Survey: Do You Go To the Gym
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08.26.08
We were impressed by Eliza's post on the Green Microgym that generates power from the equipment; somehow the idea of driving to the gym to get on an electrically powered treadmill seems almost as silly as the picture above. (sorry for the quality) We burn electrical watts to help us burn physical watts when we could do that ourselves.
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The picture is comical. I was a member of a Fitness First in Reston, VA, which also had an escalator. When I first set eyes on it it made my chuckle.
I go to the gym mostly for weight lifing--very little cardio. If I want cardio, I usually run/bike outside.
I find DVD's more practical, affordable, and green. Also easier for parents or those who are caregivers.
Why go to a stuffy and expensive gym when you can cycle, jog, hike, swim, dance, climb, canoe etc.
When I'm not regularly doing outdoor work (garden-related), I use a trainer for my bike indoors to get exercise. This helps since I live in FL and can't really stand to be outside in the summer with the mosquitoes and humidity.
It is funny to see how west-coast biased people are around here. Move into the middle of the country, and see why outdoor jogging, swimming and biking aren't terribly appealing options 200 days per year.
I always take the stairs; it's literally one flight to the gym, why would people use the elevator? Green aside, you're stuck in a small compartment with other sweaty people where, with the track record in Miami, the elevator is more likely than not going to get stuck between floors!
When I lived in NYC, I knew this girl who took the bus to the gym. Again, green aspects aside, I thought that was one of the most nonsensical things I've heard, and of course one story I repeat to everyone.
The idea of one of those gyms that generates power *from* the machines is fantastic, and I've wondered why there aren't more gyms in the US that do that...There are a whole lot of non-free weight weight lifting machines, and I'd love to see someone come up with a contraption that would harvest energy from those (via the uplift) - unless they have already been developed?
I have a pullup bar at home for pullups and chinups, and a floor for pushups, supine bicycles, and v-sits. I wish I had a full pull up rack so I could do bar dips too, but this basic set-up keeps me in pretty decent shape. I also live 7 miles from work, so biking is a good option. Who needs a gym?
On the days that I drive to work, I drive to the gym (it's on my way home)-I can't afford a treadmill or the necessary equipment and don't have the space for it anyway, and exercising outdoors in my area can be a bit dangerous during the summer because of the heat.
My main forms of exercise (other than walking and biking to get from place to place) are fencing and martial arts. There is little to no equipment involved, but it is indoors. If the dojo counts as a gym, then yes. If not, then no.
I walk to the yoga studio or hike outside.
Almost 85% of Americans live in urbanesque areas. The notion that you need to go to the gym is due to ones inactivity due to the car, lifts, cubical workplaces and couch potato homes.
I don't go to a gym, I ride a bike, take the stairs, etc.
@ Chad: I am from the west coast, of Europe that is. Where I live it rains a lot. So what. That is why god created gore-tex.