What got you going to the gym? What kept you there?

I cancelled my gym membership this year. It was too crowded and I wasn't going. There are no good alternatives so I made a pact with myself to try classes instead.

It turns out I found one I love: Megaformer/ Lagree Method.

I was looking for something low impact, challenging and to help me with balance and core strength. This fits the bill and the classes are short (40-45 minutes) and intense.

I am going at least 2x a week. It is too much for me to do back to back so I am looking for a 3rd option for my rotation.

I can feel my balance improving and my legs are so much stronger. Biking up hills is easier. Routes have gotten easier. Walking up hill is easier. Good outcomes all around.

I wanted to find something I could stick with and build more strength to build a good base for weight lifting. (I can't do barbell squats due to upper body flexibility issues). So far so good. In a few months I'll return to the gym to hit the free weights and hopefully will have a good plan for myself that is not too complicated.

DaFibble wrote: »

I'm interested in hearing what got people on MFP going to a gym to begin with. What was the motivation? What were your expectations? Were there other factors?

Also, after starting at a gym, what kept you going?

My father taught at a college which had a small gym ... I was in my teens when I started using that because I wanted to improve my strength for racing. I raced the 200 metre and 400 metre distances then. I continued to use that gym for years because it was so convenient, and as I got older, I supplemented the gym work with longer distance running and cycling.

When I married, my husband got a gym membership and a personal trainer (amateur bodybuilder) who also took me on. We trained there for a couple years during which time I really got back into cycling.

I've been going to gyms ever since to compliment my cycling. Sometimes it is my own home gym ... sometimes it is a commercial gym.

All up, I've been going to the gym for roughly 35 years now.

I am a mind person.
What got me there was the need to get fitter without losing much weight and I couldn't manage to do that at home.

What keeps me there so far is positive reinforcement by my bf and that I am actually able to go there, clear my mind and work out for an hour. After that my mental stress feels so much lighter.

Its been longer than a month now since ive been going to the gym every day. Sometimes I will go twice.

I think its all about making it a habbit and listening to your body. At one point not going to the gym will feel weird. I exercise at least an hour every day. Lately at least 80 minutes a day.

What made me go to the gym everyday was the health aspect. And I believe everyone has at least 15 minutes a day to work out. Now I watch less tv.

I bought a gym membership because I wanted to do deadlifts. I then proceeded to never do deadlifts and only pop in every so often to run on the treadmill for 10 minutes and telling myself I'd only go to the gym if the weather was inclement (and even then I didn't go, I just preferred working out at the park or at home). This summer though I wanted to try out maintenance and doing stronglifts 5x5. It's been just about 8 weeks so far and I've kept going back because of my goal to stick with it for 12 weeks.

I have a rec center membership but mostly lift at home. Will your work give any money toward home equipment?

I do like the rec center for the indoor track, workshops (e.g., archery), summer camp for my daughter, and some other equipment that I don't have at home. My home gym far beats it for the sake of convenience though so I don't work out at the rec too often.

I've been going off and on for years - a few years ago, I was unemployed between my return from living/working abroad and settling back into an office job here, and I went to the gym about 8x/week. I have always found that I work harder in a group setting, so I was doing one or two classes per day that I loved. Gym attendance tapered when I started working (couldn't get to classes during the workday), met my now-fiance, and then plummeted to 0 during grad school. I was working full-time, doing class at night 2-3x/week, and then homework ate my free time. Once grad school ended, I had an MBA and ten extra pounds, and I decided I should use my newfound free time to get back to the classes I always liked.
Throughout the last year (finished my MBA a year ago this week!) I have been at the gym 5 days/week for spin and bodypump classes. Sometimes if my partner has to work late or has an event, I'll go to the gym for a bonus workout if there's a class in that time slot...yoga, cxworx, tae bo, zumba...to get a little more variety into my life.
My expectations were and are low...I've shed the grad school weight and I'm (this isn't saying all that much) the strongest I've ever been. I'm not out to set records or compete, but I like challenging myself to hit incremental improvement goals in pump and spin. I feel better when I work out, and spin is the one thing that really takes me out of my head. I get some of my best thinking done in that class because my concentration is on keeping my legs going at whatever insane pace my triathlon-loving instructor has set and my thoughts drift and flow freely.
One of the things that keeps me going back is the social aspect. I'm a regular in these classes at this point, and I like chatting with gymfriends before/after class, and I look forward to seeing them (and it feels good to know they/the instructors look forward to seeing me, too). Another small bonus is that my work offers a health incentive program, and my gym activities help me meet goals there (daily steps, minutes of daily activity, etc) that earn me small rewards for my HSA.

