View Full Version : Help - Answer my Poll about a idea I have
On one of the many long rides home that I have I had a idea, but before I even think any further with it I need to do some research. I will be putting a little questionnaire together of my thoughts but first I want to do a little test on you guys.
So have a look at the poll and answer as honest as you can.
El Saxo
17-08-07, 03:59 PM
Er, what poll? :-s
Its here now... took me a little time to write it.
have my gym provided free courtosy of the government!!
El Saxo
17-08-07, 04:12 PM
Its here now... took me a little time to write it.
Lol, sorry for being impatient, i only just noticed how quickly I must have replied! :lol:
Voted No & not interested - there's something I dislike about going to a gym, I'd much rather have some equipment (weights or whatever) at home & excercise there while watching TV or listening to some CDs etc.
Gym? Huge waste of money IMHO.
Get a group of 10 peeps together and book a 5-a-side pitch at the local leisure centre for 1-hour a week - much better and works for me :thumbsup:
dirtydog
17-08-07, 04:28 PM
Hmm i voted no
my situation is- i have a users card for my local gym which means i have no annual fee, i just pay for it each time i use the gym, which isn't often at all cos i'm a fat lazy git
tigersaw
17-08-07, 04:35 PM
I've never used a gym since school, nowadays when I get time I get exercise by walking the dogs or cycling.
Personally, I think the benefit of a gym would be more for the 'personal trainer' or whatever they are called, someone who can suggest what exercise, diet etc you need, monitor and condition your progress.
In our tower there is a fully equipped gym for the fire crew which we can use, but I've poked my head inside and it just looks like a bewildering assortment of machines - I would have no clue where to begin.
Alpinestarhero
17-08-07, 04:38 PM
I hte the idea of a gym. Running but going nowhere, rowing but not getting wet. Lifting heavy objects but no pleasing end result after an hours graft (like...I dunno....getting a set of furniture up some stairs into a flat)
Matt
I went to the gym for 3 years, lost 3 stone, felt pretty good. Then, couldnt afford to rejoin so stopped for a year, put wieght back on. Started back earlier this year. After having 'membership' issues, i cancelled, and havent been back since.
Id like to re-join a gum as i like the environment, but just plian cant afford it.
Gym? Huge waste of money IMHO.
Get a group of 10 peeps together and book a 5-a-side pitch at the local leisure centre for 1-hour a week - much better and works for me :thumbsup:
Tried that broke my foot wife kicked my **** and i never heard the last of it:(
Gordon B
17-08-07, 05:11 PM
Strange but true.
I joined a gym, the broke my leg three weeks later. They refused to refund my membership as I didn't have a "long term" ( I couldn't walk for six weeks) injury....This despite them admitting they wouldn't even let me in the building for health and safety reasons...
I haven't set foot in one since and that was 2 years ago. I now cycle and play football. Far more rewarding in my opinion and doesn't cost £50 a month......
BTW Grinch, I hope that isn't the 1940 GNER train to London you are pointing at from the middle of the level crossing......
I work hard 5 days a week. The last thing I want to do with my time off is get hot and sweaty in a gym. There are far more pleasurable ways of getting exercise:D
i did have a gym membership, but was there so much sombody said you might aswell work here................so after losing 8 stone i did i,& its now free.
:cheers:
diamond
17-08-07, 05:19 PM
I belong to the gym at work and go a couple of times a week. Never use the swimming pool though.
micky t
17-08-07, 05:26 PM
yep i have a membership as well, use the gym 3 times a week and do a couple of classes as well if i have the time, so getting my moneys worth(£50 a month)
I use the gym monday to friday every week since i packed in smoking :)
go to do free weights 3 times a week and run with my dog 3 times a week as well. works for me.
but saying that if the gym was not free then i would still run and invest in a bench and a set of weights for home.
there really is no excuse for not staying in shape. everyone has time to do a few hours a week!!
Don't like gym culture, it seems elitist. Too many smug people doing it to pose, or else bodybuilders hogging the machines.
I run - typically around 15 - 20 miles a week, but 25 - 30 ATM cos I'm training for a marathon in October.
Tiger 55
18-08-07, 09:00 AM
If you want to get fit, go running. If you want to get stronger, lift things up.
No charge. :)
fizzwheel
18-08-07, 10:52 AM
I used to belong to a couple of Gyms, ones was elitest and fully of body builders and it was extremly off putting, the 2nd one was less of a beef cake gym and that was much better.
I think alot of my problem with the first gym was me and I didnt have any confidence so I built the whole thing up to be more elitest than it probably was.
I've taken up cycling again, the last couple of weeks I've been averaging a 100 miles or so a week. I feel better, I sleep better and I concentrate at work better.
I did find the gym boring and it was always busy though and I had to wait to get onto the things I wanted to use and then I got lazy, I found it takes comitment to keep regular gym sessions up and I like the fact that I can just get on my bike and cycle for an hour when I feel like it, I find it easier to fit into to my life which means I'm more likely to cycle now.
