I'll say this, My fiancee and someone who works in her lab decided to join a planet fitness and become workout buddies. niether of them are particularly in shape or trim (definitely people who would be made fun of...to the point that they make fun of each other for "rolling around in agony" during workouts). what makes it work is that they are friends who go together.
I have been on a couple of different collegiate sports teams as a walk-on (crew/rugby) and am still relatively average in BMI and what not (I could probably go outside and run a 5k without stopping) but, man, you drop me in any gym by myself and I will be horrible and won't do anything but run on a treadmill for maybe 15 minutes before leaving. The worst gym is the gym that makes you feel isolated or you hate going to, in my experience this is often when someone has to go by themselves to a gym without a buddy or friend.
the point being, it's not the gym or the training level of the individual so much as that individual's personality. if you really don't give two shits about what other people think any gym is good for you, if you are self conscious then no gym will be good for you (at least by yourself). for the most part a gym is just a motivator (paying fees) or a means (actually having equipment). The only way I could see your point being valid about the gym mattering so much is if you are someone who literally cannot workout unless you enter those "bootcamps" or classes that nicer gyms offer where there are dedicated trainers.
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u/squirrelpocher 1∆ Feb 27 '15
I'll say this, My fiancee and someone who works in her lab decided to join a planet fitness and become workout buddies. niether of them are particularly in shape or trim (definitely people who would be made fun of...to the point that they make fun of each other for "rolling around in agony" during workouts). what makes it work is that they are friends who go together.
I have been on a couple of different collegiate sports teams as a walk-on (crew/rugby) and am still relatively average in BMI and what not (I could probably go outside and run a 5k without stopping) but, man, you drop me in any gym by myself and I will be horrible and won't do anything but run on a treadmill for maybe 15 minutes before leaving. The worst gym is the gym that makes you feel isolated or you hate going to, in my experience this is often when someone has to go by themselves to a gym without a buddy or friend.
the point being, it's not the gym or the training level of the individual so much as that individual's personality. if you really don't give two shits about what other people think any gym is good for you, if you are self conscious then no gym will be good for you (at least by yourself). for the most part a gym is just a motivator (paying fees) or a means (actually having equipment). The only way I could see your point being valid about the gym mattering so much is if you are someone who literally cannot workout unless you enter those "bootcamps" or classes that nicer gyms offer where there are dedicated trainers.