Seain Considers a Gym

[dcseain]

[Poll #864400]

Comments

[dr-tectonic.livejournal.com]

I think the important amenities are the things you can't get elsewhere. So I say don't worry about treadmills and stationary bicycles, since you can go for a walk or ride a bike outside, where it will also be considerably less boring. (Boring/unpleasant is my big barrier to getting exercise.)

suecochran made a number of very good points. The only one with which I will quibble is BMI. Lean muscle/fat ratio is important to know; BMI is not. (It is an approximant of muscle/fat ratio, but only for people with a particular kind of build.) I think BMI is often worse than useless because it warps your perceptions about your body. I am overweight, I freely admit, but I had my bodyfat measured once, and even if I lost all of the fat in my body, my BMI wouldn't get down into the "normal" range.

[melted-snowball.livejournal.com]

So I say don't worry about treadmills and stationary bicycles, since you can go for a walk or ride a bike outside, where it will also be considerably less boring. (Boring/unpleasant is my big barrier to getting exercise.)

I am discovering that the elliptical trainer is a much better workout than are bike rides or walks, though walks with roverthedog are much more fun. (Plus, it's getting cold here, though I expect that's less of an issue in the DC area where Seain lives.)

Oh, and apropos things like BMI and the like, a gym that doesn't spend all of its time trying to tell you that you're fat and ugly when you join is a good idea.

[mergyeugnau.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on the BMI thing. I had one gym measure my BMI by taking the proportion of my elbow to my wrist. Only problem is that I am an MT with crazy strong hands/forearms. While I am very overweight, the measurement they took can only accurately assess the hypermyotrophy of my brachioradialis.