anti-gym snobbery

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Replies

  • MrsCaitlinBeltran
    MrsCaitlinBeltran Posts: 241 Member
    RGv2 wrote: »
    peleroja wrote: »
    Lol, I can tell you're not from a cold area, as up here we all drive unless it's a literal blizzard (like one day a year). If you didn't drive on snow and ice in freezing temps you wouldn't be able to go anywhere for months.

    The blame doesn't lie entirely on the mentality of drivers, as in we're so tough to drive in snow. I live in eastern Canada and we have a ton of snow and ice, and we all drive on it. People here make fun of the news when you hear somewhere like Atlanta got 2 inches of snow and it shut down the city. Well, the people there don't have snow tires, there's no salting infrastructure, the traffic flow wasn't designed around it, and Atlanta has two snow plows for the entire city. Here, within an hour of anything less than a disaster level snowfall, the roads are cleared. It could be days before roads are cleared somewhere like that.

    Edit: An additionally, you get one blizzard a year? They're weekly here. Many people drive in them because they have to get from a home without power and heat to an emergency shelter or another home with wood burning capabilities. Many other people drive in them just because it's fun to take your car sideways through parking lots.

    Agreed to a point, but also disagree to a point. I was on a work trip to Arkansas a year or so ago and they basically shut down the town for nearly 3 days because they got an inch or two of snow. It didn't require any salt/sand/removal equipment. It was basically the kind of day we call "Tuesday" between November and March where ya, it snowed but it's not worth the money to go clean it up.

    I can't remember the last time I got "snow tires".

    I'm from Arkansas and I live in Minnesota now. That was my main impression too. When we got a little bit of snow and ice in Arkansas, things would SHUT DOWN. People would make a run to the store for milk and bread and be stuck at home. A lot of that is because people don't know how to drive in it and, if anything sticks, there simply isn't any public plan to deal with it.

    My first winter in Minnesota, we had a night where over a foot of snow fell in a few hours. The next day was pretty much normal -- the trucks came out and cleared the roads. They didn't even delay or cancel school. The only time things tend to get cancelled is when it is dangerously cold out. People just deal with it better here.

    Agreed. I live in Fargo/Moorhead and that's exactly how it is here--the world doesn't stop turning because it's freezing outside or we have tons of snow...would be nice to get more snow days though, lol.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited October 2015
    In Jan or Feb 2014, I think, a bunch of the suburbs around here were worried about running out of salt, because it was so much colder and snowier than usual. Chicago still had a surplus -- apparently they stockpiled 280,000 tons of salt at the beginning of the season, which is just mindboggling. That's just a different approach than somewhere like Atlanta, for obvious reasons.

    Anyway, I wouldn't drive half an hour to the gym either. I have found that the key to going often, for me, is having a gym extremely close to my office, and that's something I'm willing to pay extra for. If someone else thinks that's a dumb way to use my money, eh, I don't care.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    RGv2 wrote: »
    peleroja wrote: »
    Lol, I can tell you're not from a cold area, as up here we all drive unless it's a literal blizzard (like one day a year). If you didn't drive on snow and ice in freezing temps you wouldn't be able to go anywhere for months.

    The blame doesn't lie entirely on the mentality of drivers, as in we're so tough to drive in snow. I live in eastern Canada and we have a ton of snow and ice, and we all drive on it. People here make fun of the news when you hear somewhere like Atlanta got 2 inches of snow and it shut down the city. Well, the people there don't have snow tires, there's no salting infrastructure, the traffic flow wasn't designed around it, and Atlanta has two snow plows for the entire city. Here, within an hour of anything less than a disaster level snowfall, the roads are cleared. It could be days before roads are cleared somewhere like that.

    Edit: An additionally, you get one blizzard a year? They're weekly here. Many people drive in them because they have to get from a home without power and heat to an emergency shelter or another home with wood burning capabilities. Many other people drive in them just because it's fun to take your car sideways through parking lots.

