A gym membership.
If you are disciplined enough, you can perform your workouts at home but when you look at the rewards and benefits that gym membership offers beyond just shaping your body, it's easy to see it's the best return for any dollar spent.
After all, what else has the power to change our body shape, shift health so dramatically, extend life, boost happiness and offer a sense of community and shared friendships?
Benefits of a gym membership:
Better health
Health is the number one concern in most people's lives. For good reason. Everything else we do in life is dependent on it.
Heart disease remains the number one killer. But just one challenging exercise session lowers blood pressure up to 16 hours. Think of the possibilities.
Exercise reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes because it increases sensitivity to insulin and that's what lowers blood sugar levels. It keeps our telomeres healthy (the DNA that protects our chromosomes from damage) and in turn slows the ageing process.
And, it makes dieting easier.
Dieting is tough for most people because of the unrealistic, extreme demands made. Because their focus is usually on some sort of depravity, they simply don't work for the long term. But there's another approach to losing weight that is a bit more subtle but works much better long-term.
Rather than focus on subtracting things (our psyche is tough when it comes to giving things up), we can get better, more permanent results by adding something – a gym membership.
A gym membership comes with hidden benefits too. Because our bodies and minds are intimately connected, when we work out on a regular basis, something rather magical happens. We start to naturally lean towards and crave healthier foods, leaving fried foods, sugary snack foods, soda and other unhealthy choices far behind.
Our diets begin to change for the better as we adapt to and gravitate towards the natural, clean and vital taste of fresh fruits, veges, and other highly nutritious food choices.
As for calories burned, the scales reveal that for every 100 calories burned during a fitness session, 15 calories are burned after! That number may seem small, but not when you begin multiplying it. Burn an extra 500 calories daily through diet and exercise and you'll drop approximately one pound a week.
An Australian study employed overweight people in a four-week programme strength (resistance) training. The results showed that those that participated reduced their abdominal fat by 12 per cent. If they accomplished that much in just four weeks, think of what you could do over time!
Used together, these two healthy lifestyle choices, exercise and a healthy diet, result in a body that reflects these wise choices as fat soon gives way to lean muscle.
Happiness
Your body is not the only thing that's revved up and ready to tackle the world after a visit to the gym, the mind enjoys many benefits as well. For starters, challenging physical exercise activates growth stimulating proteins in the brain, which helps to form healthy new cells.
It helps develop new blood vessels in the brain that, in turn, trigger the release of chemicals empowered to lighten mood or dull pain. Basically, you get to enjoy your own personal endorphin high, as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, all mood enhancing endorphins, flood your brain and continue this "happy shower" for more than two hours after you've finished exercising. When you're on an endorphin "high" it's much tougher for any kind of stress to get the upper hand.
And, the increased flow of blood and oxygen to your brain keeps you alert and super focused.
Studies show that lonely and isolated people have compromised immune systems and are more likely to suffer with heart disease and stroke, so we can't minimise the positive effects that the gym offers when it comes to social interaction and sharing quality time with others.
Get hot
When strength training or resistance training is involved in the workout, muscles get leaner, the core gets stronger, and bones and joints benefit as well. All this adds up to firm, strong muscles, a sturdy, able-bodied skeleton, flexible joints and better posture.
Our clothes fit better, we love what we see in the mirror, and enjoy a new level of self-esteem. It screams health, vitality and confidence! This is what makes us "hot".
Without question, exercise is the key component to a healthier, happier and "hotter you" and the gym is full of resources to get you there. Whether it's free weights, kettle bells, or resistance machines you are attracted to, or possibly it's the community of people and classes that you enjoy most, when it comes to fulfilling basic human needs with lots of extras, if you want the best bang for your buck, there is no better place than your local gym!
It is a one stop shop for all health, happiness and longevity!
• Carolyn Hansen is co-owner Anytime Fitness.
