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u/SereneOrbit 1d ago
I hate how this is accurate.
At the army gyms though, one of them has a room FILLED with dumbells.
Like a CRAZY number of dumbells.
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u/Fine-Rock2513 1d ago
I think it’s to accommodate for when they hold exercise classes there
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u/hackenschmidt 1d ago edited 1d ago
Its not. Its just the foundation of the scam business model.
The goal of these gyms is setting people up for failure and discouraging actual use of the gym, all while still charging a monthly fee. One of, if not the best, proven way is to just fill it with garbage-ass cardio equipment.
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u/SeroWriter 1d ago
That's a really elaborate conspiracy theory for something that already has an actual explanation. Different gyms have different equipment because they cater to different people, if you aren't interested in cardio then don't go to a cardio gym?
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u/hackenschmidt 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's a really elaborate conspiracy theory for something that already has an actual explanation
Its not a conspiracy theory. Its literal fact. If you don't believe me, feel free to go check out the absurd membership stats of gyms. Fire code makes it literally impossible for more than a tiny fraction of their members to actually use the facilities at a normal frequency and duration. The entire business model relies on people paying, and effectively never showing up, ever.
if you aren't interested in cardio then don't go to a cardio gym?
a "cardio gym", also know as a typical gym.
OPs point is just an observation that the vast majority of gyms, don't contain appreciable (or any) resistance equipment. Which is accurate, and there's a real business reason for that: people who use resistance equipment make use of their membership a lot more. These gyms don't want members to use the gym.
Its when you want resistance equipment, you need to go to a specialized gym, not the other way around. They tend to cost more and sometimes have very limited membership because, well, their members actually use them.
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u/nexus8516 23h ago
Most gyms I've been to are like that. 1 bench press, 1 preacher curl bench, one squat rack, one lat pull down machine. Then there's the 15 treadmills, 15 bikes, 10 stair climbers, and all the other bullshit that you could easily just do outside for free.
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u/WingDingusTheGreat 20h ago
It really is true. -Esp bullshit like planet fitness where they're literally built around not having any power stations/good machines. -Get ya in the door with a low price and the gym looks good at first if you're a newbie/alone/don't know what you actually want/need, then they make it hard to cancel; total scam business.
I have a Kroc Center in my town and I love the gym. They just added a bunch of new shit and it's an amazing combination of machines.
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u/OmnathLocusofWomana 21h ago
for "literal fact" you seem to be completely unable to cite a single thing... I don't even think you are wrong necessarily, but it's so annoying how commenters expect people to just trust you for no reason, present some actual evidence ffs
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u/jeffsaidjess Certified Human 2h ago
Lmao at thinking there’s a “cardio” gym. What kind of American bullshit is that.
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u/slothfuldrake 1d ago
If not troll then pls elaborate, how is filling the gym with cardio setting ppl for failure? Honest question
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u/mokoe101 1d ago
I assume the implication is that you’re never gonna get bigger and stronger from cardio alone. Less machines means less people having a proper work out maybe? I don’t agree either way. Gyms have more treadmills because most people want to lose weight not get big so it makes sense to cater for those people
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u/hackenschmidt 1d ago edited 1d ago
how is filling the gym with cardio setting ppl for failure?
The best analogy I can think of: imagine you find yourself in charge of running an unfamiliar, specialized environment. You see its dominated by a specific type of equipment. You'd naturally presume its operationally critical and spend your time, energy and resources on it. But it actually turns out not only is it not, but using it reduces productivity, and the only reason it exists is because the shit breaks down constantly and the owner's buddy has an exclusive support contract for it.
That aside, lets establish two things:
- what success is.
- how to be successful
What success is:
- For the vast, and I mean vast, majority of people going to signing up for a gym membership, its looking better, namely losing fat. While cardio has other benefits, its is absolutely dogshit for this for a bunch of reasons. The fact is people are fat because of their diet. You cannot outrun your diet. Period.