    Agreed to a point, but also disagree to a point. I was on a work trip to Arkansas a year or so ago and they basically shut down the town for nearly 3 days because they got an inch or two of snow. It didn't require any salt/sand/removal equipment. It was basically the kind of day we call "Tuesday" between November and March where ya, it snowed but it's not worth the money to go clean it up.

    I can't remember the last time I got "snow tires".

    I'm from Arkansas and I live in Minnesota now. That was my main impression too. When we got a little bit of snow and ice in Arkansas, things would SHUT DOWN. People would make a run to the store for milk and bread and be stuck at home. A lot of that is because people don't know how to drive in it and, if anything sticks, there simply isn't any public plan to deal with it.

    My first winter in Minnesota, we had a night where over a foot of snow fell in a few hours. The next day was pretty much normal -- the trucks came out and cleared the roads. They didn't even delay or cancel school. The only time things tend to get cancelled is when it is dangerously cold out. People just deal with it better here.

    Agreed. I live in Fargo/Moorhead and that's exactly how it is here--the world doesn't stop turning because it's freezing outside or we have tons of snow...would be nice to get more snow days though, lol.

    I was disappointed my first winter here! I thought I would get a lot more time off, but people are so great at dealing with the snow that it really wasn't an issue.
  • Lena1967
    Lena1967 Posts: 94 Member
    I'm not posting to judge anyone, but just in case anyone has read previous posts and thought that once they have kids they will no longer be able to exercise.

    I will admit to having not exercised regularly some of the time since my oldest child was born. But I can't blame it on having kids. I have used all of the following at various times, when my husband was not available:

    --home elliptical machine
    --exercise videos
    --online yoga classes
    --home barbell and rack
    --jogging stroller
    --regular stroller
    --pushing kids on trikes
    --running behind kids on bikes

    And of course, as has been mentioned, many gyms have free babysitting.

    Exercising with kids is a bit more complicated but still totally doable.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    RGv2 wrote: »
    peleroja wrote: »
    Lol, I can tell you're not from a cold area, as up here we all drive unless it's a literal blizzard (like one day a year). If you didn't drive on snow and ice in freezing temps you wouldn't be able to go anywhere for months.

    The blame doesn't lie entirely on the mentality of drivers, as in we're so tough to drive in snow. I live in eastern Canada and we have a ton of snow and ice, and we all drive on it. People here make fun of the news when you hear somewhere like Atlanta got 2 inches of snow and it shut down the city. Well, the people there don't have snow tires, there's no salting infrastructure, the traffic flow wasn't designed around it, and Atlanta has two snow plows for the entire city. Here, within an hour of anything less than a disaster level snowfall, the roads are cleared. It could be days before roads are cleared somewhere like that.

    Edit: An additionally, you get one blizzard a year? They're weekly here. Many people drive in them because they have to get from a home without power and heat to an emergency shelter or another home with wood burning capabilities. Many other people drive in them just because it's fun to take your car sideways through parking lots.

    Agreed to a point, but also disagree to a point. I was on a work trip to Arkansas a year or so ago and they basically shut down the town for nearly 3 days because they got an inch or two of snow. It didn't require any salt/sand/removal equipment. It was basically the kind of day we call "Tuesday" between November and March where ya, it snowed but it's not worth the money to go clean it up.

    I can't remember the last time I got "snow tires".

    I'm from Arkansas and I live in Minnesota now. That was my main impression too. When we got a little bit of snow and ice in Arkansas, things would SHUT DOWN. People would make a run to the store for milk and bread and be stuck at home. A lot of that is because people don't know how to drive in it and, if anything sticks, there simply isn't any public plan to deal with it.

    My first winter in Minnesota, we had a night where over a foot of snow fell in a few hours. The next day was pretty much normal -- the trucks came out and cleared the roads. They didn't even delay or cancel school. The only time things tend to get cancelled is when it is dangerously cold out. People just deal with it better here.

