The Gym

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine introduced me to a piece of software called FitnessBliss Bells, and wanted me to review it and share my opinion.

FitnessBliss Bells is part of the FitnessBliss suite of software - FitnessBliss (for fitness enthusiasts), FitnessBliss Pro (for Personal Trainers), FitnessBliss Bow (for Bowflex users), FitnessBliss Cross (for CrossBow users) and FitnessBliss Bells (dumbbell exercises). [click to continue...]

The following is a sponsored review:

Finding a gym thats ‘compatible’ with you may take a bit of time. With the abundance of choices we have around us nowadays, it can also be a pretty daunting task. What makes Gym A better than Gym B? Besides the difference in location, we really can’t tell from the outside, can we? We need to see for ourselves - to touch, to get a feel of, and to experience it. There’s no better way to assess the health club than to see it for yourself. That is why all gyms today would gladly allow for you take a tour for free, and most would even accomodate you and a bunch of friends to have a trial - all you need to do is ask. ;)

Even then, it may still be tough and time consuming finding a gym you really love, and not every first try will be a perfect fit.

I was asked to review Gymticket’s Directory of Gold’s Gyms throughout the United States. The directory has a whopping 20,000 gyms, health clubs, and fitness centers listed and allows you to search for a gym by the company (brand), location, specialty, etc. Such a tool can really be useful (especially when there are gyms at every corner of your country!), and would help you narrow down your choices, and perhaps even uncover gyms in locations convenient to you that you would have otherwise never known or thought about. Browsing the sub-directory of Gold’s Gyms will narrow down your results to all the Gold’s Gyms in the areas you’re looking at.

It’s unfortunate that us Malaysians don’t have such a service, and can’t even if we wanted to! No way would we be able to have anything CLOSE to 10,000 clubs listed in the directory - the fitness industry is nowhere near that mature here. A directory with 100 outlets wouldn’t really be of much use… don’t you think? A concept like GymTicket could never work for Malaysia… at least not anytime soon.

It’s not easy, and its hard to come across reviews and information about a particular gym. If you’re like me, you too would look up the Internet for more information on anything we’re interested in. Gym reviews are something that is lacking everywhere. I’ve written a couple of Gym Reviews myself previously, and I know that it has been beneficial to many and has certainly influenced their decision too. The directory at Gymticket.com also has gym reviews - a huge plus.

Information on price compared to other gyms, the various amenities, club operation hours, and other details that might influence your decision on the gym you choose. The directory also categorizes the gyms by location so you can browse the directory by the state you live in - it then drills down to show you a map to the gym you’ve looked up. I feel that Gymticket can take away alot of the frustration that’s sometimes involved in looking for a gym - and when your country has over 20,000 facilities to choose from - it can be a very very difficult task.

My word of advice to any gym seeker - ALWAYS choose a gym that is located in a place that is CONVENIENT for you. I live 40 kilometers away from the gym I regularly frequent - but it is convenient for me because it is very close to my workplace, which is where I am 5 days out of the week, and the chances for me being close to the gym is very high. Always look for a gym that is accessible to you easily - if your gym is a 30 minute drive away.. chances are very high that you wouldn’t drive all the way for a workout, and you’ll end up slacking off. Believe me.

Our physical fitness and appearance - the way we look, our fitness level, how we fit into our clothes, etc has a lot to do with the confidence we have in ourselves. A better physique means better confidence - something I’ve experienced first hand being someone who was really overweight many years ago but managed to successfully turn things around.

I don’t know about you, but I’m personally very conscious about what I’m wearing, and how I look whether I’m at the gym or if I’m just out with a bunch of friends. And if you’re like most people.. you would be too. It’s just human.

Interestingly enough, the gym is also the one place where you would find a big concentration of people who aren’t really in great physical shape - cos thats the place we go to shape up and take charge of our physique. It’s easy for those who are in great shape to waltz into any fitness centre or gym and carry on with their lives as usual, but what if you were overweight, or a little on the flabby side?

I’m a guy, and the last thing I would want is for a bunch of women to see that! (hey.. I’m just being a guy!). So I’m sure that women too, if they weren’t exactly in perfect shape - they too would not want to be seen by a bunch of men right? Who wants to be seen when we’re not at our best?

I’d think that women especially would REALLY be concerned when it comes to something like this. I know a few women who won’t even step foot into a gym simply because they don’t want to be seen by the opposite sex in a gym. It is for reasons like these.. that there is a trend in ‘all women’ fitness centres. This is certainly a good move as it would encourage many women out there to take that first bold step into a fitness centre.

With all this hype, I’ll be meeting up with the co-founder of Studio W for a casual chat and interview, and I hope to share our conversation on this site. Studio W is a ‘Women Only’ fitness studio and a non-intimidating environment - perfect for beginners and conscious women out there (which I’m sure there are a lot!). Stay tuned.

I’ve been asked many times by many people, on what it is they should be looking for when choosing a Personal Trainer. There are many things that we should take into consideration - track record, experience, how comfortable you are with him/her, their techniques, certification… i could go on and on. But I believe that there is an underlying criteria that supercedes many of the above mentioned criteria. Besides the credentials & certifications, what differentiates one Personal Trainer from the other?

A personal trainer can have all the experience in the world, countless fancy exercise routines, but if he or she does not have the GENUINE CONCERN for that person who comes to them for help… then it is truly a disappointment. A personal trainer needs to be able to put themselves in the shoes of their client - to understand what it is they really want, to connect with them, and to speak into their lives. As we all know, Fitness is a Lifestyle, and not just a hobby or a trend, and this is exactly why it needs a much deeper and significant approach for it to make an impact and a lasting impression/difference in the life of the person.

Take this Quiz.

Name the ten wealthiest men in the world.

Name the last ten Heisman trophy winners.

Name the last ten winners of the Miss America contest.

Name eight people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize.

How about the last ten Academy Award winners for best picture or the last decade’s worth of World Series winners?

How did you do? I didn’t do well either. With the exception of you trivia hounds, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday too well. Surprising how quickly we forget, isn’t it? And what I’ve mentioned above are no second-rate achievements. These are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one.

Think of three people you enjoy spending time with.

Name ten people who have taught you something worthwhile.

Name five friends who have helped you in a difficult time.

List a few teachers who have aided your journey through school.

Name half-a-dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier? It was for me, too.
The lesson? The people who make a difference are not the ones with the credentials, but the ones with the concern.

From And the Angels Were Silent
Copyright 1992, Max Lucado