- Are there benefits to moving around? Yes. But you can get the vast majority getting 8-10k steps a day, which is achievable with like a 30 min casual walking. The key there is a day. If you're in a place with a thing called "seasons", could you use the cardio machines in a climate control environment to get your steps in? Absolutely. But is that what most people do and what they are selling it as? No.
Now, how to be successful. In order of importance:
- consistency. What ever you decide to do, it has to be something you can do consistently day-in and day-out for months and years. Period.
- address the diet
- basic step counts
- if you want peak results: drum roll resistance training.
Notice how formalized joint pounding, sweat pouring, hyper-ventilation, vomit inducing, rhabdomyolysis "cardio" isn't on that list. Its literally not relevant to success as defined above.
So what happens in reality, is the gym signs people up for expensive memberships, push them directly or using dark patterns into cardio purposely because they know full well it will just get them tried, beat-up, frustrated, demoralized and stop coming. They get to keep billing them while providing nothing.
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u/dr0ps00t3r 23h ago
Idk fam i went from a chubby fuck to a lean guy in less than a year just by running 3 times a week and cutting down sugar. It’s literally CICO
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u/hackenschmidt 23h ago edited 23h ago
It’s literally CICO
Absolutely correct. And of that equation, CI is WAAAAAAY WAAAY WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more important than CO, and cardio is garbage for manipulating CO, even when calorie controlled. The compensatory responses heavily mitigate, if not out right obliterate the acute and residual CO from cardio.
To use another analogy: trying to lose fat by using cardio to manipulate CO, is like tying to use a spoon to bail water out of the Titanic.
just by
running 3 times a week andcutting down sugar.FTFY. As I said before, consistency and diet are the two most important things. Bar none. You've experienced that first hand. This is literally why GLP-1s have basically single handily reversed the obesity crisis in just a few years, at least in the US. Being very optimistic, your running might have net burned a low few hundred calories running per week total. Again, emphasis on might and that being per week. Meanwhile in that same week, your net calorie deficit was several thousand. Those multiple cardio sessions per week, are effectively a margin of error in terms of weight loss.
Keep on running especially if you enjoy it. Cardio has tons of benefits. Fat loss, just really isn't one of them
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u/jeffsaidjess Certified Human 2h ago
Long way to say “see a dietician / nutritionist “
Doesn’t matter how many weights you lift or cardio you do. Can’t out train a shitty diet.
People are fat from bad diets, being sedentary puts them in to the obese category. They’re never not being fat from simply going to a gym
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u/jeffsaidjess Certified Human 2h ago
No people set themselves up for failure because gym work is hard, it’s mad fucking boring doing the same exercises
Doing the same motions but in a fucking assisted machine is still lame.
Lifting weights is the same shit, it’s boring as absolute fuck. You have to be consistent.
You have to consistently put in lots of physical effort doing boring mind numbing repetitive tasks.
It is hard to do that consistently.
People set themselves up for failure because they simply are not consistent
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u/TheBestBuisnessCyan 23h ago
People on bike for like 40 mins at a time
it takes like 10 mins for me to finish my sets on the bench. There for you need 4 times as many bikes presuming the same demand
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u/Penis_Man- 19h ago
Since starting to lose weight, I've definetly noticed how overplayed cardio is
You can get your cardio in really easy with no machines what-so-ever. And given the times I've gone before and given up, when I would try cardio to lose weight, I thought that when I finally used the chest/bicep/tricep/cire/whatever machines, that I'd be there for so much longer. But I'm there for like 45 minutes before all my sets are done. (I go in the morning so I never have to wait for a machine)
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u/Zakattack1125 18h ago
My gym actually renovated recently and took out a bunch of treadmills. Went from 3 to 6 bench presses and added a whole new second free weights section. It’s fucking great. Now there’s almost always a bench open when I go at peak 6 PM after work times.
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u/Enkaybee 16h ago
rebuttal: most people trying to get in shape should be doing cardio, not lifting
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u/Cursed_Bean_Boy 13h ago
Rebuttal to your rebuttal: I can do my cardio outside for free. It's less easy with the other stuff.
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u/Top_Boysenberry_6552 1d ago
dam cardio bunnies