while i was home earlier this year i was driving to my friends house and off the road about 1000 feet or so i saw a large mall like building being constructed. being the nosy person that i am i drove up to the building and asked a worker what this place was going to be. “fitness center” he replied. fitness center? i don’t get it. this place was humongous, 2 stories tall, i am sure a few hundred thousand square feet at least … think super wallmart on steroids.


so why don’t i get it? when i think of fitness i think of a personal process of bettering my body. i think of trying to transform my body from an old version of myself to a new version. i think of health and family. what i don’t think of is a thousand people on stair climbers, treadmills, and lines to use a weight machine. i don’t think about cleaning a machine because the previous hundred people refused to use a towel. i don’t think about trying to find a parking space while driving around in circles. where’s the fitness and health in that? sounds like it will raise, not lower ones blood pressure.


this last time i was home, i headed out to my friends home again. this time as i got within a half a mile of this fitness megaplex the traffic began. the traffic was so bad around this place it took me 15 minutes to drive up to it so i could pass it. the traffic going the other way was worse, it was backed up over a mile just to pull into the parking lot which was overflowing into the recently renovated dirt field. i was flabbergasted, dumfounded, and shocked all at the same time. what were these people flocking to? was there an attraction to this mass fitness thing? was i missing the boat? i think the answer is simple …


so whats the answer? well as i see it people see summer coming, they have a few months before they have to fit into that bathing suit again. so they people run out and sign up for a gym membership. but wait, what do you know, there is a new gym in town. it’s bigger then anything they have seen before, as big as a mall. well bigger has to be better, the mall is a fun place so this has to be to. so they joined up and are now waiting in line at the ellipical trainer.


where did they go wrong? well the first thing is they think fitness is as seasonal as birds migrating south. they think that those few months in the gym are all they need to stay healthy when really they are just yo yo’ing their bodies and will gain weight not lose it. so lets stop and concider the lining up to get in this place. well, lets first consider that 70% of the united states is overweight. lets add to that the summer migration to the gym to look great. add to that a plush new gym to hang out in. finally mix in some good marketing by the company itself and you have all the requirements for a nice healthy cash flow. while this isn’t the answer for someone who wants to get “fit” it’s got to be the answer for the owners. with the cash they are pulling in they can just get plastic surgery. in fact they are opening one up a half mile from my house and i live 4 states away from the first one i saw in michigan. don’t tell me they aren’t loving it .. but i digress.


i can hear my friends now or maybe even someone reading this who doesn’t know me. they are talking about my holier then thou attitude and how i think i can just lay it out like that and get credit for an original thought. i never claimed that this idea of fitness was all mine, but for some reason i appear to be the only one who is venting about it this megaplex fitness thing. yes yes, now your hollering about how out of shape i am and i have no place. well my first rebuttal is to tell you to read my body section to see how that is changing daily. then i have to ask you, did you buy a membership at one of these places, or better yet, did you buy a swim suit last fall that was 5 sizes to small for you to wear? how much did you work out last summer? today? planning on doing anything to solve that in the next few months?


why do i care right? well remember this is my article so i can write about what i want .. heheh … my vent not yours. but really, it disturbs me that people are content with deteriorating over time, accepting that they are out of shape, and chalking it up as genetics. they just continue to spiral down to their couch with their clickers and chips in hand. come on, wake up. there is a world out there to explore. don’t you want to visit the amazon some day? what about diving in the great barrier reef? maybe run a marathon? ok, so maybe you don’t think that grand but what about playing ball with your kids without being tired? being able to walk up a flight of stairs without being winded?


what does this have to do with a fitness megaplex. i never claimed to think in straight paths, i’m a programmer not an author .. hehhe … give me a sec here. so does anyone get fit in these megaplex’s? well they are hoping you don’t. if you did you might not come back. they want you to come in during that migratory cycle and then leave after a few months. all the while, during the rest of the year you still pay the dues each month for that “life time” membership you signed up for. keeps the place empty, keeps them in jobs, and keeps a nice flow of cash on the books. so what do i suggest to solve this dilemma? well first you have to dig deep into yourself and ask a few personal questions. think about where you want to be in a few year … what shape is your body in? what about success in your job? your family? these are dreams and desires … we all have them. now you just need the energy to reach those dreams. what better way then through fitness? not the wait in line kind of fitness, i am talking about the fitness that has a personal touch. the fitness that makes you smile, makes you grow mentally as well as physically. the kind of fitness that gives you the energy from morning to night.


where do you find such a fitness program? well that answer for me was the body for life program. for you it might be finding a small local gym that offers a personal touch. it might be buying some weights for your home and finding a support group online. whatever it is, put some thought into it, some serious thought. this isn’t a migratory decision your making, this is a life decision. it will determine your health and happiness for the rest of your life. you owe it to yourself to break the cycle and build a few bridges to those dreams.


but that’s just my opinion, for what its worth …


the main catalyst to this article was the opening of these fitness megaplexs but there was also an underlying personal motive. i plan on opening a gym within a few years and i am attempting to design a fitness environment that is conducive to growth physically and mentally. a place where families can get healthy and happy. i would apologize for the rambling .. but that’s just me.