oh to be fit..........

i would like to be healthy and fit. firstly because its a personal thing but i guess its also because its an image projected by society - images of pumped up bodies, washboard stomachs, slim and trim figures. For me i guess i would like to live healthy. i am more conscious of what i am eating these days, and i am constantly fighting the addiciton of junk food on a regular basis. Whenever i go to lunch, in the back of my head i say to myself, " i should eat something healthy", but i usually end up getting something like fish and chips and a coke.

In addition, i would like to join a gym. a lot my friends have gym memberships, in fact i don't many people that AREN'T members of a gym. I guess my reasons for joining are twofold: i would like to live a healthier lifestyle and my other motivation would be to develop a better figure. I don't mean i need arnold swarznegger/scott steiner muscles but rather some upperbody strength and (ashby) leg drive. this would help me play basketball, when battling in the post or defending someone. i guess the positive side effect would be to fill out my very thin arms when i wear my latest YAO MING (!) basketball singlet.

Oh to be fit and healthy.......but at what cost? I'd have to change my eating habits (from KFC to subway?), exercise regularly (from constant arm stretching for the remote to lifting weights).

Furthermore gym memberships don't come cheap. From what i know/read at fitness first (FF) a normal membership at a particular gym is $80, a passport (access all) one is $90. Over 12 months, that could equate to $1000. There are student memberships at $34.95, but alas i'm no longer a student. the rate varies as well from reading this vogue forum (don't ask why i was reading vogue). The UTS gym is $80 for 3 months, but that gym has poor ventilation and stinks everytime i go in there. there are other suburban gyms out there too with a friend of mine paying $670 for yearly membership (equivaltent to $55) and revesby RSL i heard has a decent gym too. but it seems like fitness first would be the ideal one to join - it sounds cool, has a slick image, they give you a free backpack which you can rock saying "I'm a member!", and importantly if my friends are a part of it, i'd be more fun/motivated to go with them. plus the company i work for has a corporate deal with them, so i can get a decent rate. from speaking to a friend of mine who has the benefit of a corporate deal, it becomes $72.95 for a passport membership.

if the price is right, should i join a gym? the thing is for anyone to benefit from being a member of a gym, you have to go on a regular basis, otherwise its not worth it. i don't think there is any point in me signing up if i go gangbusters in my first month and then eventually slide into going once a fortnight. ideally, i'd like to go at least two times a week, equivalent to 8 times a month. but with work commitments, a girlfriend, going out with friends, learning mandarin, taking on a masters degree in tax soon, being a lazy person to begin with, it won't be easy to force myself to go to the gym.

Maybe i could combine all these activities. perhaps when i visit the gym, i could go on the treadmill and socialise with dawen, tim, ashby, hoi, who are also on the treadmills next to me (as everyone has a gym membership), whilst watching the latest tax updates on the TV infront of me, with one headphone blaring a how to speak mandarin CD into one ear and a holding a mobile phone in the other talking to a client.

ultimately, I reckon if i wanted to eat healthy and go to the gym regularly i could. You make the effort. You make the time. The question becomes - can i be bothered? Oh to be fit and healthy.......

DJ HO asks:
1. Are you trying to live a fit and healthy lifestyle?
2. are you a member of a gym? if so, which one/how much do you pay and importantly is it worth it??!!