My life is delightfully full, especially now that we're planning our wedding. I capital-D Decided that I was just going to have to make time for exercise. One weeknight a week is My Night - I grab a light dinner with my mom and then go to an evening class, and that's a non-negotiable on my calendar. Three days a week I get up at 4:40 and hit a 5:30 gym class before going to work, which has the added benefit of having me at my desk by 7:30, so my workday begins earlier and ends earlier if I so choose (flexible work hours/week). The fifth session is 7 am Saturday mornings - as busy as our weekends are, the only Saturdays I have missed in the last year are Saturdays when we were out of town. I attend that class even if we are leaving at 9 am to go somewhere, including college football games, and I have attended even when there are people staying over at our house. I'm home by 830 and they can certainly fend for themselves until then, assuming they're up.

I don't know if this helps how you look at it, but: people have spent the last year praising my motivation. I don't know that I'm all that motivated - I will happily go for walks but I would never go for a run on my own, just because. I have no burning desire to set lifting PRs. I don't have a fitspo pinterest board. I hate getting up early and being cold in the car the whole way to the gym in the winter. But I just keep going because, although not motivated, I am determined, and I am disciplined. Or stubborn. But I Decided I was going to do this, so by golly, I will do it. Sure, sometimes I sleep through a class, but I just get up the next morning like I'm supposed to and go. I am doing this for me, and I am doing it for the long game - so I do what I love at the gym and I'm not miserable doing it. Bonus benefit - I lost another five pounds beyond what I set out to do, my cholesterol numbers are improved over a year ago, and I have baby-muscles!

I am definitely at the point now that someone mentioned above - not going feels weird. I'm on vacation next week and I found a local gym that does day passes so that I can get to a spin class (don't want to lose my bike-butt!!) and try out their strength offerings (tabata and "Warriors On Demand") for variety. I feel better on days that I exercise, so even on my rest days I will typically go on a walk or do 30 mins of yoga at home - my body feels better when I move it, and my head is more clear even after a lazy mile stroll through our neighborhood. I don't want to give up that feeling, so I keep going to the gym.

I belong to my work gym cause it's in the same building and the classes were good and cheap. Then I joined another gym because one particular zumba instructor is so awesome. With that gym I met a personal trainer who has helped me to lose weight and gain muscle.

Across the 2 gyms, I do zumba for fun, pilates for flexibility etc, personal training because he pushes me harder than I'd ever push myself, and weight training to build muscle. I love the way my body changes when I do weights and get a buzz from the achievement of increasing muscle size and strength. I see a personal trainer twice a week and he keeps me accountable.

I found I couldn't walk long distances without leg pain and we had a week and a half of T-storms that shut down the pools. I wanted to keep pushing my fitness so I went to the gym to try a treadmill or elliptical.

This worked into attempting to lift. I found that I really liked lifting heavy (3-6 reps) and even more so on big compound lifts. This has changed from a beginner 3x a week program to a beginner 5x a week program. Both programs are more focused on powerlifting and strength.

It helps me feel better and less stressed emotionally. I am also less fatigued and have more energy. And finishing a hard workout makes you feel like a boss so... increased confidence and self esteem.
Those are more sustainable motivators for me

I went to a local MMA show one Saturday night with a friend who trained BJJ at the local MMA Gym. I had watched a little UFC before, but seeing MMA live triggered something in me. I tried a class at my buddy's gym two days later.

Something clicked. I loathe traditional gyms, but my MMA Gym keeps me coming back because I get a killer workout and never have to run on treadmill or lift a weight, I am learning an actual skill, and we have a camaraderie in our little subculture that I haven't had in my life in a long time.

I go 7 to 10 times a week and am always looking for a way to slip in and get even more work done.

I started going (again) because I was (still) fat and I didn't want to be fat anymore. I'd always had some kind of gym membership all of my adult life, but what I never had in any of that time was structure. When I stopped being a cardio bunny and found out how awesome lifting was, I got on a program and kept going.

I stopped going when it became a constant battle for equipment. I didn't have a lot of time to devote to standing around waiting for what I needed, so I pieced together a home gym and never looked back. Progress, results, and not wanting to be that fat version of myself are what keep me in the gym.

My office has a nice gym I utilize for cardio during the winter months, but when it's nice out, I prefer my cardio to be outdoors. I ride my bike, I walk, play catch with my kids, etc.

I started going to the gym to get strong.

I kept coming back because of the PRs.

I started going to the gym years ago because I wanted to get stronger and lose fat. I've had success with it over the years and when I gain weight, I can usually trace it back to walking away from the gym and falling back into horrible habits.

I keep going back because I love challenging myself with strength training. Now I have a goal of cutting my body fat down to 10-15%. That will get me close to what I looked like in college. I'll never BE that guy again but I can see what he looks like at 50.