of flexibility compared to training in a gym. You can train anytime, do any movements you like without any salesperson or incompetent gym instructors stopping you or trying to sell you packages.
There is however one point that justify their existence: convenience. If you are an executive working in the CBD, and short of time, training at such a gym is time saving. You can get a short workout and head back to the office in no time.
So what are the unnecessary stuff that the commercial gyms are selling you, and charging you lots of money for:
-Machines and other so called "high tech" equipment
-Lockers and showers
-Classes
-Air conditioning
The only stuff they have that are justifiable are the dumbbells and barbells. Which often takes up only a small percentage of their floor area.
Of course if your goal is to lift very heavy weights then you have no choice but to buy a lot of weights, which is not practical for HDB flats. Or go to a gym with barbells. But if you are not looking for this goal, there are many options out there to design a good workout with minimal equipment.
And the stuff that you really need (or great to have) that such a gym is guaranteed not to have:
-Weightlifting bar and bumper plates
-Lifting platform
-Kettlebells
-Clubbells
-Sandbags
-Martial arts mats
-Strongmen equipment
-Ring and other gymnastics apparatus
-And the most important of all: foam rollers and balls for myofascial release
Actually with a little creativity, you do not really need much equipment to have an effective workout. Just a few kettlebells and clubbells can make you busy for a few years without needing to upgrade anything. Heck, even if you don't have any equipment, you can use your bodyweight to get a good training effect.
A gym in the early 1900s, no machines, all good stuff
And who says bodyweight training cannot give you extreme strength and endurance? Traditional Indian wrestlers have a daily diet of bodyweight exercises in addition to their famous club swinging training.
So think again before you pour your money down the drain for such gym memberships.
If you do not know how to design such a program, i am at your service. Just give me a call or an email and i'll be glad to design a program just for you.
4 comments:
I certainly agree that having access to expensive gym equipment/machines is not necessary. But just curious, even with kettlebell and clubbell training, would a person still be able to build respectable strength comparable to someone who bench-press or squats heavy?
Personally, the only apparatus which I need from a gym is the squat and bench press rack. Those are things which I can't afford, and as you pointed out, it's difficult to have them in a HDB flat. But now, most gyms have the modern Smith machines (with the bar attached to the machine supposedly for support), and I understand those to be inferior to the old-fashioned racks. So yea it is very hard to find a gym with the requirements you stipulated...
Agree, gyms are way over priced giving you things that you don't need.
Personally for me i believe i would not diligently board a bus and visit the gym 3 times a week. I needed some weights training that i can do at home. I thought about having barbells and weights at home but my house is too small to have a bench and barbell all big, space demanding equipments.
Hence it was why i picked up kettlebell lifting and am still loving it.
Strength is relative. What kind of strength are you talking about?
Strength is a skill (remember PTP). It is specific to the movement you are doing.
The Russian record holder for KB Jerk and Snatch in the <60kg category is not even "strong" by definition using the barbell lifts: http://girevoysportafter40.blogspot.com/2008/09/strength-or-endurance.html
So you need to ask yourself what kind of strength you want. If you want to bench big and squat big, then you have to do those movements.
And i hope you are not touching the smith machine, except for doing pull ups or hang your towel. LOL.
Appreciate the answer. Anyway, it is a tricky question. As a normal person (as in not a career sports athlete), I simply seek general strength gains. Like strong and fit enough to lift heavy stuff, to carry children, to move a car tire and stuff like that. Usually, the first impression is that men who weight lift conventionally (bench press and squat) should be adequate.
But at the same time, there are also these men who may bench press and squat heavy, but they can't do a pull-up or push-up, because their strength doesn't translate to the ability to lift their own weight.
So I am confused as to which kind of strength is more tailored to my needs. Also I suppose some achievements are more realistic (e.g. higher reps with KB lifts) compared to others (e.g. bench-press 200kg).
Oh man, I used to think the smith machines were good. Now I've learned to stay away from them! In fact, I feel compelled to petition gyms to bring back old-fashion racks.
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