Does gym fitness work?

Gym fitness is definitely effective, but the effect depends entirely on the training method, execution and persistence. It is not a one-and-done deal that "getting the card means you will lose weight".

Xiao Zhang, my colleague from the company for the past two years, grabbed the 999 annual membership card from the gym promotion at the beginning of the year. He soaked in it every day for the first week. When he came up, he used the Smith rack and the heaviest weights to practice squats. His waist collapsed and was almost parallel to the ground. I advised him to learn the exercises first. I thought it was troublesome and thought "it's useful as long as I move it", but within ten days my waist suddenly broke out. I went to the hospital to check for a slight lumbar protrusion. After that, I just threw the card at home and gathered dust. Now at dinner parties, I always say that the gym is a scam, and it is better not to practice. There are many people like him. They either apply for a gym membership and go less than three times a year, but use the gym membership card as a bathing membership card. Or they practice blindly and add weight, and when they get injured, they blame the gym. Naturally, they feel that "fitness is useless."

I also encountered this pitfall when I first started working out. I always felt that the heavier the weight, the better the effect. I practiced blindly for two months and my shoulder hurt for half a year. Later, I changed my movement pattern with a veteran who had been practicing in the gym for five or six years and gradually got better. I really experienced it firsthand. It’s not that the gym is useless, it’s that it’s useless. There is a designer girl in the same gym. She worked overtime every day and her cervical vertebra hurt so much that she couldn't lift her head. Her body fat was almost 32. The doctor asked her to exercise more, so she started doing it three days a week. She started with slow walking on the elliptical machine, and then gradually added fixed equipment to train her back and core. She lost 7 pieces of body fat in half a year. She has not suffered from cervical vertebra pain for half a year. Now she can still do two pull-ups. Her overall condition is much better than before.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the gym is just a tool. It is no different from the yoga mats or running shoes you buy. It is just that it has more complete equipment and more concentrated scenes. Just like if you want to paint, you will be given a full set of professional drawing boards with imported paints. If you don’t even learn the composition, you will definitely not be able to draw good works. You can’t blame the paint for being bad, right? Of course, there is no need to go to a mythical gym. If you have good exercise habits and follow videos to practice your movements at home, or often run in the mountains to play ball, there is no need to apply for a card. However, if you want to gain targeted muscle gain and adjust your posture, or you are too lazy to move at home and need an atmosphere to push you forward, then the gym is indeed a very cost-effective choice.

If you really want to give it a try, don’t listen to the sales scam and just apply for a three-year card. First buy a 7-time experience card and try it out. If you can stick to it and figure out how to use the equipment, then pay for it. This will save you from having to complain about useless fitness in the end when the card turns into a bath card.