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Why You Should Join a Gym

Why You Should Join a GymThere are tons and tons of fad diets, lose weight quick, and get fit fast schemes out there, but the truth is that most of them are just that- schemes. They are often put out to sell products or to increase clicks, but in reality, generate little to no long-term returns for prospective dieters. The keep to staying fit and maintaining your health is really in watching what you eat and in exercising to keep your strength up and body trim. Step one for the latter part: sign up for the gym.

People who have gym memberships exercise more and do better on a number of health tests. This is pretty obvious and potentially subject to selection bias, but the correlation likely also holds in the direction which we would think to some degree: signing up for the gym likely does make you more likely to exercise. Once you sign up for the gym, you should figure out a workout plan that works for you and one that involves both strength training as well as aerobic activity. The amount and time you spend on exercising or at the gym really depends on your goals and is not really the point of this piece, but there are many guides and workout plans freely available online or even on Youtube. Many of these do a great job of demonstrating proper form and how to cater your workouts to your end goals.

Going to the gym has many benefits downstream from the actual workouts you get. You are much more likely to have better cardiovascular health, less likely to get injured, and also more likely to have better mental health. The aerobic exercise is what will really help you with the cardiovascular effect as it helps build a strong heart and can help reduce blood pressure and heart attacks over the long-run. The only thing to be careful with here is to make sure you are not doing something you should not be if you already have a heart condition. Strength training really helps build up your core strength so that you are less likely to get injured in the daily course of life- particularly if you are doing something physically rigorous. A keep thinks to keep in mind here is to stretch before lifting and to make sure you are lifting with proper form as not doing those things puts you at risk of injury from the exercises themselves. Finally, any form of exercise is likely to leave you feeling more confident and with your mind cleared. There have been numerous scientific studies that show that regular exercising leads to better mental health outcomes and lower incidence of mental health disease including depression.

Going to the gym can seem like a pain, but it can literally extend your life and make you happier. It typically is not very expensive and if you incorporate it into your daily routine you may find yourself living a much better life. Hope this helps and good luck on your men’s health journey.

Picture Credit: RogerioBeatz

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