Why Do People Go to the Gym?

I know it sounds like an odd question to ask since obviously we all know why people go to the gym; to work out and lose weight.  So I suppose I should rephrase my question to, "Why do people go to the gym to work out and lose weight?" 

I always saw commercials for gyms like Ballys, 24 Hour Fitness, and so on, but I never really realized how popular they were until I went off to college and discovered that everyone in L.A. pretty much works out.  I guess coming from the suburbs I didn't realize how health conscious every one in the city was -- constant dieting (re: my post, "What Non-Fat Really Means") with even skinny people saying how fat they are, and working out.  The guys in our dorm especially would always be working out.  Then they would ask us for tape measures to measure the size of their biceps.  They competed with each other for biggest muscles on our floor and so forth.  And the girls that knew them, thought they were the biggest, silliest dorks ever.  Endearing dorks, but dorks nonetheless. 

When I discovered this other side of life, try as I might I could not understand what the obsession with gyms was.  I always found it the oddest thing that people would drive to the gym (just a few miles away) just so that they could run or bike in place.  Wouldn't it be more cost-effective (and more environmentally friendly) if they just walked or biked to the gym?  Yet people would pay a membership fee and for gas, and use their cars,  and drive to the gym when they could have had a free workout on their way to the gym. 

And yet, for all my criticism, I did go to the gym for almost a year.  I won't deny it.  It was a good experience.  The gym was located in my office building, and for three days a week during lunch, my coworker and I would take the elevator down (not the stairs, I know) 15 floors and go work out together.  It was a great time to bond and gossip about our fellow coworkers.  Most days we used the elliptical, sometimes the stairmaster, treadmill, or some other equipment.  I have to say that when it comes to working out, as with a lot of things in life, it is a lot more fun when you have someone to come along with you.  The days where I went to the gym alone and read or wrote were not as entertaining as when my coworker came with me.

But I must say also say this, and that was that my membership that year was free.  I didn't have to pay and yet I went habitually to make the most of it.  While everyone in our office had a free membership, rarely did anyone go except for my coworker and me.  And when our office closed before our membership expired and I still had time to go to the gym, except that I would have to drive, I didn't go.  Maybe it wasn't convenient any longer, or maybe I just didn't want to violate my principle of not doing something I viewed as so impractical; but whatever the reason, my gym experience ended there. 

I'll note, the gym has some equipment that the average person doesn't, and indeed, if you really want to bulk up, or use their pool or sauna, the gym is the best place to go.  But for other things like yoga, or aerobics, or sit-ups - which you can do at home - why would you waste your money each month on a membership fee?  Most people I know pay that fee and rarely exercise anyway.  They just hoped when they bought the membership that it would spur them to work out.  But the inconvenience of having to drive to the gym is just too much for them.  This makes no sense to me.  It's like pouring money down the drain.  I always want to tell people, "If you want something to force you to work out, give me your money and I'll do it." 

But I suppose it's just the mentality in America that someone or something can help you do something better than you can do it yourself.  We're a consumer society after all.  Why make your coffee when Starbucks will make it for you?  Why cut your own hair when only a hair dresser can cut it right?  Why cook your own burger when McDonalds can do it faster?  For that reason perhaps, Americans seem to have the mindset that if they want something done right, someone else has to do it for them.


In the end, my experience with the gym taught me that as much as I can see the worth of going there to work out, I wouldn't pay for it.  I suppose it's because I'm a do-it-yourself sort of gal.  I'd rather buy a workout DVD and work out at home, whenever I want.  I think I got this trait from my father, who always learns how to do things, and then proceeds to do it himself.  I like that.  And I like that in this economy, the do-it-yourself mentality has become more popular; since, after all, not doing it yourself can waste money most people can't afford to waste nowadays.

As Plato said, "Necessity is the mother of invention."