I've never injured myself in a gym
but now seems like a good time to air a major grievance I've come up against at gyms over the years. Women. Women who go to the gym, get on the treadmill and then just walk. Why? Just why? Why are you paying money every month, to go to a gym 4 times a week just to have a good old walk??? Here's a tip, put on some shoes, open your front door and place one foot ahead of the other. Dadahhhh! You're walking! I mean seriously, if you don't want to go outside then you could walk around your apartment and save the money.
I can only imagine in the morning time, packing their gym bag, telling the flatmates/partners "I'll be home a bit late, i'm going to the gym after work". Then going from work to the gym, getting changed, doing some warming up and stretches and then hitting the treadmill for a good old walk. Then showering afterwards, going back home and saying "Wow, I am knackered from my workout!". Knackered??? Really???? From a 20 minute walk?
If I told my wife this - "I'm going for a short walk, a session on the step machine and colonic irrigation" she'd merely raise one eyebrow and say "You're going upstairs for a shit aren't you?".
( sneep used to date Freddie Starr's hamster, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 13:45, 5 replies)

Brilliant!
Gets my click - and I'm gonna borrow the "I'm going for a short walk, a session on the step machine and colonic irrigation" bit too...sounds like REAL exercise :)
( snee held his breath since, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 14:24, closed)

Yeah
Definite click for "I'm going for a short walk, a session on the step machine and colonic irrigation" I needed a replacement for "I'm just off to pootown"
(Gertcha_cowson NAH MATE, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 14:38, closed)

Good rant!
.
(Milo Minderbinder, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 15:14, closed)

I am one of those women
and I walk fast for ten minutes on the treadmill to warm up before using the weights and doing most of my cardio-vascular stuff on the bikes and cross-trainer. I don't jog on the treadmill on advice from the instructor because it's too high-impact. Also it's uncomfortable.

Perhaps the women you're disparaging do a similar workout to me?

And even if they don't, surely 20 minutes walking is better than 20 minutes slouching on the sofa in front of the TV?
( in vino veritas, Tue 14 Jul 2009, 1:00, closed)

An answer
Firstly, I'm in total agreement with you when it comes to those who walk slowly on treadmills and don't even get the tiniest bit sweaty.

However, I too am one of those women who "just walks" on the treadmill. This is because firstly I have the world's shittiest joints and can't do anything vaguely resembling even moderate impact. Sometimes even normal walking hurts my knees. And secondly, because the purpose of cardio for me is weightloss, not to become the world's fastest runner. That is, for me the optimal workout is one that keeps my heartrate at around 70% of maximum, not around 90% which it would be if I ran. My trainer puts a heartrate monitor on me from time to time to tell me how fast and at what elevation I need to set the treadmill to get the right heartrate.

But again, I totally don't get the whole 'drive to the gym and then walk at a pace that would slow down my invalid grandmother' people. Especially when they're using the machine I want and not even getting anything out of it :(
(xanthine, Tue 14 Jul 2009, 5:03, closed)