Why I don't need a gym membership
Filed under:
Nutrition & Fitness
I understand that gyms work for some people. I really do. I have worked and trained in some great gyms. To some, they provide a bit of “me-time”, an escape after work, a social opportunity. However, they are not for everyone or all circumstances. A gym membership is not a vital ingredient in the recipe of living a healthy life. I have not stepped foot in a gym for years to train. I regularly visit gyms to teach or assess, but to train...nope.
Instead...
1. I do not drive to a gym to ride a stationary bike! Instead, I power walk the streets with my daughter, Ella on my back, her chatting about life in my ear and answering questions on why ducks don’t go to nursery, ladybirds don’t have fingers and why you can’t eat the sun. I power push Leyla’s pram through many parks and occasionally run as the sun comes up, with crisp morning air filling my lungs. Instead of viewing the back of the person’s head on the treadmill in front, I look out over lakes, at trees, birds, flowers and the morning sky.
2. I do not need to worry about what I look like to others as I workout, or who may witness an escaping boob as I perform press ups. I do not perfect my hair and make up before a workout. I can groan and grunt my way through those “extra few reps” without getting any odd looks! I can end my workout with my hair resembling a drowned rat, sweat dripping from my body, my face like a sunburnt umpa lumpa. I push hard in every workout, no one is watching. Oh I tell a lie, little eyes are watching. And as James A.Baldwin said “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them”.
3. I do not join the cardio bunnies on their hamster wheels and hit the treadmill/cross trainer/bike with a gossip mag propped up in front of me. I dance crazily and energetically with my little girls until breathless (no one can see our hair flipping or booty shaking - we just lose it in the music and laugh till our abs hurt!)
4. I do not struggle to find childcare for whilst I train. I use my crazy, creative, intense home-workouts to sculpt my body at home whilst my children sleep early morning or late evening (if I want to concentrate on pushing myself). However, often I get them involved in exercise, completing rounds of bodyweight strength and cardio drills with my eldest daughter (4). Mountain climbers (running leopards) burpees (crazy fleas) Lizard hops, sprints on the spot (running from a monster) press ups (kiss the floor) whilst my youngest (1) looks on and giggles at our antics.
I do not rely on machines or overcrowded exercises classes. Instead I use my expertise in the fitness field, along with my imagination and surroundings at home to devise varied functional programmes and exercises. Pike press ups on the stairs, interval stair sprints, door-anchored TRX suspension exercises, pull ups, push ups, endless plank combinations, kettlebell complexes, landing strip agility ladder drills, wall handstand press ups, weighted step ups on dining chairs, sofa elevated hip thrusts, functional dumbbell workouts, skipping in the garden, bear crawls, lizard and crab walks across the landing, plyometric workouts and barbell olympic lifts as the tea cooks on the stove, along with much, much more.
I do not use gadgets, 'magic' pills/shakes/juices, count points or follow highly restrictive diets. I aim to eat unprocessed, whole food and meals. I do not make the girls their tea and then sat down and ‘enjoy’ a shake with them. I appreciate the gift of our family gatherings over good food. I eat clean 80% of the time, I am not perfect. I will have the occasional ‘bad’ day, I will enjoy a meal and drinks out with friends. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being consistent most of the time. This is maintainable. This is living.
I do not let the stresses of life bring me down - being a working mother, trying to juggle my children, partner, friends, business and housework. I have those days where nothing seems to go right. When I am dizzy with frustration, on the verge of tears and one simple workout can turn things around.
I aim to not obsess over my body in the mirror too much. I ensure I never say the words “I look fat today” or “does my bum look big in this?” in front of my daughters. I want to teach them that the main reason for working out and eating healthily, is not solely to “look good” or to fit into that ‘body con’ dress. I want them to grow up viewing exercise as a hobby and not a chore…as an opportunity, not an obligation. To release endorphins, provide ourselves with a natural high, feel energetic, positive, fresh, strong, confident and empowered. Love your body and the weight will take care of itself.
As Baz Luhrman says in one of my favourite tracks of all time “Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own”.
Robyn,
The Female Fitness Academy
Instead...
1. I do not drive to a gym to ride a stationary bike! Instead, I power walk the streets with my daughter, Ella on my back, her chatting about life in my ear and answering questions on why ducks don’t go to nursery, ladybirds don’t have fingers and why you can’t eat the sun. I power push Leyla’s pram through many parks and occasionally run as the sun comes up, with crisp morning air filling my lungs. Instead of viewing the back of the person’s head on the treadmill in front, I look out over lakes, at trees, birds, flowers and the morning sky.
2. I do not need to worry about what I look like to others as I workout, or who may witness an escaping boob as I perform press ups. I do not perfect my hair and make up before a workout. I can groan and grunt my way through those “extra few reps” without getting any odd looks! I can end my workout with my hair resembling a drowned rat, sweat dripping from my body, my face like a sunburnt umpa lumpa. I push hard in every workout, no one is watching. Oh I tell a lie, little eyes are watching. And as James A.Baldwin said “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them”.
3. I do not join the cardio bunnies on their hamster wheels and hit the treadmill/cross trainer/bike with a gossip mag propped up in front of me. I dance crazily and energetically with my little girls until breathless (no one can see our hair flipping or booty shaking - we just lose it in the music and laugh till our abs hurt!)
4. I do not struggle to find childcare for whilst I train. I use my crazy, creative, intense home-workouts to sculpt my body at home whilst my children sleep early morning or late evening (if I want to concentrate on pushing myself). However, often I get them involved in exercise, completing rounds of bodyweight strength and cardio drills with my eldest daughter (4). Mountain climbers (running leopards) burpees (crazy fleas) Lizard hops, sprints on the spot (running from a monster) press ups (kiss the floor) whilst my youngest (1) looks on and giggles at our antics.
I do not rely on machines or overcrowded exercises classes. Instead I use my expertise in the fitness field, along with my imagination and surroundings at home to devise varied functional programmes and exercises. Pike press ups on the stairs, interval stair sprints, door-anchored TRX suspension exercises, pull ups, push ups, endless plank combinations, kettlebell complexes, landing strip agility ladder drills, wall handstand press ups, weighted step ups on dining chairs, sofa elevated hip thrusts, functional dumbbell workouts, skipping in the garden, bear crawls, lizard and crab walks across the landing, plyometric workouts and barbell olympic lifts as the tea cooks on the stove, along with much, much more.
I do not use gadgets, 'magic' pills/shakes/juices, count points or follow highly restrictive diets. I aim to eat unprocessed, whole food and meals. I do not make the girls their tea and then sat down and ‘enjoy’ a shake with them. I appreciate the gift of our family gatherings over good food. I eat clean 80% of the time, I am not perfect. I will have the occasional ‘bad’ day, I will enjoy a meal and drinks out with friends. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being consistent most of the time. This is maintainable. This is living.
I do not let the stresses of life bring me down - being a working mother, trying to juggle my children, partner, friends, business and housework. I have those days where nothing seems to go right. When I am dizzy with frustration, on the verge of tears and one simple workout can turn things around.
I aim to not obsess over my body in the mirror too much. I ensure I never say the words “I look fat today” or “does my bum look big in this?” in front of my daughters. I want to teach them that the main reason for working out and eating healthily, is not solely to “look good” or to fit into that ‘body con’ dress. I want them to grow up viewing exercise as a hobby and not a chore…as an opportunity, not an obligation. To release endorphins, provide ourselves with a natural high, feel energetic, positive, fresh, strong, confident and empowered. Love your body and the weight will take care of itself.
As Baz Luhrman says in one of my favourite tracks of all time “Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own”.
Robyn,
The Female Fitness Academy