    What sucks for me is our street can be one of the last ones plowed in town, so if we get anything substantial all the snow can get packed down on the street. Then there's no plowing it. And as the sun warms the street and the snow melts from the bottom, surprise sinkholes come from nowhere. It's great on my car.
  • MrsCaitlinBeltran
    MrsCaitlinBeltran Posts: 241 Member
    RGv2 wrote: »
    peleroja wrote: »
    Lol, I can tell you're not from a cold area, as up here we all drive unless it's a literal blizzard (like one day a year). If you didn't drive on snow and ice in freezing temps you wouldn't be able to go anywhere for months.

    The blame doesn't lie entirely on the mentality of drivers, as in we're so tough to drive in snow. I live in eastern Canada and we have a ton of snow and ice, and we all drive on it. People here make fun of the news when you hear somewhere like Atlanta got 2 inches of snow and it shut down the city. Well, the people there don't have snow tires, there's no salting infrastructure, the traffic flow wasn't designed around it, and Atlanta has two snow plows for the entire city. Here, within an hour of anything less than a disaster level snowfall, the roads are cleared. It could be days before roads are cleared somewhere like that.

    Edit: An additionally, you get one blizzard a year? They're weekly here. Many people drive in them because they have to get from a home without power and heat to an emergency shelter or another home with wood burning capabilities. Many other people drive in them just because it's fun to take your car sideways through parking lots.

    Agreed to a point, but also disagree to a point. I was on a work trip to Arkansas a year or so ago and they basically shut down the town for nearly 3 days because they got an inch or two of snow. It didn't require any salt/sand/removal equipment. It was basically the kind of day we call "Tuesday" between November and March where ya, it snowed but it's not worth the money to go clean it up.

    I can't remember the last time I got "snow tires".

    I'm from Arkansas and I live in Minnesota now. That was my main impression too. When we got a little bit of snow and ice in Arkansas, things would SHUT DOWN. People would make a run to the store for milk and bread and be stuck at home. A lot of that is because people don't know how to drive in it and, if anything sticks, there simply isn't any public plan to deal with it.

    My first winter in Minnesota, we had a night where over a foot of snow fell in a few hours. The next day was pretty much normal -- the trucks came out and cleared the roads. They didn't even delay or cancel school. The only time things tend to get cancelled is when it is dangerously cold out. People just deal with it better here.

    Agreed. I live in Fargo/Moorhead and that's exactly how it is here--the world doesn't stop turning because it's freezing outside or we have tons of snow...would be nice to get more snow days though, lol.

    I was disappointed my first winter here! I thought I would get a lot more time off, but people are so great at dealing with the snow that it really wasn't an issue.

    I was too! I am a California native so I was totally looking forward to having those snow days. I think we've only had like 4 of them over the past 4 years, lol. Super disappointing.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    RGv2 wrote: »
    peleroja wrote: »
    Lol, I can tell you're not from a cold area, as up here we all drive unless it's a literal blizzard (like one day a year). If you didn't drive on snow and ice in freezing temps you wouldn't be able to go anywhere for months.

    The blame doesn't lie entirely on the mentality of drivers, as in we're so tough to drive in snow. I live in eastern Canada and we have a ton of snow and ice, and we all drive on it. People here make fun of the news when you hear somewhere like Atlanta got 2 inches of snow and it shut down the city. Well, the people there don't have snow tires, there's no salting infrastructure, the traffic flow wasn't designed around it, and Atlanta has two snow plows for the entire city. Here, within an hour of anything less than a disaster level snowfall, the roads are cleared. It could be days before roads are cleared somewhere like that.

    Edit: An additionally, you get one blizzard a year? They're weekly here. Many people drive in them because they have to get from a home without power and heat to an emergency shelter or another home with wood burning capabilities. Many other people drive in them just because it's fun to take your car sideways through parking lots.

