No Gym?!?

Every season on Biggest Loser they have one week where the contestants are locked out of their gym. It’s supposed to build tension because then you wonder, “Oh no! However can they lose weight if they can’t go to the gym?” Which to me is just crazy. Especially the way they do it. Because this season that just meant they had their row machines and their spin bikes outside in the courtyard rather than in the gym. The show is great at their message that losing weight is possible with diet and exercise, but sometimes the sub message that you NEED a gym if you are going to lose weight seems a bit much.

But perhaps I’m biased. Because I’ve never once belonged to a gym so I have a hard time seeing the real need for one.

Here’s what my “gym equipment” looks like.

This is my weight and strength area. I sit on the exercise ball and do lifts, presses, and curls during commercial breaks while I watch TV. I also use the resistance band to tone my legs and strengthen my hips and knees (I read this article – Straight From the Hip – and it makes a whole lot of sense and it has directions for how to strengthen your hips too). I could (and should) start doing abdominal exercises with the ball as well.

This is my yoga/flexibility area. Mat. Strap. And DVDs. I can still bend over and palm the floor (something I want to always be able to do), and the stretching of my back and shoulders is perfect after a long day. Not to mention how my breathing has changed from doing yoga – much more calm and controlled now, deeper and more relaxing.

And here’s my cardio equipment. Shoes. Hat. And a watch. (And a water bottle belt for the summer and long runs.) And I hit the streets. I like using Map My Run to calculate how long different routes are and to track how far and fast I go. I feel the breeze. I say hi to my neighbors. I get to know the neighborhood. I get to watch nature. Brett and I are trying to cover 780 miles on foot each this year. That’s an average of 15 miles a week. 780 miles on a treadmill is enough to make me crazy.

I put my bike back together last week as well and am going to start riding it to run errands around the neighborhood for some extra cardio.

Out of my whole “gym” the shoes are the biggest expense. They cost the most initially and they’re the only thing I really ever replace. But I’d be doing that if I was at a gym as well. Shoes only have so many miles in them. There’s no monthly fee to exercise in my “gym.”

So that’s my version of not having a gym. Sure there are some things I can’t do because I don’t have big gym equipment. I did enjoy the weight lifting and the water aerobics classes I took at BYU. But I haven’t felt a real need for those things in my life. My gym is right here ready to go whenever I am, no excuses. And that’s how I like it.