Smoking a cigarette should have nothing to do with your gym membership.
But it does.
Why do smokers start smoking? We are not looking at why they keep smoking (that's addiction through and through), but why do they start? Because they think it is the cool thing to do, yes, but why do they think that? Because they are bombarded with messages that smoking is what really enhances any 'good moment' and all cool people seem to be doing it.
That's what keeps the teenagers hooked.
What does this have to you wanting a Gym membership? A person thinks that he will get physically fit by joining the gym.
He thinks he will 'look awesome' by paying for it, literally.
Why? Because that person has been bombarded with messages that all 'fit people' are regulars at the gym.
They see it in the movies, they see their neighbor with his biceps, coming home from the gym in the evening, and a gym membership readily gets associated with a physically fit body.
The idea behind this article, then, is to tell you, my dear friend, why it is not wise to get a gym membership.
If your ultimate goal is to get physically fit, then you do not need a gym membership.
Not now.
And possibly, not ever.
It's All In The Mind Our mind is a powerful place.
And we must start there.
Ask yourself, "What am I trying to achieve here?" Is your primary objective to 'get into shape'.
Is it to 'lose weight' or 'chisel the fat off' or 'get rid of your belly fat'? Of course it is.
What your primary target is not is to 'have the right atmosphere for physical exercise'.
It helps if you do have the right kind of atmosphere, but that is not your primary target, but rather a means to an end.
That 'end', that target, is and should always remain clear; "to become and remain physically fit and healthy".
Let's break it down further.
To remain physically fit and healthy, what do you need to do? I can tell you not ONLY from personal experience (which in itself is always a good indicator), but also from well-respected athletes and trainers, that two things are of utmost importance here.
One is your diet.
The Other is how regular you are in physically exerting your body.
If you want to lose 5 inches in the next one week, you are setting yourself too cruel a target really.
You are setting yourself up to fail.
Again, it's all in the mind and you need to understand that you WILL get physically fit, you WILL look totally awesome and you WILL feel absolutely great if, and only if, you adjust your attitude.
That's the only guarantee.
The Benefits Of Thinking Straight For the last few months, I have been immensely enjoying - by God's Grace - the benefits of a slight attitude adjustment.
So much so, that I now have a home gym set up (and being a website designer, have started a website on this topic as well!).
I still do not foresee myself ever going to the club gym; why would I spend the money and do the commute when I get my primary targets achieved without a Gym membership, in the comfort of my own home? After all, I tell myself, I am not getting into shape for the 'social angle', or for the 'right atmosphere'.
I train every other day, and the whole session lasts hardly half an hour.
30 minutes, after a day's break; I never thought it would have been this simple.
And the results? I can see them in the mirror! And besides, I have trained my mind to not think short-term when it comes to this, so I know, that God willing, I can have those six-pack abs within the next 6 to 7 months.
I have very easily trained myself to eat the right kind of food.
This again has been very hard for me in the past.
It has been hard, because as stated earlier, I had the wrong mindset, the wrong attitude and importantly, I had the wrong information.
As soon as I realized the actual mistake, fixing it was not a problem.
Now I know that I do not need to be a calorie counter to be and remain in shape.
The bottom line is, when you 'train your mind', everything else starts to fall into place.