    Agreed to a point, but also disagree to a point. I was on a work trip to Arkansas a year or so ago and they basically shut down the town for nearly 3 days because they got an inch or two of snow. It didn't require any salt/sand/removal equipment. It was basically the kind of day we call "Tuesday" between November and March where ya, it snowed but it's not worth the money to go clean it up.

    I can't remember the last time I got "snow tires".

    Ditto.

    It's hilarious when Atlanta shuts down due to 2" of snow :p
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
    debrag12 wrote: »
    My gym is £12 a month, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - AND has literally EVERY THING you could ever need. Win! :D

    A UK gym open 24hr! Do tell.

    Pure Gym by any chance? That's where I go, though I now pay £18 a month because they only tend to do the really low price of £10-£12 a month for your first year's membership for a limited period after a new branch opens, then it's typically £16-18 a month afterwards. Still a good price IMO.

    ah none of those local to me. I've tried tru gym and fit4less both horrible (more the premises & the staff then the actual company probably) plus I like a gym with a squat rack ;)
  • Winterlover123
    Winterlover123 Posts: 352 Member
    Yes. I go to a higher end gym here and if I mention it, if they asked me what I did whatever day I happened to see them, my friends will say I'm 'bragging' and I'm wasting my money when I could just go outside or stay home and buy DVD's when clearly, doing outdoor workouts or even home workouts, or lack thereof in most their cases, aren't going so well for them.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    Does anyone else find, that if they mention they go to the gym, some people will respond by taking on a superior air and say things like "I prefer to exercise in the fresh air" or "why waste money on a gym membership when all you need is some running shoes and the great outdoors", or "I find treadmills so boring - can't understand why anyone would want to do that"

    Nothing actually wrong with these statements - but the way in which they are said I find irritating, as if they are questioning one's good taste and intelligence.

    anyway, I don't mean this thread as a rant, just as an observation. Anyone else notice the same?

    I prefer to cycle in the great outdoors and rarely use my gym for cardio work...basically only when the weather is overly prohibitive to getting in a good ride. I use the gym for the weight room and that's about it...If I could I would have all of that at home too, but that's a lot of equipment and I have pretty limited space.

    most people I know who are into fitness do a variety of things...some of those things are outdoors and some of those things are in a gym. I've experienced none of this gym snobbery...almost everyone I know who is into fitness also goes to a gym...usually to lift.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    Anyway, I wouldn't drive half an hour to the gym either. I have found that the key to going often, for me, is having a gym extremely close to my office, and that's something I'm willing to pay extra for. If someone else thinks that's a dumb way to use my money, eh, I don't care.

    Oh, you're in the majority on valuing convenience when choosing a gym. While looking for a study about that, I found a more interesting one, and started a thread on that. Exercise can help reduce drug cravings. But is exercise itself a kind of drug?
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    If EVERYONE went to the gym, it would be too crowded to use and fees would go up. I'm pretty grateful for the annual batch of resolution-makers who get a membership, wave a few weights around, and never come back.
  • Mediocrates55
    Mediocrates55 Posts: 326 Member
    hekla90 wrote: »
    I highly prefer running outdoors, however I moved from a very active city with lots of outdoor options to west Texas for a year and all the paths here are either concrete which I don't like to run on or dirt. Not s problem there except we got a lot of rain so they were mud all summer, and they're all around small, filthy playas lakes that smell awful and got infested with mosquitos. I was sick of running in the mud and coating myself in chemicals to keep the mosquitos at bay that I started running inside. Those problems are mostly gone but o found I can stand to run on treadmill so I Lao get to avoid all the nasty diesel trucks blowing smoke into my lungs. Everytime j go home though I run outside and j miss it but it's just not worth it here. Can't wait to move!

