Excercise Has Nothing to Do with Why I Go to the Gym

 by Judith Wurtman

Many Americans will be joining or re-joining their neighborhood gym on January 2^nd to fill one of their New Year's resolutions; i.e. to get fit. New athletic shoes will be bought or removed from under the bed, workout clothes will be retrieved from the bottom of the laundry basket and the alarm will be set an hour earlier to get that workout in before going off to the office. Of course, by Jan 10^th or so, the only thing working out will be the excuses needed to justify sleeping through the alarm and putting away the gym clothes.

We all know too well the reasons for exercising and if they were as compelling as the advice givers believe they are, then everyone would be on a treadmill or elliptical trainer by tomorrow.  But alas, even though we might agree with the reasons for exercise, the reasons simply are not sufficiently compelling to make many people go off to the gym on a regular basis.

So I thought I would draw up a list of reasons to go to the gym that have nothing to do with losing weight and getting fit. Maybe one of them will resonate with you and maybe you too will go to the gym.

These reasons come from a variety of people, all of whom shall remain anonymous.

1. I might meet a cute rich guy like Jerry Seinfeld who met his wife at the gym.

2. The shower at the gym works better than my shower at home.

3. My shower at home is glass and has to be wiped down every time I use it. When I shower at the gym, I don't have to clean the stall afterward.

4. My health club has a great collection of magazines so I catch up on my reading.

5. It is the only time I get to watch movies.

6.  It is a great place to meet girls, especially in the yoga and Pilates classes.

7.  I love the corpse pose at the end of my Yoga class. I usually take a mini-nap then.

8. I am going through a rough time at work so going to a kickboxing class lets me take out my aggressions without getting myself fired.

9. The gym thaws me out. I am usually frozen when I come in but by the time I work up a sweat and then spend time in the steam room, I am warm again.

10. There are a group of moms I have met at a kids-and-moms exercise group. I am less lonely as a stay-at-home mom because now we socialize after class.

11.  I do weight lifting with a buddy of mine. He drives me to do much more than I would at home and people are now noticing my build. It feels good.

12.  The gym is the best escape there is. We aren't allowed to use our cell phones so I can turn off and tune out for an hour or so. I feel mentally rejuvenated when I leave.

13. My health club is across the street from an assisted living facility. Seeing people using their walkers to get down the ramp to the street makes me aware of how fortunate I am to have a body that works. And I am not going to take that for granted.

14.  You can't believe the number of tips I have gotten in the locker room: where to have my hair cut, where to buy the best produce, names of baby sitters, and what store is having a sale. I can't imagine what my hair would look like if I hadn't joined the gym.

15. It is one of the only things I do every day that makes me feel virtuous. And that is worth a lot.

More from Judith Wurtman can be found at serotoninpowerdiet.com or click here to buy.