We all want to be healthy and stay in shape, and gyms play a big role in that. I first joined one of the big chains of gyms (I won't mention the name, for their sake) at the age of 16, and after the initial session with a trainer, where they give you an exercise programme, I was left to my own devices. Whilst that may be okay for some people, especially people who have exercised for many years, I was a bit lost in a wilderness full of treadmill-pounders, and bicep-bulges. Gyms aren't cheap, and for the amount of money I was paying each month, I was at least expecting the occasional "Hi there, are you okay?", or "How's the training going?", from the people working there. Nothing. Not only that, but the gym was always busy and I just began to get fed up.
When my contract was finally finished - there's another thing I hate, being locked in a 12-month contract with no escape - I decided to move to my local "boutique" gym. It's not part of a chain, and is in a converted barn in the middle of fields. It might sound a bit hokey, but it's state-of-the-art and wonderful looking. At first, I was in love. The personal trainer gave me a great programme, always asked if I was okay and, as it was quite new, the machines I wanted were always free. I was going to the gym 2-3 times a week for 1 hour and a half, and wasn't really seeing results. Here is where I come into the juicy part of my rant...
We all look at celebrities and want their honed, toned physiques. Most of us will realise that they have super personal trainers, and don't really eat all that much, so we know that are wishes are unrealistic. However, it took me over a year and a half to get toned to the degree that I wanted (and it wasn't that extremem), and it occurred to me that a lot of the trainers in gyms (ok, the gyms that I've been a member of), don't give you realistic expectations of how long it will take to get to the shape that you want to be. Of course, everyone's bodies are different, but I was told that going 2-3 times a week would be enough to get toned in no time...and that definitely wasn't the case.
The UK government guidelines state that we should be doing at least half an hour of exercise, 5 days a week - and I also think I read somewhere that cumulatively, doing say 1hr of exercise twice a week isn't the same (although I could be wrong, so don't hate me for it!). Therefore, being told that exercising twice a week was enough, was a load of rubbish! And it really annoys me. I could've have saved myself a lot of stressing about my body if the trainer had just been blunt about just how much exercise I would need to do to get in shape. I constantly go through alternating phases of being motivated, and going to the gym as much as I can, and exasperation at the snail's pace of my progress. Where at first the trainers in my barn-come-gym were helpful and attentive, as the number of members has increased, their assistance has decreased. All I see are these young guys having a laugh walking around the gym, pretending to tidy up the exercise balls, and never once do they help the lady who can't figure out the best way to use the Kinesis weight machine. Isn't that part of your job, I think to myself?
We have to enjoy and like going to the gym for us to want to keep paying the ridiculous membership fees, and to keep our motivation levels high. If we're new at it, however, and a bit intimidated by all the skinny girls who run for hours and hours on the treadmill - and may I say they are the ONLY people the trainers in my gym interact with - why on earth would we be bothered to drag ourselves there everyday? I'd rather have a hobnob and sit on the sofa. It actually got to the point where, before all my knee troubles, I would detest going to the gym and waiting on some guy in flip flops to get off the bike, and then have a laugh about his lads' holiday with one of the trainers. I go to the gym to escape and get in shape - not to be part of Surrey Shore.
I suppose the conclusion to this jibe I'm having at gyms is that I wish they would give you more help. I completely accept that some people want to be left to exercise in peace, and know perfectly well how much work they need to put in to get to where they want to be, but when you first join a gym, can't they tell you "Exercise everyday and only then will you see results quicker"? Maybe your gym does this, and has great personal trainers (in that case, tell me where this amazing gym is), but the ones I've been a part of certainly didn't. This caused them be spilt in half, with us slightly lost, disheartened lot, against the hardcore, hair-gel brigade. Just watching E! News the other day, some famous female celeb (I forget which one) was completely honest, and said she exercises for over an hour a day (and hard) to look the way she does, eats super healthily, and said that it's not easy. It was the most open and refreshing thing I'd heard in a while.
Nati xXx
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