    I'm out in West Texas too. You don't run outside unless you have a death wish or someone is after you with a knife. True story.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    No, and I can't fathom why anyone would give a damn... I mean if you like to work out outside, go do that, and if you prefer to go to the gym, go do that. I dislike both so I have a treadmill in my house. Who cares? And why comment on it at all?

    "I'm going to the gym M-W-F"

    "Cool! I've been jogging around my block."

    "I hate going to the gym, but I also live somewhere freezing cold, so I got a treadmill!"

    "Cool! Where'd you get it, was it expensive?" ...etc.....etc......etc.....

    This is really the only acceptable way for that kind of conversation to go down. It's okay to say "I don't like the thing you do", that's fine, but to judge the thing you do as if there's something wrong with it? Puh-lease. Are you gonna care about this on your deathbed? No? Then why the hell do you care about it today?
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
    Exercise is personal! If you find something that works for you and you enjoy it enough to continue doing it, I say good for you.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    I just can't afford the $57/month for a membership at the local ymca. In the end this isn't terrible, because I generally spend MORE time working out now as I don't have to drive somewhere and change to do it.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    ohmyllama wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    peleroja wrote: »
    Convenience is also an issue. I live in a rural area. The nearest gym is a good 30 min drive from my house if traffic is light.

    I read that if your gym is more than 20 minutes away from home, your actual use rate drops considerably.

    I don't doubt that a bit. It can double (or more) the time you must devote to working out if you have a long drive there and back. Not to mention if the weather is too bad for outdoor activity it's also likely not that great for driving.

    Lol, I can tell you're not from a cold area, as up here we all drive unless it's a literal blizzard (like one day a year). If you didn't drive on snow and ice in freezing temps you wouldn't be able to go anywhere for months.

    Depends on what you mean by a "cold area". Certainly there are much colder areas, but we do have Winter. We usually get a few good snows but much more freezing rain, which IMO is worse for driving. And the rural areas are less populated so generally last to have the roads cleared or salted. We drive in the bad weather when needed, but I imagine not many people would put a long drive to the gym on the "needed" list.

    h8bbffdm884u.jpg

    Haha! That's me! Though, driving on ice is no big deal where I'm from. I go 2x a day no matter the weather. :)

    I know exactly how long it takes to walk to my gym in the snow/while wearing snow boots. :)
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    People want to feel like what they are doing is somehow superior, I guess.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Mycophilia wrote: »
    I do not listen to cardio plebs. Nature does not have barbells and squat racks just lying around.

    Ironic post is ironic.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    Mycophilia wrote: »
    I do not listen to cardio plebs. Nature does not have barbells and squat racks just lying around.

    Ironic post is ironic.

    8s6z9226xn62.jpg
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    Mycophilia wrote: »
    I do not listen to cardio plebs. Nature does not have barbells and squat racks just lying around.

    What is a cardio pleb ?? - Eastcoast Jim

    Ironic post is ironic.

  • antennachick
    antennachick Posts: 464 Member
    I pay for a gym membership because I know I will go if I'm paying. No way am I wasting $70 a month and not using it! Lol
    Same here lol
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    clgaram720 wrote: »
    Mycophilia wrote: »
    I do not listen to cardio plebs. Nature does not have barbells and squat racks just lying around.

    Ironic post is ironic.

    8s6z9226xn62.jpg

    Ha
  • ghouli
    ghouli Posts: 207 Member
    My mom was always like that. She's very "why waste money on a gym membership when all you have to do is go for a little jaunt every day!! Take the stairs instead of the elevator and park farther away from the store and you won't be fat anymore!" That's basically her way of thinking. And I mean, I do love doing things outside - during the spring/summer/fall I like getting out for walks, biking, and rollerblading. But I also like the convenience of being able to go to the gym whenever I want to no matter what time it is, if it's raining or snowing or whatever. And all the different equipment they have at a gym.
  • TheopolisAmbroiseIII
    TheopolisAmbroiseIII Posts: 197 Member
    edited October 2015
    RGv2 wrote: »
    peleroja wrote: »
    Lol, I can tell you're not from a cold area, as up here we all drive unless it's a literal blizzard (like one day a year). If you didn't drive on snow and ice in freezing temps you wouldn't be able to go anywhere for months.

