Believe it or not, there are some great reasons, apart from keeping fit, for you to enrol in a gym for your fitness exercise.
A survey of Nigerians carried out by The Observers Life among Nigerians aged between 21 and 65 years old revealed some interesting reasons why people go to the gym. And they are all valid.
The eight most prominent reasons, which ranged from keeping fit to social and economic, are listed below:
1. Keeping fit: this is the main reason why many people enroll at the gym for their fitness exercises. Everybody going to the gym agree that the main reasons they decided to start the routine at the gym were to keep fit.
Exercises help to strengthen your muscles and reduce your body fat; strengthen your heart and bones; lowers your blood pressure and help your circulation. Generally, it helps keep you fit and in perfect physical condition.
Dammy, a Business Woman in her early thirties, said she decided because she knew she needed a fitness routine.
“I registered at the gym because I needed to lose weight. Now just six months down the line, I have seen some rapid results. My confidence is back,” she told The Observers Life while working out at the gym.
2. Advantage of working with a professional instructor: enrolling at a standard gym for an exercise routine will avail you of the opportunity of working with a professional fitness instructor. This will enable you to chart a good course for your regime. Also, many gyms offer personal regimes for members based on their personal needs and present weight/fitness levels.
Amara, a Lawyer in her forties, who said she has been working out at her gym for nine years, said over the years she has gained a lot from her three-day-a-week gym routine.
“For almost a decade I have been under professional guidance for my fitness regime. This has been great, as I have passed through many routines, all determined by my instructors, over the year. For me, it has been a great journey in achieving a great body and fitness level,” she enthused.
3. Having the right equipment to work with: a standard gym gives you access to the right equipment to work with. Some of the equipment is designed for various routines in fitness and weight management routines. They include treadmills, aerobic and cardio exercise machines, grabbling machines, ergometer bikes, bench presses, cable machines, dumbbells, barbells, abdominal fitness machines, exercise steppers, slimming machines, skipping ropes and others. They all combined to work all the muscles of your body.
Pat, a fitness instructor at the Upright Hotel Fitness Centre explained that it is appropriate and beneficial for people that want to embark on a fitness exercise to enrol in a standard gym as a variety of equipment is available for use as appropriate for the individual needs. He said these make enable the trainees to get the best from the comprehensive routines that are designed for them.
“The gym is the appropriate place for exercises. It has the right equipment you need for your fitness exercises,” he said.
4. Focus on the task: the gym allows you to have a professional consistent fitness regime. It is much more appropriate for people who find it difficult to maintain a consistent fitness regime on their own. Being at the gym ensure that you spend the time, working out diligently and not just lazing around while pretending to be exercising. While at the gym, you can focus on a specified period on the task at hand: exercise. No distractions from family members or some ‘pressing or emergency’ chores.
Wunmi, a Cashier in her late twenties, said her perfect shape is the result of her rigorous exercise regime at the gym. She specifically said she won’t have achieved great results if she was working on her own at home.
“I know if I decide to work out at home I won’t be serious about the whole thing. The gym allowed me to be serious about exercise. Now, I am so confident in my shape. It has been great at the gym,” she said.
5. The gym is a motivating environment for exercising your body. Exercising with other people can bring about a competing spirit in you which helps to give you a boost and motivate you to get along with the task at hand. Seeing others doing the same thing can motivate you to keep pace with them or even work harder.
Gbenro, a Surveyor, said the gym has helped him to achieve his fitness goals in the last two years since he enrolled at the gym.
“At every workout session, I aimed at being in the top part of my session. Others might consider it vain but to me, it is a goading tactic for me to achieve in every session. Thank God, it is working out for me. Amazing, what I have been able to achieve,” he said.
6. Make new friends: you at the gym with people that have the same goalkeeping fit and maintaining perfect shape. This can be the beginning of a new friendship with your co-trainees. A lot of friendship has been started in the gym, which has translated into life-long ones. Your common goal of healthy living can lead to socializing, gossiping and then enduring friendship.
Janet, a Civil Servant in her fifties, said she met her present best friend at the gym.
“My friendship with Ranti started at the gym, encouraging each other with our exercise. Then we started hanging out together at the club’s bar after the exercise comparing notes on our training, then on fashion, parenting and others. We just found out we jell. Now, all our family members are friends. We are so close,” she said.
7. Find a business partner: the gym is an attraction to a lot of people with different backgrounds, training and professions. Working out with a person usually brings you together to exchange contacts and maybe ideas. You might be surprised the person lifting the weight beside you or breaking the sweats beside you is the business partner you have been looking for.
Jamal, a 43-year-old Business Consultant told The Observers Life that three of his clients are his training colleagues at his gym.
“I met them at the gym. Even though they are in different sectors of the economy, I presently consult for them. And they are contributing a healthy per cent to my firm’s annual bottom line. This is one of the many reasons I am grateful I joined my gym for fitness exercise,” he said.
8. And find love: do not be surprised that the gym is where you will find your missing rib. The gym brings you closer to people with whom you are working out every time. The longer the length of time you spend with someone the much you get to appreciate their character. Or get more put off by their attitude. The amount of time spent at the gym puts you in a vantage position to appreciate those around you, even a member of the opposite gender. And maybe, this might lead to romance.
Dimeji, a Medical Doctor excitedly talked about his experience. Being a fitness enthusiast one of the things he did first after moving to a new town to take up a new job was to enrol at a new gym. He said the new gym gave him the opportunity to new exciting people, including Bisi, a Civil Servant.
“I was spending lots of time at the gym to keep fit and also while away the time because of the boredom. After a few months, I noticed Bisi, who was also regular at the gym. We struck up a friendship and later started dating. We got married after almost two years of dating. We have been married for four years,” Dimeji said.
So if you have decided to take up the fitness regime, it might be better for you to enrol in a gym to attain this goal. In Nigeria, it cost an average of N10,000 to register at the gym, while the monthly subscription is a little lesser.
Think about this as an investment towards changing and transforming your lives.
