IIRC it was a mother who trained her son. The mother was a personal trainer but wasn’t charging her son (obviously).
The gym where I train has personal trainers, but I would not be receptive if they tried to give me flack for helping my wife with her workout routine and spotting her on the bench and so forth. But the personal trainers have learned to let the old gym rats alone - I’m not going to do my curls standing on one leg and I was lifting before they were potty trained. So they just let us go off to one side and do whatever was in the latest issue of MuscleMag International.
Paper on clipboards? Yes. But you can’t take that with you when you leave for the day or travel.
Now, if that could be put in electronic form & even uploaded to your email or your phone on an Excel file? That would keep people at it.
Planet Fitness sounds like it’s sort of in the right direction, but then they have that stupid Lunk Alarm thing which takes them right back in the wrong direction. I think fear of that thing going off because you accidentally did something “wrong” would be worse than the sort of things they’re trying to avoid with that.
I’m not sure how much gyms can do. I think a lot of people who sign up do so because they should, not because they actually want to. It’s like people who buy lettuce and then it wilts in their fridge. It was easy to do the right thing at the check-out stand, but they were never all that motivated to follow through.
Anyway, as for what gyms could do… the only way exercise works for me is to see something accomplished through it. As a result, I get almost all of my exercise at home doing yard work. At the end, the grass is mowed, the leaves raked, the hole dug, etc.
When I’ve tried gym-style exercising, goals like increasing reps, increasing weight, better health, weight loss, etc. are not really enough to make me feel like something has been accomplished.
Maybe the best idea for me would be some kind of a game. I know there’s a role-playing style game for kids where you earn points/money by doing chores and homework. Then you spend that in-game where you get better weapons or skills or whatever. Bonus points for me if the game is portable enough that I could be playing it while I’m working out.
I’m actually going to look into that this winter. I have some home exercise equipment that has been collecting cobwebs for a couple of years. I just cleared out a spare room and set it up again, but I remember how much I loath the tedium of exercising like that. Still, it’s hard to find “productive” ways to exercise during the winter when it’s rainy and the grass isn’t growing.
There’s “Zombies, Run!” which is a game in which you are motivated to run by the story, in which you run from imaginary zombies and try to complete tasks.
There’s also a similar app for walking, called The Walk.
That is one problem with exercise. The actual activity isn’t the most enjoyable and the accomplishments take a while to be evident. If you ever go back to the gym, do a few workouts on each type of machine, take a few classes, and really try out everything they offer. Although most people don’t find exercise a fun activity in and of itself, you will likely find certain activities more enjoyable than others. And each person is different–one person may find the treadmill provides a relaxing, meditative experience while another person gets bored after 5 minutes.
One thing I think would be good is if they offered a presentation/class a couple of times a month specifically for the newbies. Part of it would be a discussion about the techniques and benefits of exercise and the rest would be actually doing some sort of workout. That way they could learn about exercise itself as well as how to use everything most effectively.
Some people have mentioned Planet Fitness. Do they actually do anything specifically for the newbies? Or do they just provide a more accommodating environment?
If you want to become a gym regular, set up a plan where you’re on the hook to show up three times per week for four weeks. Every time you fall short of that, you have to pay $25 to the organization or individual of your choice.
Or, if you don’t use the facilities at least three times a week, you’re publically shamed and your gym privileges revoked. I know, as if. Most gyms are in the business of selling memberships, not actual services.
Bottom line, I think, is that people who need an external locus of control probably won’t stick with an exercise program - and that’s most people. So anything that helps gym goers to track progress so they can see how they’re improving, as well as personal training, would probably help.
One of my goals for the gym was “being able to help Grandma to her feet without throwing my back”. When I started I felt like I was going to throw my back every time; after a few months I could do it one-armed (and still can. And the coworkers who make fun of my little weights and hand-spring-thingee can kiss her ass*).
I’ve got my own office, so when I’m fidgety and there by myself, instead of just fidgeting I grab the little dumbell or the spring-thing.
If I could hire not only a personal trainer, but also someone who would show up and do the exercises in my place on days I don’t feel like exercising, that might work.
I was incredibly impressed with the owner of my gym, who has always been into fitness, when he asked me to help with his social media, I am a near 50, formerly morbidly obese woman who has discovered a love for all sorts of movement, none with a plan or goal but to be better. I have had a gym membership for about 14 months.
The committed folks don’t need the inspiration and explanations, he wants to help the newbies and considers the messages I choose to send more likely to do that as a newbie who hung in. I remember how scary and intimidating it all was and how it can be easier to leave than try something new if you get bored or don’t feel better immediately.
Am I missing something? Why don’t just just make your own spreadsheet, since you want one? It’s not like it would be a difficult or time-consuming thing to do.
Another thing you might look into is other kinds of physical activities where the primary goal isn’t exercise, the exercise is a “side effect.” Like joining a community team sport like soccer, or take up a physical art like dance or circus arts. I find repetitive motion, especially indoors, boring as hell, but I loves me my circus class. A lot of ballroom dance is a workout, too.
As for what gyms “should” do… frankly, a gym could do everything or nothing and it won’t make a difference because motivation comes from within. If the newbie isn’t motivated to do some basic research and ask questions, they won’t be motivated to stick with it through plateaus or other rough spots either. A gym can’t force you to do anything, it can only make the tools available. Using them is up to the member. So is figuring out the system of working out that motivates them best, since no one can tell you what best suits you except yourself.
I mean, come on… we have Google now. You can look up “exercise for newbies” and get a ton of information before you ever set foot in a gym. If a grand total of 30 seconds of typing is too much to bother with, Newbie sure as hell won’t still be coming to Zumba class by February.
The gym and working out needs to be associated with a positve experience. The more the better. It might be social, it might be a nuero chemical reaction from the excersize it can be anything but it has to be a strong association to where you feel like you can’t wait to go back.
I don’t do the gym thing. But I would contemplate visiting a gym that offered low-cost drop-in fees, or offered a once-a-month “free hour” so that you could check out the facilities with no commitment. Maybe a lot of them already do this.
Committing to exercise is more psychological than physical. A gym that offered a support group of sorts for gym newbies might do a better job at keeping those newbies.
One reasonI don’t want to do the gym thing is that I don’t like moving my body in public. Sometimes I daydream about how awesome it would be if there was a gym that had privacy screens, or one that had special sections just for people who are easily embarrassed.