    The blame doesn't lie entirely on the mentality of drivers, as in we're so tough to drive in snow. I live in eastern Canada and we have a ton of snow and ice, and we all drive on it. People here make fun of the news when you hear somewhere like Atlanta got 2 inches of snow and it shut down the city. Well, the people there don't have snow tires, there's no salting infrastructure, the traffic flow wasn't designed around it, and Atlanta has two snow plows for the entire city. Here, within an hour of anything less than a disaster level snowfall, the roads are cleared. It could be days before roads are cleared somewhere like that.

    Edit: An additionally, you get one blizzard a year? They're weekly here. Many people drive in them because they have to get from a home without power and heat to an emergency shelter or another home with wood burning capabilities. Many other people drive in them just because it's fun to take your car sideways through parking lots.

    Agreed to a point, but also disagree to a point. I was on a work trip to Arkansas a year or so ago and they basically shut down the town for nearly 3 days because they got an inch or two of snow. It didn't require any salt/sand/removal equipment. It was basically the kind of day we call "Tuesday" between November and March where ya, it snowed but it's not worth the money to go clean it up.

    I can't remember the last time I got "snow tires".

    I can't remember the last time I didn't get snow tires for a winter. If you didn't have them around here, you might as well move into the ditch your car will be in all winter.

    Ice, snow, ice, snow, CHRISTMAS RAIN, ice, snow, GRAY SLUSH FORVER.. November to March..
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    ecjim wrote: »

    What is a cardio pleb ?? - Eastcoast Jim

    Someone who goes to a gym only to use a treadmill/bike/elliptical, etc.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
    ecjim wrote: »

    What is a cardio pleb ?? - Eastcoast Jim

    Someone who goes to a gym only to use a treadmill/bike/elliptical, etc.

    Oh.... that's not nice. Some people like the social aspect and just wanna do cardio:(

    Not directed at you Juggernaut. I know you didn't say the original thing, just quoting both so people will understand what I'm talking about.
  • amberlyda1
    amberlyda1 Posts: 154 Member
    I love the gym. I live in California so the weather is nice; but I don't always want to go for a run ( I used to be a huge runner). Sometimes I don't have the spunk to push myself, but I can go to the gym with my tablet and watch a tv show on hulu while I walk for an hour. Sometimes the only chance I have to workout is super early in the morning or at night, and I'm not running in the dark.
    While my kids were young it gave me at least an hour a day where I could have me time and the kids got to run off energy with other kids in the day care. My other problem is that when I work out at home I see all the things I should be doing (dishes, laundry etc) and I tend not to workout as long because I "should" be doing something else.
    whatever works for you and keeps you happy and healthy is awesome!
  • MondayJune22nd2015
    MondayJune22nd2015 Posts: 876 Member
    edited October 2015
    ohmyllama wrote: »
    I'm guilty of taking the superior air. Anything I find out that someone is paying $100+ a month on their gym membership. I pay $10 a month at my gym for all the same gym equipment, childcare, personal trainers and group fitness classes that every other gym has.
    Why the heck would anyone pay $100+ just to go to a gym that has a cafe, nail salon, gift shop, etc...seems like a terrible waste of money.
    There I go again, me and my superior air......

    $10 a month? With personal trainers?? What kind of gym is this? :o

    I think mine is $70. I'm just lucky that my dad pays it for me. :D Now if only I could get personal training... it's so expensive at my gym.

    Chain gyms such as LA Fitness, Future Fitness & Planet Fitness' plans are $10.00 a month & they do offer child care, 1 hour every month with a personal trainer, medical moderating (they weigh/measure you, once a month), consultation with a nutritionist (also once a month), at no extra charge.
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