please empty your brain below
100\\% agreement here.

I think the bicycle is the missing link in the fitness dilemma. Not only does it serve as the perfect antidote to the frustration of driving, but it gets the heart pumping, wind in the hair and all that.

AND you get to see some new scenery.

After I read an article that concluded that walking is 75\\% as beneficial as jogging, I took up the bicycle and walking.

No day is complete without the bicycle ride.... imho.

John Nez | Homepage | 23.05.06 - 3:48 a.m. | #

Your both mad, at my gym there is a sauna, jacuzzi, steam room plus free DVD rental how can you ask for more?

tim | 23.05.06 - 9:55 a.m. | #

I don't see the gym as a panacea, but it can be a very positive thing. I went to the gym many more times than once - and it does help me keep fit, keep healthy and lose pounds. It's by no means the only form of exercise and I enjoy cycling, tennis and long walks too, but it can be part of a healthier lifestyle.

It's not for everyone and I certainly don't have the attitude or bulging biceps of all those at my gym, but exercising also releases endorphins which help raise other hormone levels. These in turn help me combat depression.

It can make you feel inferior to see others around you much more 'endowed' than you, but only if you let it. You certainly will feel lousy after the first or even the first dozen visits while your muscles adjust to the new exercises. There are health hazards at the gym, just as there are crossing the road, taking the tube, etc. It isn't cheap, but few things I spend money are as valuable in terms of their impact on my sense of personal well-being.

Just wanted to present another side to things as it can be a very positive thing to do for some people.

Gary Netherton | Homepage | 23.05.06 - 10:01 a.m. | #

I went to a local authority gym for a while and it was quite scuzzy. I gave it up in February in favour of Tai Chi and Salsa, swearing to myself that I would do sit-ups at home. I haven't sone a single one.

Essexgirl | 23.05.06 - 11:25 a.m. | #

Agree with the local swimming pool suggestion, except Southwark council has failed to provide a swimming pool in the area. There's no public swimming pool in SE1 and no plans to provide one.

Michael | 23.05.06 - 12:00 p.m. | #

I have a health complaint which necessitates plenty of cardio-vascular exercise, so I try and hit the gym 3 or 4 times a week, and I've done so for years.

I still hate all the sneering, chiselled, toned hunks, blowing kisses at themselves in the mirrors.

Huw | Homepage | 23.05.06 - 12:37 p.m. | #

Local authority swimming pools are full of chavs and hoodies. Local authority run Indoor tennis and badminton courts are hard to find, and when you do find them they're badly maintained and people have little respect for booking schedules. Where I live you won't want to go out running/jogging/walking in case you get stabbed as an innocent bystander.

An "expensive" gym/racket-club is often a great solution (and when a family-friendly one) is a great way for family to spend time and fun together instead of kids at home watching TV and playing XBOX whilst workaholic parents ignore them resulting in them growing up to become chavs or hoodies.

Jag | Homepage | 23.05.06 - 12:47 p.m. | #

Rollerblades. They're my answer.

I live about 8 miles from any form of civilisation, and work on a 70 acre site, which is increasingly requiring me to move around it. Rollerblades with detatchable wheels.

Now I just have to get myself out of the front door on them.

Laura-Ann | Homepage | 23.05.06 - 2:01 p.m. | #

My favourite gym is opposite a Pizza restaurant in Ealing.
I can sit there, munching happily on yummy food, and enjoying a glass or two of wine, whilst mad people entertaining me by doing 'hamster-onna-wheel' impressions.

Misty | Homepage | 23.05.06 - 2:30 p.m. | #

As much as looking at chiselled demi-gods in the gym is nice, I much prefer working out at home - I have a dvd player, the right equipment and just enough space to do my thing. I love getting fit, but I don't need an audience or a hole in my bank account.

China Blue | Homepage | 23.05.06 - 5:28 p.m. | #

Come on, the average gym subscription probably costs less than most people piss away on one weekend. On the other hand, maybe if DG were more concerned with his body, who knows, we might have to do without his blog. In which case, for the sake of my sacrosanct morning routine, I'd selfishly encourage him to stay well clear of treadmills and weight stacks.

Alfredo | 24.05.06 - 11:17 a.m. | #

I have the same opinion on jogging. Humans are designed to run quickly over short distances (to escape from predators, chase prey etc), or walk long distances (to move from place to place to find better environments etc). We are not meant to jog - it is not in our anatomy.

AC | Homepage | 24.05.06 - 3:53 p.m. | #

Six months ago I would have agreed with you on every point.

Now I am completely the reverse and am fully converted. I'm leaner, stronger, more motivated and have bags more energy than I used to. So ner.

That said, my fellow gym-goers are a strange bunch. Obnoxious narcissists on one hand (albeit with some justification) and people who light up a fag the minute they leave on the other. Very strange.

Rob | Homepage | 25.05.06 - 1:06 p.m. | #

Sorry Rob, but I refuse to be upgraded.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 26.05.06 - 8:14 a.m. | #

A lot of people are addicted to the endorphins. Many years ago I worked somewhere with a gym in the basement, and I was there three nights a week and swimming twice a week. Did I feel better?

My body was better-toned than it is now, that's true. But I became aware that I was becoming addicted to the endorphins. In a discussion at work when I was laughing at the gym freaks, I said I prefer to spend my leisure time exercising my mind, and, in all seriousness, someone said "I find that being in the gym stimulates my brain..."

NO IT DOESN'T! It just gets the adrenaline going.

The experts reckon that commuting to work by public transport combined with the correct diet are sufficient to keep us all healthy. Almost everyone I know who is dependent on their gym is also dependent on their car.

Oh, and it's fashionable.

Gert | Homepage | 29.05.06 - 1:58 p.m. | #











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