Do you sometimes find it hard to fit in because you're fit?

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by Daphne M

Jeanne Marie -- I actually gave my trainer my entire STS set! She'd been curious about my fitness DVDs for years and she actually works out at home more than the gym. She was very impressed. One of her sons and his girlfriend have been using them in their home gym. My trainer doesn't use them herself (she's too inventive and self-directed for that) but she feels very comfortable using them as a proxy for personal training. Congrats on winning the ab contest -- you are STRONG!!!!!!

Good for you, Daphne! That is great that your trainer had an open mind to them. Now she knows what kind of workouts can be produced by people like Cathe. I help my trainer plan and set up the daily bootcamps, and I can't tell you how many "Cathe moves" we've incorporated into our workouts. Nobody has any idea where I really learned them!

Originally Posted by Hazel Porter

Well, I think they might be worried about the competition if clients were to find out what a great workout you could get for a fraction of the cost and without having to leave the house!

Haha! You could be right!

[desderata]

Most people I know (other than my DH and kids) aren't into fitness, but I've never felt I don't fit in. Working out is my favorite hobby/stress reliever but I don't feel the need to talk about it. Occasionally people will ask me how I stay so lean and I'll just say I enjoy working out. If they want to talk specifics, I will. I work out alone to videos and have for years, so I don't feel isolated, and my friendships are based on other shared things.

[yahoo205]

Definitely join a gym to meet more likeminded people-especially a lot of these boutique fitness places/chains. They are expensive but you get a great workout, great quality instructors, meet like minded people. I'm not sure what you are into-yoga, barre, spin, crossfit, etc. There's a studio gym for EVERYTHING. Try classpass to start and try different places but you really need to go to one place consistently to develop those bonds.

I haven't worked out at home in a while. Yes, it's more expensive to go to the gym-especially the expensive ones- but I am much more consistent with going and it's fun to see people. All the in shape people at my gym really motivate me.

[wookiemouse]

I'm very much an introvert, so I am extremely uncomfortable in the gym - I much prefer working out at home, so it's harder to find others who enjoy working out. When I do find them, it's like finding someone else who is into any one of my hobbies. Fitness is just a part of who I am, not my identity - if they're not info fitness, we talk about reading. Or traveling. Or something else. I have seen a definite line between gym goers and home video enthusiasts tho, which makes it even harder to fit in, IMO. The few times I have gone to the gym, I got tired of hearing "Oh, you do DVDs, is that even a workout?" As I reached for the 75# Dumbbells for the one arm row as they were struggling to lift the 15#. 🙄

[yahoo205]

I seem to only go to the gym or only work out at home. I wish I would mix the 2 a bit more.

[beyond.omega]

I live in an area where people are very active too. People of all ages 4-85 can be found being active outdoors but everyone is also positive and encouraging and still be sensitive to different fitness levels and skill levels, time and motivation. I guess I'm the injured one, but no one I have encountered has given me a hard time about being inactive. Many people in my area are interested in high-risk/extreme sports, and having an interest like that they are at-risk for an injury so people are sympathetic and supporting about managing injury. They also are more interested in doing their sport than judging other people's activities or inactivities.

I do have one friend who keeps making a hard-sell on me to go to her yoga class, but I'm not currently interested in exercising in a class setting, and I find it irritating that she keeps trying to make me do something I don't want. So as such, I don't understand people up-thread irritated that they can't convert people to videos. If you want to be left to your videos, let other people go to their gym/classes/races/hike/bike/whatever they want.

As far as trying to encourage inactive people to be more active, there are a lot of reasons why people don't exercise, but it isn't really your responsibility to make them. If people ask me, I usually give them ideas and leave it at that. They will when they are ready to if they want to. I know what it's like to need to find the motivation, and sometimes it takes awhile. I can also connect to people over other things, so I don't feel isolated.

[Jeanne Marie]

Originally Posted by wookiemouse

I'm very much an introvert, so I am extremely uncomfortable in the gym - I much prefer working out at home, so it's harder to find others who enjoy working out. When I do find them, it's like finding someone else who is into any one of my hobbies. Fitness is just a part of who I am, not my identity - if they're not info fitness, we talk about reading. Or traveling. Or something else. I have seen a definite line between gym goers and home video enthusiasts tho, which makes it even harder to fit in, IMO. The few times I have gone to the gym, I got tired of hearing "Oh, you do DVDs, is that even a workout?" As I reached for the 75# Dumbbells for the one arm row as they were struggling to lift the 15#. 🙄

Wow! A 75 lb one arm row? My hat is off to you! And yeah, it's quite frustrating when people poo-poo the workout DVDs. I just chalk it up to ignorance and don't worry about it. But as mentioned before, it is a shame that people are so close minded because they are missing out big time.

My experience has been that I was a dedicated home workout person for years, and pretty easily transitioned into both. I mostly work out at the gym now, but still do a video at least once a week. Our gym was closed for a holiday one time and I asked one of my fellow gym goers over to my house to do a Cathe DVD. She happily accepted, not having a clue what was in store for her. We did "Afterburn".... heh heh heh.... she was toast!

[eam531]

Fitness is like any other interest or activity--most people just are not hugely interested in other people's hobbies unless they happen to share that interest. Trying to convince other people that you can get great workouts from videos is futile, so why try? VF exists so everyone can talk to their hearts' content about videos and working out; I don't think it's realistic to expect to find this kind of community IRL. Sure, it is condescending and insulting when people diss videos, but all you can do is shrug it off.

Like Jeanne Marie, I did home workouts for years and years. Now that DH and I are retired, we go to the gym. I still do yoga at home, but the bulk of my workouts are at the gym. I'm an introvert too, and have found nothing but encouragement and thumbs up from the folks at the gym. We are retired, and the majority of people at the gym at the time we go are also retired. That said ... there are incredibly strong and fit people in their late 60s and 70s. Seriously fit people. There are also people who are not anywhere at that level, but are working on functional fitness, rehabbing from injuries and surgery, etc. All of these people are inspiring. If I were still working out at home, I wouldn't see them and be inspired ... and sometimes even I serve as inspiration for others. People have complimented me on my focus and dedication.