A healthy man and his healthy bank account

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March 25th, 2010

Health is not all about money
I went back to the gym this morning. It’s on the top floor of the mall across the street from where we live, convenient, clean and a nice clientele. I had been a regular there for some years and didn’t think it really did me any good other than keeping the guilt down. When the recession started and I lost a few of my writing clients and my income dropped drastically, I cut back on as many expenses as I could. The gym was first out of the window. Other things followed quickly until I was on an even keel.

The monthly payment problem
One of the problems of joining a gym is the financial side. I have no complaint about the monthly cost, but rather about the ‘contract’ that you have to sign. The contract is usually for a minimum of 24 months and payments are made through your credit card, making it virtually impossible to cancel. Whatever happens, the payments go through on the specified date every month. You get up feeling tired and don’t go, that’s your problem. You feel like dropping out for the winter – that’s your problem. If you take a holiday or become ill, you bring a copy of the air-tickets or hotel booking or a doctor’s letter and they credit you with the missed weeks or months.

You are locked in
I hate the “locked in” feeling of such a contract. Another place that I gave up on was the art school and my painting group there. It was just plain expensive but here the deal I signed was for monthly payments via the credit card, only for the months that I attend. No long term contracts.

Back to the gym
I was wrong about the ‘no benefits’ from going to the gym. After I stopped going there I began walking in the streets and I quite enjoyed the change in scenery and faces. I soon began to find excuses not to walk. After a month or so I wasn’t walking at all. Then I found myself short of breath whenever I had to walk. I panted up a single flight of stairs and worst of all, I found myself walking unsteadily, like an old man, weaving my way down the sidewalk. That decided me.

Walking lessons
Some years ago, a young man appeared in town and offered free walking lessons. We would meet at 8 of an evening and he would lead a group of 20 people through the streets in single file. Often he would stop and take a critical look at each one of us as we passed him. He then came over and explained how we were walking, why it was wrong and what we had to do to correct it. I remember his lessons very clearly and I still walk to his specifications. So here I am, back in the gum and getting fitter every day.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 at 9:51 am and is filed under Finance, Personal / Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

A healthy man and his healthy bank account

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