To hate the gym

[OhOfCourse]

So recently joined a gym with a pool. I love swimming so in my first week went three times for an hour each.

Today I thought I'd try out the gym. Treadmill, cycle, etc. I hated it. Hate sweating. Hate. Hate. Hate.

Problem is I have tonnes to lose (literally!).

AIBU to ditch the gym and keep to swimming? Would be interested to hear from gym bunnies who know their stuff!!

Lifting weights in a gym is good as you burn calories & fat for about 24 hours post workout and it tones you up as you lose weight.

But if you don't enjoy it then don't do it, you have to choose a type if exercise that you like or you won't keep at it.

To be honest I found dieting (counting calories) to be the best way to lose weight.
Exercise makes you fit, healthy & toned but it's pointless without dieting - and making sure your food is nutritious.

Weights I can do. It's just running and cycling

Weights - yes diet is vital to lose weight but you can really reshape your body with weights. If you can stretch to it try some one on one PT sessions - otherwise there are lots of Apps that can help and also you tube has good routines.
I couldn't imagine it training. Get some good
music on your phone and listen to that to keep you motivated.
Unless you're ploughing through the pool doing a lot of laps I don't think it can compare.
Good luck!

I'm not going to be the OP that asks AIBU and everyone says yes and ignores but a quick Google .. www.rihealthandfitness.com/swimming-vs-running-which-is-a-better-weight-loss-workout/

I hate gyms too. Why are people running and cycling on machines when they could be doing that outside for free and getting fresh air and a change of scenery too? So I do that instead. Also I went to a legs, bums and tums exercise class for a while but didn't like it because it was too loud, too crowded and the floor was too hard. So I memorised the exercises and now do them at home in front of the TV. Much more pleasant! And I've saved myself a fortune. Good luck OP.

Youre more likely to stick long term with something you love than something you "have to do"

To the poster who asked Why do people use machines in gyms? Well, pretty obvious reasons but here we are:
Well I for one because at 7pm/8pm it's dark for a large chunk of the year and obviously less safe for a female. I also don't want to constantly stop/ start running to cross roads, get in the way of pedestrians or get rained on.
In the gym I can run without worrying about the above and can also listen to something or watch something. And I've no shortage of fresh air as I walk to work and back every day. I can also use other cardio machines such as the cross trainer and rower and all the other strength training machines all for one price.

OP do what you like and feel encouraged by. If you enjoy swimming do it. You don't have to use the gym. However, as mentioned above, if losing weight is your concern you'll be able to that more easily and more swiftly if you reduce your calorie intake as well as the swimming.

Best of luck.

I hate getting sweaty too, but I hate swimming more so by it is for me.

I swim 3 times per week, and cycle to the gym for a weights session twice per week. I had 4 stone to lose and have lost a stone doing this routine and eating 1400-1600 cals for one month. The trick I find is to make everything about swimming. The weights and circuit I do is all done with the intention of strength for swimming. The cycle is just another form of cardio to give me a boost. And when I do swim, I don't just swim for time or diatance. I also swim for training - drills with fins, floats and paddles are my specialty.

Inhort, you can achieve your goals if you make swimming the focus but not necessarily the only thing you do.

Whatever exercise you do is great. And that will change - I go for years favouring one type of exercise only to try another sort and love that for a bit. Or a combination of exercises.

Don't feel you have to do one thing and that's it. The key to making exercise work for you is doing stuff you enjoy.

So start with swimming if that's what you feel like and then maybe one day you might feel brace enough to do a class, or to have a session in the gym.

It's all up to you - remember you're doing it FOR YOU and no one else!

Sometimes it's a case of doing the thing you hate lots and lots of times before that psychological change happens and you go from hating something to tolerating or even loving it.

I think personally that the benefits of swimming are only for those who are good swimmers. I can swim but never had lessons like my own children and I don't swim like they do. I never get muscle pain after swimming the way I do after other exercise. It's got to be better than nothing but I'd guess that fast walking would be more beneficial for me than swimming.

If you do weights def get advice first, there's good techniques and routines and I imagine you could injure yourself. I love body pump classes personally and it has absolutely transformed my body, along with a change in diet.

Also re. The sweating, I always see it as a badge of how hard I have worked. If I haven't sweated much and see someone else at the end of a class drenched, I feel regretful and that I should have gone for it more.

Sometimes it's a case of doing the thing you hate lots and lots of times before that psychological change happens and you go from hating something to tolerating or even loving it.

I agree. IMO, it's the common thread that runs through all exercise - an elevated heart rate and the resulting discomfort, the soreness, the hard work - that people don't like, so I'm not sure it makes much sense for a beginner who hates running to not run.

Running is, bar knee problems, the perfect exercise. If you stick with it long enough, you can almost certainly tolerate or even enjoy it.