ego vs goal

I met a couple this morning at the Gym. I was rather cheerful despite the 3 hour sleep last night (...came back from the hospital at 3 am & at 6.45 am have to send the kids to school... then straight to the Gym... I really had to push myself). Maybe it's the effect of completing a 1-hour interval run on the treadmill. The endorphin is really doing me good! Most of the time, I just ignore the newcomers. The couple, who are in their early 30's were checking out the place, so I offered to show them around. I told them that this is the best gym in town because they have everything for upper & lower body exercise, cardio-workout, toilet, changing room, a musolla, meeting room, physio-room (but where are the physiotherapist?) etc. and most importantly, the fact that it is the official gym for the state football association. And best of all, no membership is required: walk-in, pay rm5 and off you go do your own stuff.

I asked them why are they looking at joining the gym since they have never exercise before. The answer was " well, we are already in our 30's so before it's too late.....". that's the answer I almost always get from people who wants to start getting active (again). I always wonder "why come to a gym?". I mean, if you really want to do something about your health, why can't you just start with a 30-mins walk around the block of your housing estate? Join a gym when you are fitter. It's cheaper & certainly, you don't have to drive all the way. Here's what I have found out: by coming to a gym, people have this sense of security that they are doing something really substantial even though what they are really doing is having a chat for 30-mins and walk for 15 mins around the gym looking for the next chat-partner. A walk around the block does not count because the ego is not being fed. That's the reason why many people quite after day 1. Some last for a week, a month but only about 3% persist & consistently coming back. The 3 percenter are the ones with the right goals in mind, mainly because they have an emotional goal: to avoid constant embarassment of obesity, to improve their blood sugar level, lipid profile etc.

This couple have great working hours: wife is a freelance "legal person", who controls her own time & husband works for 2 days & free for 2 days. Wow! Plenty of time to look after ones health & exercise. And he is not working tomorrow. I exercise in the gym almost every morning, so I offered to help him with some exercise. This was his answer: " Oh, I gotta check my schedule". I thought you are not working tomorrow? Quit already? You haven't even started! Oh well! Let's see if he turn up tomorrow. Prove me wrong that most people come to the gym to feed their ego but not to achieve their wellness goal. This can be an interesting hypotheses.