Gyms Might Not Make You Skinny. But Exercising Will Make You Fitter. And Healthier.

 

 I read an article in the Sunday Life magazine on the weekend that made me just a little bit mad. No, make that a lot mad. It asked, "Is The Gym Making Us Fatter?" Yep, forget the growing prevalence of processed food and our increased sedentary lifestyles – Jacqueline Maley has found the real culprit behind Australia's obesity epidemic: gyms.

 

"I also happen to truly believe [gyms] are useless and stupid; overpriced temples to vanity. Their confusing machines, their hordes of dead-eyed trainers and their upbeat insistence on the mind-body connection have done nothing to stem the nation's obesity epidemic. As gym membership has grown, so has our collective waistline."

 

Gym's won't make you skinny, says Jacqueline. Well, lets all revoke our memberships. Because the only reason anyone would ever go to a gym is to look like Heidi Klum, right? Nobody goes to improve their health and wellbeing.

 

Weight loss is not a magic formula. It is basic math. What you put in your mouth minus what you burn. And it's true that exercise alone will only do so much – a lot of weight loss is nutrition. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't join a gym or go for a run around the local oval. Because the benefits of regular exercise don't stop at weight loss. It's important to strengthen your bones and muscles with resistance training and it's important to get your heart-rate up and move your body when you've been sitting down in an office all day. 

 

I don't think that "anyone who runs on a treadmill instead of outdoors needs their head examined" – I think that anyone who cares enough about their bodies to fit in exercise wherever and whenever they can is smart. They might not have the perfect body, but you'll probably find they've got better bone and muscular strength, lower blood pressure, better sleep patterns and anxiety levels, and all-round better sense of wellbeing than their couch-loving counterparts.

 

I've seen people literally change their lives since they joined gyms. I've seen my own life change since I became a regular gym-goer – my treadmill routine unaffected by bad weather or dark nights. But if that means I need my "head examined", go for it Jacqueline - because I'm in a better head space now than I ever was pre-gym.