There was a special going on at a local fitness club this week and they called to invite me in to enjoy the benefits of this special offer. For a few minutes of my time, I could go in and enjoy a ten-minute tour of the facility. During the tour, they would give me all the reasons why their club is the place for my business. Then, if I happened to be interested, I could sign up for a membership without any registration fee and pay a bargain basement price of $30 a month.
Sounds like a great deal right?
Offer or Obstacle?
I like fitness clubs, to a point. I think they offer a tremendous service to individuals who want to take advantage of their equipment and facilities. Do I want to sign up and be locked into a membership for a year or more? No, not really.
Now, you may be wondering why – after all this sounded like a great deal, right? Of course it does. But I have found over the years that my dedication to any physical activity has to be paired with my lifestyle and the demands of day-to-day living. A fitness club that I have to drive to in order to participate in anything just doesn’t fit comfortably into the needs of my lifestyle.
Why Not?
I work out of my home. I substitute teach. I have a young daughter who engages in a variety of extracurricular activities. Almost everything I do, from day to day, occurs in a relatively small area around where I live. I need my fitness options to be right here – at home and in my neighborhood. This is why I:
- Own my own exercise equipment
- Recently bought a bike
- Garden regularly
- Spend as much time as I can outside and on the move – with my daughter
So yes, I turned down what may be construed as a great offer, but it wasn’t a great offer for me. This is how you need to make your fitness decisions. Don’t just go for the good deal or what appears to be an attractive deal, you need to go for the options that work for you. If a fitness club is what you need and what you’ll use – then fantastic. But if you won’t use it and you’ll be wasting money and creating guilt for yourself because you’re not using it – then you’re better off turning offers like this down.
How is your Spring Forward to Action Challenge going?
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