So over the Xmas break we stayed in Sydney for a week, close to family for a rest and a recharge. Now my MIL has this membership to the Stadium which is the Allianz stadium at Moore Park where some of the big teams play blah blah blah.
Anyway, they made this members area thing where they have 2 pools, sauna, steam room, cold plunge, a cafe and as she keeps telling me, 2 gyms also, even a creche so we can work out without the kids ;) It all sounds very exclusive, but really it is just like a big fitness centre gym.
Now all of the family have been there, and we are the last of the family to get to use these guest passes she has a year and a half later. And everyone goes on about how good it is, so we’ve been really excited to go and I’ve been itching to use some commercial gym equipment that I haven’t used in a while like a leg press.
So we rocked up a few days after Xmas to go to the gym and have a swim. I was very excited.
Anyway, we get in to the fancy building, the first issue arose in that the Creche is closed until mid January.
No problem we thought, we’ll divide and conquer, one of us with the kids the other can hit the gym for a quick workout.
Now it’s been a little while since I’ve stepped into a commercial gym and i forgot that i can feel a little intimidating, even for me, someone who has plenty of experience in them. But, they’re big, you may not know the layout, and you certainly won’t know the people.
Now i’m not sure if it’s a boomer thing, but there wasn’t 2 gyms, there was the main gym downstairs, weights and machines, and then there was the cardio/rehab section upstairs, so 1 big gym set over 2 different levels. Actually a bit annoying because you had to leave one to go up stairs to the other.
Anyway, no problem, but there was a problem. I got the the main gym and it was absolutely rammed. I forgot how busy they can get, groups of hench dudes crowding round machines, all the benches were taken, there was literally no piece of equipment available to use.
So i did a quick tour of the gym, looking for somewhere that I could plot my water bottle and towel, but there wasn’t even any space for that. I certainly wasn’t going to get on anything that I wanted. I forgot that you walk into the gym with a plan in mind of what you’re going to do, and then you have to throw that plan out the window or change the order because you can’t get on the equipment you want when you want to.
I went upstairs, found 1 free treadmill and did a quick 5 min warm up thinking i’d go back and assess the situation after. I went back down stairs and nothing had changed. You feel a bit exposed if you pick up a pair of dumbbells and take the only floor space available Right In Front of the Mirror and DB Rack!!!! No thanks.
Anyway, it was a real let down, and solidified my reason for leaving big commercial gyms in search of, less intimidating environments to workout in. And one of the main reasons I started BOX. You don’t need to change up your plan, you don’t need to think of the plan, You can come in any state you want, you’ll have a spot and I hope, a friendly face or 2. You don’t have to fight for equipment, you don’t have to fear taking up space, you don’t have to deal with any testosterone driven BS.
Fitness needs to be an inclusive, supportive and positive space, and I think that unfortunately a lot of the big box gyms don’t provide that environment, through no fault of their own, it’s just the way it is.
So, the stadium was a let down, the pool was nice, I wondered if it was because it was 27th December but apparently it’s always that busy, so it has given me more reason to make our gym the least intimidating place to workout that I can make it. Big commercial gyms certainly have they’re good and bad points, but unfortunately they’re just not for me right now.
Lawrence x
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