h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

That'll please the wife.

Based on what research!!!

Cos you meet more people? ( so any sort of social grouping would work)

Or cos only thin people get laid

I don't think I've EVER dated anyone I met at the gym. But it improves my confidence, so I guess there might be some tangential causality.

I misread that as "casualty". I thought you must be having serious self-esteem issues if you've started calling 'em casualties now.

I'm amazed I managed to spell it correctly at this time on a Saturday night

Have you thought about a bike swl? I got fed up going to the gym and decided to buyn a bike; there are some cycle paths near me and going out for an hour a day in the fresh air etc. made me lose half a stone in about 3 weeks.

On the down side, I fell off and broke my arm, and havn'et excercised at all for 2 months now.

I bought an exercise bike and do about 35mins/15 miles a day on it. Can't fall off it and I don't get wet when it rains.

I always thought stationary bikes to be boring, real bikes much better you see the outside world.

Mmm, just back from mine - was there when it opened this morning! They've just redone their showers so it was bliss to enjoy a hot shower in a freshly decorated spa-like environment.

A static bike is an excellent choice. As you hae said you are better off with low impact exercises. It is also available when you want to do a little workout and doenst require special clothing which is a bigger barrier than you'd expect for quite a lot of people.

If you are going to exercise either at home or at gym you will benefit from a bit more variety than just that.

The best exercise there is is stretching. Sure you can see the difference a lot of muscle building or running has on your body, but forget the visible difference the way you body feels after a few weeks of yoga is amazing.

As a rule of thumb in any given week the optimum levels for someone who isnt competing and simply wants to look and feel better are aoround 40%-50% flexibility, aerobic exercises that build cardio vascular fitness 30%-40% and last and with good reason least anaerobic muscle building for the remainder of the time.

You can buy cheap DVDs and borrow loads of books that show simple but effective stretches that will help to make life with ageing joints much easier. If you mix them in during your static bike sessions your pulse and breathing will remain high throughout the 30 mins/hour or whatever so you get your CV workout but more importantly your fitness will be matched with a more mobile and less creaky body.

My only experiences with a gym environment were in physical therapy, and I hated it - but possibly only because the fellow supervising me was so horrible. One of my flatmates had a crosstrainer in the basement, but neither he nor any of the rest of us really used it.

I'd also rather be out cycling in the fresh air. And I recently started horseback riding again.

Thanks for that blicky

I've spent today going around all the local gyms - half a dozen private and one municipal. High on my priorities was the degree of personal attention from staff because of my fear of injuring myself again. Some of the private ones looked cheap but made up the cost with add-ons. The municipal one was awful; most of the equipment out of order and the gym itself seemingly run by a gang of neds. Some of the gyms stank to high heaven and aircon consisted of a few Argos fans.

In the end I plumped for the expensive one. I managed to get out of the joining fee so it's a flat, all-inclusive rate. They do a huge number of classes which I'll mix in with the circuit training I want to do. The downside is I've had to sign up for a year, but as has been said, being a tight Jockinese git I'll be visiting as often as I can to get my money's worth.

This time next year I'll be able to see my .... feet

So you're going to take your shoes off after 12 months training?

Pedro mate - I struggle to reach them just now

Good for you!

Do we need a dedicated gym-thread to keep up motivation, or will this one do?