Ive been a member of several gyms in the past, at the last one I was on the treadmill and i said hello to a bloke who had joined me on the next one, he looked at me a bit funny and said , sorry mate you,re the first person who has said hello to me in 3 months of membership' kinda says it all about a lot of gyms for me Im afraid, great idea but full of tossers very often.
timwilky
18-08-07, 05:07 PM
gyms are closed by the time I get home. and I am too damm knackered at that time of night
kwak zzr
18-08-07, 06:06 PM
having to subscribe on monthly direct debit puts me off altho my work have a gym which is only £9.25 per month and i still dont bother with that, I AM MR LAZY.:)
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k120/kwak-zzr/LAZY.jpg
muffles
18-08-07, 06:37 PM
Gym? Huge waste of money IMHO.
Get a group of 10 peeps together and book a 5-a-side pitch at the local leisure centre for 1-hour a week - much better and works for me :thumbsup:
We used to do that at work, twice a week, but we ran into problems with enough making it each week (we had about 20 people in the group and the pitch was bigger than 5-a-side, took up to ~7-a-side) and our bookings weren't permanent so every now and then had to rebook and we eventually lost our booking and couldnt get a decent one.
You don't get those problems with the gym, but it is not as fun. That said I always used the gym and still do, most weekdays.
muffles
18-08-07, 06:42 PM
Also my gym sounds a lot different to the ones others are using, it is a work gym and I can just go whenever during the day. I don't know if I'd want to go at the end of the day TBH, it's usually late, I'm tired, etc.
Don't like gym culture, it seems elitist. Too many smug people doing it to pose, or else bodybuilders hogging the machines.
.
I hate people like that, they should remember that they had to start somewhere. I concider myself to be capable in the weights area and have never let others put me off. TBH most people dont even give a second thought to what anyone else is doing as they are doing their own thing.
I went to my mates Civi Virgin active gym this weekend with him, and i did notice a the lack of atmosphere etc compared to military ones, where people will usually chat and havea laugh betweens sets, and in true military style take the mick out of each others feble attempts or technique.
But i supose its different because people tend to go in grupsa nd know each other , where as civi gyms people go on their own.
The main differance i noticed was that there are a lot more fit good looking women at civi gyms.
Keith1983
19-08-07, 07:22 PM
I have put an answer to your poll, but you said you had an idea you would like to research. What is the idea? If we knew maybe we could give some more constructive comments?
I have voted. Hope it helps, to explain my vote .....
no gym membership and don't want one. Reason:- because although I love exercise, it needs to be outdoors in the fresh air, apart from squash!
My opinion on gyms is that it is for copying outdoor activities anyway. Why run on a running machine when you can do it outdoors with fresh air and in real weather. If you want to row, row a real boat not a machine. If you want to lift weights, do a physical job or work on a farm, If you want to climb, climb a rock, not a man made wall etc etc.
Whats your idea????
:D
Jester666
19-08-07, 11:08 PM
Gyms a wasted of time and isn't as good for you as swimming!
Falc has just joined Virgin active which is free through his work, i would join a gym as i am interested in getting fit but just can't afford it, so i've started jogging and doing sit ups instead
Right, as some of you have asked I will explain later, but first I have work to do...
I have voted. Hope it helps, to explain my vote .....
no gym membership and don't want one. Reason:- because although I love exercise, it needs to be outdoors in the fresh air, apart from squash!
My opinion on gyms is that it is for copying outdoor activities anyway. Why run on a running machine when you can do it outdoors with fresh air and in real weather. If you want to row, row a real boat not a machine. If you want to lift weights, do a physical job or work on a farm, If you want to climb, climb a rock, not a man made wall etc etc.
Whats your idea????
:D
Couldnt agree more Tomcat I love running but have had conceivable injury going from achilles tendonitis, to osgood sclatters disease by way of shin splints exectra, treadmills are ok cos you can stop straight away and you,re arent miles from home but they are a bit sterile
grinch......................... is this helping?
Yes... out of a possible 72 people, 31 people don't want to use the gym. That means a possible 41 customers, if you can meet the needs of all those people, including the people who do use the gym or don't use it because of a reason or another.
My next thing will be to put a spreadsheet together with my thoughts and see how many people will be interested after that. At the moment its 54%, depending on the drop as it might be not worth it.
Pedro68
20-08-07, 01:52 PM
I joined a gym just over a year ago ... trouble with my gym (Esporta) was that although they are a very nice gym with some very nice/helpful staff, when I moved to a different job in a different area of the country, I was nowhere near another Esporta :( so I ended up letting my membership lapse. I would/should probably join another gym, but I need one that has outlets countrywide (because I could potentially be working pretty much anywhere over the country). So because of limited outlets and limited flexibility with gyms (some say you can use their "other" outlets for a small fee, or you're only entitled to "so many uses of another gym in a different area" blah blah blah) I went for the lack of flexibility option.
