We all go to the gym, well, at least some of do. The rest of us? Well, we find ourselves in the gym from time to time, but never for long. Some of us quit because we realize the gym just isn’t for us, people like me sometimes wonder what’s the real point of going to an actual gymnasium when it comes to physical activity. The people? Nope. The environment? Sort of. I’ll give you a hint: it’s about what is already there: the actual equipment you find at the gym. That’s right. That hulking steel structure with hundreds of pounds that is just taunting you every time you make a decision to walk into the gym again. When you’re faced with something a scene like this at 6 in the morning-

-it’s pretty hard to not be intimidated. If you are concerned with your health though, then, unfortunately, you’re going to have to walk into the gym. So, in the name of good health, here are 5 reasons why gymnasium equipment matters when it comes to your health.

1. Creating Good Habits

Fitness and health are important to everyone, but a lot of us don’t have many good fitness habits. It is not impossible to create good healthy habits in your home, but it is definitely harder. A lot of us try to use the same spaces for multiple purposes, and I can guarantee you that just isn’t working out in your favor. You might think that your bedroom functions well as an office, gymnasium, and museum but, newsflash: it doesn’t. No matter how hard you try to make use of all the equipment you’ve got packed into your room, you’ll always end up wanting to use that space for what you do in it most: sleep. When it comes to the gym, you don’t use that space for anything else other than improving your body. Working out may be something that you’re doing temporarily to regain that hot summer body you have been thinking about all year, but you don’t get those results without committing to good habits.

2. Lifelong Learning

We all always talk about just how important it is to keep learning about things well after we’ve graduated and paid off our student loans, but how many of us are actually doing it? How many of us are reading books on a regular basis, or doing something brand new every chance we get? Let’s be real: not too many of us. When it comes to working out, you do need to learn proper technique in order to get the results you are looking for, but a lot of the exercises you do are pretty standard and self-intuitive. That big bulky gymnasium equipment? That is a challenge.  Those things are rewarding and useful, but they are also dangerous. Interacting with them helps you act upon life-long learning as you learn how to do new exercises, and also how different types of machines of machines work. It’s not sexy, and you might not be interested, but hey. It is new information and it keeps your brain active.

3. A sense of community

Okay. Okay. I know that the point of this was to focus on the actual equipment and not the gymnasium, but hear me out: most people can’t use those machines. Well, anyone can, but you will be one of the few people that can use the equipment correctly. It’s nothing something major that will suddenly connect you with billions of people, but you will have a sense of belonging. You will graduate into an official gym rat who will be able to identify newcomers in the gym by how silly they look trying to get the perfect abs by working out their thighs. A community makes us feel happier and feeling happy leads to a feeling that brings us to our fourth reason. 

4. Increased Confidence

I know the confidence comes from actually improving your body and seeing results, but the confidence also comes conquering new challenges. Walking into that gymnasium faced with a scene that you’re not used to can be intimidating. Learning to use the equipment and conquering that fear and overcoming any self-imposed limits will liberate you. Those metal machines are now classified as challenges that you have officially overcome. If that’s not a reason to get into the gym then I’m not sure what is. Actually, I do.

5. Improved Health

We can all workout any and everywhere. However, working out itself is not the goal. The goal is to get fit and to get healthy. It is called a gymnasium. It isn’t called an arena. It isn’t called a prison. It is called a gymnasium. Or maybe it has a catchy name meant to draw you into the first time, but either way, it serves one purpose: provide the proper equipment that enables people to take charge of their lives by focusing on health. The machines that you find in the gym are there for a reason. They
have been designed to help you optimize your workouts to build your body for perfection. Using machines to improve your endurance ultimately leads to a healthier version of you. With the shear amount of variety, you can continue to challenge yourself in as many different ways as possible, leading to a more versatile version of you.

All in all, it is the gymnasium equipment that makes the gym, and not the other way around. Of course, all of that heavy machinery is useless if the gym is missing one important element: you. Whatever fitness goals that you have in your life, you will be able to achieve them. However, if you are truly committed to your goals, do yourself a favor and get a gym membership and take advantage of the space. It might be hard, and you will most definitely want to quit, but your future self will thank you. That is
one thing I can promise.