If you’re obese then STOP waiting to lose weight before joining the gym!
To wait till you lose weight before joining a gym is one of the biggest mistakes you’ll ever make.
A gym will help you lose weight.
But it’s a safe bet that most people coming here are obese and do not know if they should first lose weight before getting a gym membership.
I was a personal trainer for a major health club chain for five years, and I have to wonder just where the idea comes from that weight loss is a prerequisite for a gym membership.
The sales manager of any club will never require weight loss first before purchasing a membership.
The reasoning behind all of this isn’t too far removed from the idea that a skinny 90 pound weakling refusing to join a gym to build up his body—until he puts on 30 pounds! Wouldn’t that be very silly?
Do not try to lose weight before joining a gym—no matter how obese you are.
This just makes no sense. Could it be that you’re scared to walking onto the gym floor, fearing that everyone will “stare” at you?
Could it be that you believe any kind of workout will be too painful, and hence, let’s lose some weight first?
Well, think of it this way: If you’re already in the club, you have no choice but to exercise.
Shutterstock/Nomad_Soul
If you stay home…you’re probably not going to exercise because there will be too many other more appealing things to do that are beckoning for your attention.
Or perhaps you’ll invent things to do that you think need to be done that moment, such as cleaning the windowsills or rearranging the clothes in your child’s bureau.
Maybe you fear being overwhelmed, having never before set foot inside a big gym.
So you decide to lose weight first. But this never happens. Maybe five, even 10 pounds come off, but that’s it, or, it returns, and you’re back to square one.
How long will you allow this madness to continue? Ask yourself this:
Do you really think the salespeople at the gym, who get commission to sell memberships, really care that you’re obese, even if it’s too a morbid degree?
Here are some tips to overcome your anxiety or reluctance to join the local gym, and to stop the campaign of trying to lose weight first:
• Walk into the club and ask to speak to a sales associate. Trust me, you’ll be seeing one within seconds.
• Know that this individual will be very kind to you (never mind that all he or she is thinking of is another commission).
• The sales rep will give you a tour and answer all of your questions.
• As you go on the tour, take note of the various sections of the gym where you might want to work out, such as one of its quiet corners.
• Ask about classes.
• Ask about childcare.
• Ask about personal training. Some memberships include several sessions with a trainer.
• Do not be put off if you don’t see any patrons who are your size.
“I’ll probably be the biggest person at the gym!”
SO WHAT? Get over it.
Ask yourself, really now, what is so wrong about being the biggest person in the building? It may very well be true, but…SO WHAT?
Ask yourself WHY you’re the most obese person in the gym. Hmmm…now think about this for a moment—because there’s a very logical explanation.
Give up?
You’re the largest person in the gym because all the other people bigger than you are sitting at home trying to lose weight first before joining the gym!
Now WHO’S going to be successful at weight loss and getting heathy and fit: THEM, or YOU?
Whom do you want to be like? THEM…or the fitter, leaner folks you see at the gym?
Okay, so you’re looking at the much smaller members and thinking, “I could never look like that.”
Well, stop looking at them and instead look at someone who’s obese—but smaller than you.
So let’s say you weigh 250. Your goal, then, could be to look more like the same-height individual who appears to be around 210 or 220.
Then when you drop to 220, you could be setting your sights on getting down to 195.
But stop trying to lose weight FIRST before joining the gym! Look at it this way:
Working out will make you stronger, faster, more energetic, sleep better and will help relieve aches and pains. For goodness sake, what are you waiting for?
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
.
