Gymmer or non-gymmer?

Or even Jabberwocky!

Re above: PestyOne, i too joined The Nuffield, and yes i agree 100 Percent

Jane Judge, I’m in total agreement with you on this!

My GP referred me to a gym a couple of years ago when I was told to lose weight. While I quite enjoyed using the machines and lifting weights, I simply couldn't bear all the sweaty panting men around me. So now I just walk, and I go to a dance class and Tai Chi (both classes all female!)

The thought of going to a gym brings me out in a cold sweat. I'm sure there are benefits, but not for me thanks.

I am very anti-gym. If you want exercise, then go for a walk, do some housework, have a swim.

I am sure that repetitive abnormal movements put a serious strain on the body and cause more problems in the long term than they solve.

MissAdventure

I can barely walk these days, so no gym for me. (Not that I went when I could walk!)

I too have mobility issues MissA. For exactly that reason I have just signed up to our local sports village. You can choose all the classes you want in the week (even ones for people with limited mobility), swim, gym, wall climbing (I wish!), skating, steam/sauna, yoga etc etc, all for £26 per month! I intend to build my muscles back up (to the best of my limited ability) after many years with issues before obtaining new hips.

Good luck with that yogi tree. Hope it works. I like all the water activities at the gym (except when the speediest swimmers take over all the lanes). Not sure I’ll be trying the wall climbing either. .

Never in a gym! I was PE teacher for nearly 40 years so pass...Kids loved being in fitness room...I loathed teaching it. Love sport games and swimming but gym? NO!! Each to their own. I love walking and swimming..

Gyms are not my thing. I love fresh air, things to look at and the feeling of freedom when walking outside. Hated PE at school. Absolute nightmare!

I tried going to a gym once and found it just as boring as when I had to do gym at school. At School I preferred rounders, tennis and athletics. As I grew older I took up badminton and horse riding and played rounders for our village. Now being old and full of health problems my only exercise is walking when the weather and arthritis permits.

I go to the Gym most weekday mornings with my OH. We are both in our 70's and go to keep healthy. I do cardio , lift weights and swim at least once a week . Most of the other people in the gym at that time are our age or a bit younger, we are slim and fit as we have we have always run or cycled, but many others are not and none cares a jot, I'm full of admiration for those who never did much in the way of keeping fit before covid but who are really into it now.

Why pay w,hen you can walk outside in the fresh air?

For many people, especially for those who have issues with walking or balance, it's safer. If you do have an accident there are trained people around - not like falling over in the park on your own. It's a good way of building up confidence and improving stamina and strength so people are able to do their own thing.

The last gym I belonged to had walking and running clubs with different abilities, from the 'OneMilers' just starting walking to the 'Marathoners'. They walked/ran outside.

I have a personal trainer at a rather rough tough bootcamp type gym. Still working so I can afford it but will have to stop eventually. Told him my number one priority was to be able to get up again if I fell over (and indeed I can).

I went three times a week to a gym near me until my late seventies when my eyesight deteriorated and I could no longer drive. I really miss it. I amazed one young lad, this elderly lady telling him to get off the lift bench if he was just going to play on his phone! Whilst cycling or on the treadmill, I loved people watching - Miss Pink, clothing, qshoes, lips and face all very pink who never did anything strenuous; super fit lady as old as me able to do an astounding routine; wobble bellied gentlemen trying to look macho - you get all sorts. If I was bored I watched tv installed on the machines. Now I walk to the village hall for tai chi, most difficult for me co-ordinating my feet and hands, I doubt I look very elegant but it keeps me moving.

No, I find no attraction either in evening classses gym, or the various sports centres with all their running machines etc.

I do sometimes go to the swimming baths, I dance country dancing once a week, and do my shopping by bike and walk about 7 km once or twice a week, plus do all my own housework, so I am not short of exercise.

I joined the local Bannatynes a few years ago when I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Swimming is very good for the condition and for a while, I only went in the pool. I then discovered yoga and started a weekly class and from there, I went on to NIA - originally called Non Impact Aerobics but is a lovely mixture of tai chi, pilates and dance. Recently, a new solo Latin dance class has started and I'm totally hooked! It's really Latin line dancing & and it's such fun! I've made lots of good friends through getting involved and the classes and swimming give me something to get up for, even on my worst days. I've never been in the actual gym....

I am gym member but only use it for swimming as there is no other swim pool facilities near me. It is enough and do not feel like using the exercise machines that would involve different 'gear' and add to time. I try and keep as active as I can doing chores etc.

Ooo I love using the gym, classes or weight training. I had to give up several months ago because of caring for my mum and I miss it terribly.
I don’t buy expensive gear ( have been known to get it from charity shops, but usually Sainsburys or Matalan, that kind of place), I’m never the best or worse in my classes, I just do what I can do and love seeing little improvements. And I keep myself abreast of new exercises for the actual gym so I can vary my workout depending on how I feel that day, and pootle around humming along to my Spotify workout list and completely ignoring everyone else! I’m sure some of the jocks find a grey-haired overweight gal lifting weights and quietly singing along to Earth Wind and Fire ( well I THINK it’s quiet!) either highly amusing or faintly peculiar, but I couldn’t care less! And boy oh boy, do you see some sights, both pleasant and, ahem, less so!!

I love the gym and I’m 73!

Since leaving secondary school I have never set foot inside a Gym. Really struggle to see the point when you can virtually exercise elsewhere and not in a hot sweaty room! I go to ceilidh dance classes during the winter months, love doing weekly Tai Chi, have done yoga, mow the lawn every week in during the summer and walk my dog on average two miles daily, more when away on hols and when the weather allows, cut and store wood and then lug it into the house for the fire most days, clear our drive when it snows, chase toddler grandson around and play football with his older brother. NO I don't think I need a Gym! I'm knackered !!🤣

I was a nurse from I was 17/+until I was 68. That was enough of a workout most days. I have never been in a Gym since I left school.

I’ve always exercised . I played hockey and netball at school and when I left school the Jane Fonda aerobics classes became a big thing , and one of my friends became a teacher , so I’d go to her classes .
I used to run regularly but developed problems with my Achilles tendon . That’s my only injury . Actually my injury was a result of running on roads and uneven surfaces. Running on a treadmill is better for your joints .
I’ve been a member of various gyms over the years and enjoy going . I’m a member of our local council run one on pay as you go basis .
My mother has osteoporosis and balance problems. So I do resistance training with weights to help bone density and yoga for balance and flexibility . I also walk my dog twice a day for an hour each time .
My gym isn’t full of super fit young people . I go during the day and there’s a mixture of older retired people and young mums .
Nor is it hot , sweaty and smelly , we have aircon . And everyone cleans the machines after they’ve used them . There’s loads of sprays and wipes around the place .
And the instructors are helpful and encouraging. Definitely no shouty ones.

I will stick to Tai Chi in the village hall. You do not get hot and sweaty, you can do it at home if you cannot get to a class, in fact you can do it almost anywhere you can clear a space about 4 foot square, and have 10 minutes to spare.

I like the Leslie Sansone "Walk at Home" videos on YouTube.
I play them on my television and join in with her and the gang. (Some of them are very amusing!)
She has lots of variations on a theme, workouts of different lengths and intensities.
I like the way she talks you through the different steps and stages, there's no pressure and I find it easy to follow.

I learned about her from another Gransnetter years ago, so thank you and I'm sorry I forget who it was 🙂