"The 27 Rules of Conquering the Gym"

That's the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal by Jason Gay. Here are a few of his rules to whet your appetite.

Exercise, like dark chocolate and office meetings that suddenly get canceled, is a proven pathway to nirvana. But if you're going to join a gym—or returning to the gym after a long hibernation—consider the following:

1. A gym is not designed to make you feel instantly better about yourself. If a gym wanted to make you feel instantly better about yourself, it would be a bar.

. . .

4. No one in the history of gyms has ever lost a pound while reading "The New Yorker" and slowly pedaling a recumbent bicycle. No one.

. . .

6. Don't fall for gimmicks. The only tried-and-true method to lose 10 pounds in 48 hours is food poisoning.

. . .

9. "Great job!" is trainer-speak for "It's not polite for me to laugh at you."

. . .

15. If you're motivated to buy an expensive home exercise machine, consider a "wooden coat rack." It costs $40, uses no electricity and does the exact same thing.

. . .

22. Fancy gyms can be seductive, but once you get past the modern couches and fresh flowers and the water with lemon slices, you're basically paying for a boutique hotel with B.O.

There are more at the link. Entertaining reading, but also very down-to-earth, practical advice. I'll be reading them again from time to time, to make sure I remain grounded in reality as far as exercise is concerned!



Peter