Lose Weight in Panama City Beach: Part 1 – Panama City Beach Gyms

Posted by Results Bootcamp on October 2, 2009

Do you live in Panama City Beach, and are you struggling to lose weight?  If so, you will enjoy this multi-part series that covers the various options available to you.  For each one, we will provide the advantages and disadvantages paired with each option.

One option is to join a Panama City Beach gym.

There are certainly a few advantages to joining a gym.  At first look, joining a gym is relatively inexpensive.   (However, depending on your situation, it may not be quite as cost effective as you originally think.)

Joining a gym is a nearly perfect option for people who already know what they are doing.  For those who have successfully lost weight in the past through intelligent nutrition and proper, full-body exercise programming, gyms are a great resource for easy access to equipment.

However, I said “nearly perfect” for a reason.

Remember, we are specifically talking about people who already have the knowledge required to safely and effectively drop body fat.  These people know that with a very small amount of equipment (literally small enough to fit into a closet in their home), they can achieve spectacular weight loss results.

This brings up an interesting observation, however.  If they could achieve results with equipment that would fit into a closet, why would they join a Panama City Beach gym?  A few factors certainly come into play.  The most common ones are lack of discipline or an inability to safely exercise with weights around children.

Some people simply don’t have the discipline to work out at home.  Getting out of bed in the morning to go to a different room in the house to exercise takes discipline.   After work, the couch and television are simply too inviting for some people.  For these knowledgeable people, going to a gym immediately before or after work is a great solution.

I’m certainly not casting judgment.  I am simply pointing out that this group of people is choosing to pay $3600 over the course of 10 years for access to equipment (assuming  $30/month for a Panama City Beach gym membership), versus purchasing $150-$200 worth of various pieces of equipment which will give them the same results.  The $3600 is a WISE investment, if it means you are actually going to the gym and taking personal care and responsibility of your health and future.

But what about the vast majority of people who have tried dozens of different diets and exercise programs, but have been unable to lose weight?

The reality is that, for this much larger section of the population, there are quite a few more disadvantages to gyms than people realize, whether the gym is local to Panama City Beach or is a franchise of the “big box” chains around the country.  For starters, MOST people who need to lose weight don’t truly know the best ways to lose the extra pounds, or they wouldn’t find themselves overweight, uncomfortable, and embarrassed… which brings up the first disadvantage to gyms.

Gyms in Panama City Beach and around the country are notoriously overrun by bodybuilders who are trying to put on more muscle than most people are comfortable with.  There is nothing wrong with that.  However, when a person is overweight and unfamiliar with the proper exercise programming for weight loss, going to a gym surrounded by large, athletic, lean people is absolutely intimidating.

One answer to this situation, of course, is to hire a personal trainer.  Doing so, however, brings up the next disadvantage:  hiring a personal trainer completely erases the gym’s advantage of being a relatively inexpensive solution, and you will still be required to deal with an intimidating, unfamiliar environment.

In summary, gyms are an ideal environment for bodybuilders, power lifters (if the gym will let them use chalk and do deadlifts), and a small selection of athletes who require large amounts of weight for proper training.  Panama City Beach gyms are also a great solution for people who HAVE the knowledge to lose weight and can effectively implement full-body programming without becoming embarrassed or intimidated by the “regulars”.

Stay tuned for the next installment, where we will discuss the next option:  hiring a Panama City Beach personal trainer.