The Covid period sure made a mess out of a lot of things, and now we all have to live in a new reality. Sure enough, things aren’t quite the same as it was before Covid. While bars, restaurants, movie theaters, and arenas are now open to the public due to the relaxation of social distancing rules, it’s still not the same. There’s still this hesitation to congregate too much with large groups of people.
Similar changes are happening across many industries, and those include fitness gyms as well. Nowadays, online gym membership remains popular, as it was probably the only gym membership available during the Covid years.
In fact, when we checked out a Fitness 19 branch in Texas, it turns out that they only offer online gym memberships.
At first, we were dismayed by this. After being cooped up for so long in our homes, we preferred to get out and meet new people in more public places.
In addition, gyms have more workout machines available. If we’re doing exercises at home, then we’d have to either buy the equipment ourselves or limit ourselves to only bodyweight exercises.
But upon further reflection, the online membership at Fitness 19 does offer its own benefits:
It’s Very Cheap
Fitness 19 offers just 2 types of membership. It’s either you get a multi-club online membership for $25, or an online membership with just a single club for $10. Either way, that’s extremely affordable. Most people won’t really notice these fees at all. Most people probably spend more on coffee per month (heck, even per week).
And since these fees aren’t all that exorbitant, you can save up a lot of money and buy some decent workout equipment for a low price. You’d be amazed at how cheap a set of dumbbells are these days. Even cardio machines don’t have to be expensive.
Curated Information
Some might argue that there’s no real need to pay for online information anyway. You can always find free videos on YouTube on how to do certain exercises. It’s even easy to find entire workout plans online.
But the problem here is that there’s just too much information available online. You don’t know which websites are giving you facts instead of some trendy opinion. Some of the information available freely online can be contradictory. Also, workouts and exercises that work for other people may not necessarily work for you.
However, if you’re getting all your information from a single website for which you’ve paid membership, then the information is simply more trustworthy. The pros on the other end, if they’re from a reputable brand (such as Fitness 19), will make sure they only offer factual information.
In addition, gyms will still check out your individual case, and note your specific fitness goals. They’ll also take your unique set of strengths and weaknesses into account. And then they can help form a customized workout plan for your needs.
No More Travel Hassles
This is perhaps one of the more obvious advantages of an online membership. You’ll remember this reason when you’ve insisted on in-person attendance at gyms and then you’re caught in traffic along the way. You also have to spend money on gas. And you hope your car doesn’t break down along the way, or that you’re not involved in a traffic mishap.
No Social Issues
Sure, there aren’t people around. But sometimes that’s a good thing. That means no judgments, no snickers, and no mean comments about how out of shape you are. No one will harass you, make passes at you, or ogle you. You’re safe from these things at home, where you can just relax and be yourself.
Safer
In the end, no one’s really sure when Covid will be gone for good. Even as you read this, you probably can still go to Google news and find reports about current Covid cases. It may take more time for Covid to die down for good. In the meantime, practicing social distancing these days doesn’t seem like a totally bad idea at all.