Well, I tried. The gym was closed for the holiday. Ironically, my wife and I are considering joining a more family-focused gym with worse hours but more amenities. I'm hesitant to let go of my 24 hour gym that's basically across the street as it's already hard enough to go there consistently. The logic is if we both sign up we are more likely to follow through even if it's a little further.

The gym we are looking into is open today. My location is not.

I feel like I should get 100 calories removed as a courtesy for making the attempt.

I tried to get a friend to come to the gym once - as I thought it’d be nice to have a friend there with me. But he chose to go to the pub instead…

A long time ago in a city far, far away before any of us had kids, my friends and I organized a fun-only "beer run" that was basically a few mile run with stops at all of the local pubs in the trendy downtown area. We created our own runner number bibs and stayed together. I tell you, getting a beer every mile is a great incentive.

I know that most people prefer a gym membership, but I'll advocate for working out at home whenever the opportunity presents. Aside from a variety of dumbbells, I only have two specialized pieces of equipment - A pull-down machine and a dip station/pullup bar combo. Out of those, I only consider the dip station essential, but that's partly because that's always been my strongest exercise and I want to keep it that way. I never owned one, but those door-frame pullup bars seem more reliable than I would have thought. Even if you can't do a pull-up, dead-hangs every day are great.

The biggest advantage is that you can play Megadeth as loud as you need to, up to the tolerance of your family and neighbors. My wife recently signed up with a chain gym - Planet Fitness, I think. She's allowed a guest, and I went with her a couple weeks ago. The reason for my visit is that my pulldown station has pulleys between the handle and the weights, so that I need to load more weight than I could actually pull, and I was curious how much I could pull without the benefit of pulleys (I was greatly pleased with the result). I did as close to my full workout as I could while I was there. While the machines are really good at isolation and gave me a good pump, I still much prefer home to the gym. No loud metal. Waiting for machines to free up. Not permitted to grunt (or primal scream if the situation calls for it). And it was difficult to catch a discreet glance of my pump in the mirrors. It didn't feel like a workout.

The only drawback I see with our home gym (we have a dip station, a punching bag, a homemade bench and free weights) is that it's easier to give up when fatigue sets in. I somehow always found more motivation at the gym, having gone through the problem of getting there in the first place and seeing all the other people giving it their best.

On the other hand, at the gym, I don't have the cat helping me and I can't have a Twilight Zone episode playing in the background!

Decisions, decisions...



*Added as an afterthought: a great complement to the tall dip station is a set of rings. Plenty more exercises suddenly become possible.

I personally loathe doing stationary indoor cardio. I lack the words to convey how tedious and boring I find it. I'd much rather go for a walk or jog outdoors, preferably with a tree canopy, but that's not always compatible with the weather. If I absolutely must, doing intervals on an elliptical machine is tolerable with music in my ear.

I also love listening to audiobooks or podcasts, but it has to be while I'm doing something else. Sitting around just listening to something without keeping the physical part of my mind busy is a no-go. I went through audiobooks like candy when I used to commute, but now it's mostly while doing chores that don't require thinking.

And one exception to the stationary cardio thing is I'm considering a basic treadmill to plant in front of the TV so I could be strolling while I play games. I think that might work because it's not trying to force myself to exercise by using video games. Rather, it's getting some steps in while I'm playing video games. It might not seem like a large distinction, but somehow it seems different in my mind.

But that's a whole other expense. My wife is interested in the smaller ones that are basically just a walking pad, but I worry the quality on those is trash and/or cost-prohibitive.

Ramble ramble.

Indeed. I think we’re on the same page.

The only time I get restless is when I am just listening to talk (listening to music is different, I’ll gladly sit down to listen to that). But if it’s non-visual discussion and debate, I think I need to be doing something. I mean, I usually do my chores every Saturday, so having a podcast playing while I clean the kitchen floor and all that is worthwhile for me, but I think it’d be worth me trying to listen to a podcast while using an exercise bike.

Outdoor exercise is fine, but British weather can be quite crap, even in the summer. Don’t mind a bit of light rain while jogging, but heavy “Noah’s Ark” rain while jogging is best avoided, I feel…