Posted on 01/26/2011 6:45:22 PM PST by fkabuckeyesrule
IS the gym passé?
For all their ads promising to stir motivation, gyms have failed to do so. “Up until the last six years, it’s been relatively easy to sell memberships, and to replace people going out the back door with people coming through the front door,” said Michael Scott Scudder, a consultant who advises health clubs and conducts up to 15 industry surveys annually. “Not so anymore. We’ve come to a point that we can’t sell enough membership in the industry to cover the attrition rate.”
Blame the gym’s now-ubiquitous flat-screen TVs and the fact that iPods are de rigueur, said Jonathan Fields, a marketing consultant in Manhattan who has helped found personal-training gyms and yoga studios. “Now everybody’s plugged in,” Mr. Fields said. “In the 70s, they came for community. Now they come in and disassociate themselves from everyone in the club. It’s killing the health club.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Interesting article. I have certainly noticed that pretty much everyone has something plugged in their ears at the gyms nowadays. It used to be you might meet people at the gym back in the 90’s or so but not so much anymore unless you see someone in one of the classes.
PEAK 8 Exercise I don’t need a gym
When I used to work out, my preference was to be left alone, so I’d walk around with something or other in my ear even if it wasn’t on. I’d get more done if I wasn’t chatting.
There was a local club that was a fixture here in Columbia for decades but it finally closed down. The parking was terrible, small lot and nowhere to expand. Gold’s moved in down the street to a much larger area with decent parking. It is a place to pump iron and find your car windows smashed.
While it’s true 70% or more of the patrons are plugged in and oblivious to the world if you’re going to the gym to socialize instead of actually work out you’re going to the wrong place.
I didn’t lose 110 pounds in 9 months at one point socializing at the gym.
Do you have a better link? Something keeps popping up to block the text.
Even in my little Oregon coastal city, our community center is almost the nerve center of town, with folks of all ages,varying stages of physical conditionining, shapes, and sizes go to get healthy. The membership fees are reasonable, with discounts for residents who live within the city limits, as well as senior discounts for our large number of local retirees. There are yoga classes, line dancing classes, aqua aerobics, etc.
I joined a year ago during our rainy, dreary Oregon winter when talking four-mile beach walks just wasn't practical. It's been a lifesaver for me.
In the area where I live, there seems to be a gym on every block, all open 24 hours a day.
Folks used to kid themselves that having a membership meant they were half way to being in shape.
When budgets get tight, folks quit kidding themselves and quit paying for memberships they don’t use.
The gym is for working out and looking at hot chicks. That’s it.
Never mind, I got through. I turns out that effoff@biteme.com is a valid email address, lol!
Has this approach worked well for you? It looks interesting.
I went to the gym here in Manhattan tonight, and it was jam-packed. They have plenty of members.
As for talking, it’s not so bad once you get to know some of the regulars.
I’d go to LA Fitness more often if they hadn’t banned FoxNews & replaced it w/ Bravo, CNN, and MSNBC. Now, instead of working out, I feel like I’m undergoing some sort of indoctrination experiment when I’m there.
Or maybe it’s because gym memberships are like cell phone contracts. Can’t get out of them and they charge you a cancellation fee if you do.
Racket.
Here’s a better link....Mercola has always been a pain if you are not a MEMBER....
I’ve been using it as has my husband....not sure if it’s helping yet....but sure is giving me more time in my life....My doc spoke of this last summer also (Dr Jonathan Wright, Tahoma Clinic) and I trust what he says...so I’m walking and doing the spurts over 20-40 min...instead of a usual hard walk of 45-70min
http://www.highonhealth.org/my-new-workout-peak-8-fitness/
My Golds Gym is one of the best bargains around for less than $20 a month.
I wish my YMCA would limit membership...we pay regular price for a family membership...but the place is too crowded, there are children in the workout room, and parking is a pain.
I wish there were a premium place near me...but there isn’t. Or if the Y just cut people off instead of making it a free for all...
I’ve been thinking about doing Peak 8.
What has been your experience?
Recently I've been intrigued with a "new" place called Koko (in N. Texas)... they have some kind of fob or "key" that you can plug into the various machines and it will record your progress and tell you what exercises to do, depending on what goal you have pre-determined... apparently you can get the necessary work completed in 30 min. sessions instead of 60 min.+
It is probably not cheap, but time vs. money is what it comes down to for me.
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