Is gym fitness useful

For the 90% of ordinary bodybuilders who want to achieve their goals of gaining muscle, losing fat, and improving their posture through exercise, as long as they do not practice blindly, maintain the frequency at least twice a week, and persist for three months, the efficiency and final effect of fitness in the gym will be at least three times higher than practicing blindly at home by following short videos or running around in the community.

When I say this, I really don’t mean to sell gym memberships. Two years ago, I sneered at it, thinking that I could do it at home with a yoga mat and two dumbbells. I danced with the blogger Pamela for two months, and I didn’t lose any weight. My knees were sore every time after jumping. Later, I went to the hospital and took an X-ray and found out that I already had a problem with collapsed arches. My knees compensated for my lack of strength in running and jumping. I had been suffering for two months in vain. My former colleague Daning was even worse than me. He weighed 190 pounds at a height of 182. In order to lose weight, he ran 5 kilometers every day at home. After three months of running, fluid accumulated in his knees and he was on crutches for two weeks. Later, he went to the gym according to the doctor's advice.

Of course, you must have seen many people say that "the gym is the IQ tax", and this is true. If you don’t have any clear exercise goals in the first place, but just want to move and sweat every day, or you have three or four years of training experience and know your body control and movement patterns well, then there is really no need to apply for a card. You can use elastic bands, adjustable dumbbells at home, and two laps in the park downstairs to fully meet your needs, and you don’t have to spend thousands on a gym.

But for most of us ordinary people who usually sit in offices, have rounded shoulders and hunched backs and stretch their heads forward, and can't even lift their shoulders correctly, the most useful thing about the gym is not the fancy equipment, but the floor-to-ceiling mirror that covers the entire wall - you can see in real time whether your movements are deformed. I used to practice chest pressing at home, but my arms always felt sore. When I went to the gym and stood in front of the mirror, I discovered that every time I pushed, I subconsciously shrugged my shoulders, and my trapezius muscles were tighter than my chest muscles. After half a year of practice, my chest did not get bigger, but my shoulders and neck became more and more stiff. After two weeks of adjusting in front of the mirror, I finally found the feeling of strengthening my chest muscles.

When it comes to equipment, many people say that practicing body weight at home is enough. That’s because you haven’t tried the sour feeling after adding weight. For example, when training your buttocks, you can at most tie an elastic band to do a glute bridge at home. Once the weight reaches the top, you will have to rely on your own body weight. After three months of training, your buttocks may only be raised by one centimeter. If you slowly increase the hip abduction machine in the gym from 10kg to 50kg, you will have to hold on to the wall when going down the stairs the next day. The stimulation of the gluteus maximus cannot be given by bodyweight training. To put it bluntly, the core logic of fitness is progressive overload. You have to slowly add load to your muscles so that they will grow. You can't just carry a stack of barbells home after practicing for half a year, right? It would be strange if the neighbors downstairs didn't come to the door. The last time I was practicing deadlifts and adding weight, I couldn't stand firm. The big brother next to me gave me a hand and told me not to press my fingers too hard when holding the bar, otherwise my forearms will lose strength first. These little tricks may not be noticed even if you study the tutorials at home for half a year.

The atmosphere in the gym is really an unexpected bonus. The gym I often go to has a few veterans who have been practicing for five or six years. They are very enthusiastic. If you make a ridiculous mistake during practice, they will correct it when they hand you water. Last time I saw a little girl practicing lat pull-downs. She leaned back almost flat. The elder sister next to her went up to adjust the weights for her. She held her waist and told her, "Drop your shoulders, use your back to move your arms, don't pull them with your arms." After only three minutes of teaching, the girl stared at her eyes after the second set and said, "Hey, I finally feel something in my back! My arms have been sore for several days after practicing before." Do you think she would have to go through a lot of detours if she practiced at home?

Of course, some people must say that I applied for the card and went there three times a year, but it was of no use at all. It’s not that the gym is useless, it’s that you haven’t used it. I have seen people who have gone to the gym less than ten times after applying for the card for five years, and I have also seen people who go to the gym on time at 6 o'clock every morning to practice for an hour before going to work. The latter's belly has disappeared in half a year, and his clothes are two sizes too small. You can't blame your laziness on the gym, right?

In fact, to put it bluntly, the gym is a place that provides you with professional tools to help you improve your efficiency. Whether it is useful or not ultimately depends on what you want and how much you can pay. If you just want to move around, it's really not necessary. But if you really want to see real changes in your body shape, posture, and strength within half a year, and don’t want to hurt yourself by fumbling around and taking detours, find a gym that’s a ten-minute walk from home or work, and go there two or three times a week. It’s really better than trying to figure it out at home.