Admittedly, some gyms may be a little more flexible these days, but when I was looking round for a gym last year, many weren't.
EDIT: TBH I'd probably prefer to join a gym on a PAYG basis (provided it didn't prove to be even more costly than a membership!)
Pete
I enjoy going to the gym and prefer the less fancy ones. However, I find most gyms are over priced and tend not to be very flexible.
grh1904
20-08-07, 04:12 PM
I don't go to gym's, mainly because of the culture from both staff & customers.
I did join one a couple of years back to use only the treadmill. I am a member of a local running club, and just couldn't find that extra bit of speed in my legs to dip under 40mins for a 10K. I remembered back to my RAF days and the fact that I used a treadmill once-a-week on a lunchtime to help with speed work (did 2-3 miles where i could set the speed I wanted to go at).
Joined a local gym, and although I tried to tell the pimply faced youth that I am a qualified athletics coach etc, i still had to sit through an "induction" about making sure you've eaten before exercising, but not eating in the hour before exercise etc WTF !!!, I'm an insulin dependant diabetic, this coupled with my athletics coaching experience and veteran of over 12 half marathons, 5 of which were WELL inside 90 minutes meant that I knew more than he did about sports nutrition, warm ups, warm down & stretching.
Anyway, after this I'm on the machine doing some speed work (2 miles at a set 5min 30 secs pace), and he comes running over, wanting me to stop. Tells me that I should follow his suggested program of some brisk walking for 3-4 weeks before starting running. If I followed his "SUGGESTED" program it would take me 47 months to get to what I wanted to do.
At the end of the day, his program was for those that didn't know any better, and they would stay members for years and thus provide long term income for the gym, after all Duncan Bannatyne is one of Britains best known millionaires from owning gyms.
Anyway, after this I'm on the machine doing some speed work (2 miles at a set 5min 30 secs pace), and he comes running over, wanting me to stop. Tells me that I should follow his suggested program of some brisk walking for 3-4 weeks before starting running. If I followed his "SUGGESTED" program it would take me 47 months to get to what I wanted to do.
At the end of the day, his program was for those that didn't know any better, and they would stay members for years and thus provide long term income for the gym, after all Duncan Bannatyne is one of Britains best known millionaires from owning gyms.
Too true. When I joined my current gym, I was hassled on numerous occasions about their induction package. When I finally relented, I had to laugh when the young lady insisted on showing me how to use their sun beds!.I've never bought any of 'personal training packages' because most of them don't know much more than I do.
Captain Nemo
20-08-07, 04:48 PM
At the end of the day, his program was for those that didn't know any better, and they would stay members for years and thus provide long term income for the gym, after all Duncan Bannatyne is one of Britains best known millionaires from owning gyms.
and yet i have a different experience of Bannatynes.
i joined 18mth ago at the Wakefield one, and have so far lost almost 7st, and my self confidence has improved on a similar scale, ive found the staff there to be friendly and enthuisiastic, and almost all of the other members to be approachable and helpful, when i first started i felt VERY self consious, but as i got into it and saw results i got more confident, there are very few meatheads, and the only poseurs seem to be a few youngish girls who think theyre "all that".but arent,
i swap stuff round to keep motivation and variety and occasionally have splurges on one type of thing, be it treadmill, or spin or bodypump whatever, but i dont see it as a hamster on a wheel thing
i needed to take desperate action and hitting the gym 5 times a week works for me........some may see it as wated time running nowhere, but i see it more as having more time and fitness to enjoy life, if id carried on the way i was by body would have packed up within 5-10 yrs without a doubt.
grh1904
26-08-07, 09:53 AM
and yet i have a different experience of Bannatynes.
i needed to take desperate action and hitting the gym 5 times a week works for me........some may see it as wated time running nowhere, but i see it more as having more time and fitness to enjoy life, if id carried on the way i was by body would have packed up within 5-10 yrs without a doubt.
I couldn't agree more with what you're saying about your body etc, I know this through now having to inject insulin, as I've only done this for a couple of months. As my diabetes was out of control at the begining of the year I lost about 2 stone and was down to under 10 stone. I felt absolutely SHI**Y.
I can also fully appreciate what you were saying about Bannatynes being of great help to you, I'm not what you would describe a "SPORTSMAN" by any stretch of the imagination, when I'm running well in a 10k I've had months of hard slog to get to that standard, yet some of my mates keep up with me all the way, I only beat them by a few seconds but they hardly even appear to try, having only trained 2 or 3 times per week compared to my 5 or 6.
My gripe was that despite knowing more and holding an athletics qualification, I still had to sit & listen to someone that didn't hold any qualifications and when I asked questions I got the PRETTY VACANT look in return.:confused::confused:.
It was obvious to everyone that I was fitter and new more than the ahem, fitness instructor, I got the feeling that he knew it too, and was saving face.:oops:
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