Let’s cut to the chase here—yes. Yes, you will. But, because we have so many folks that are apprehensive about joining a facility or are anxious about if they’ll feel comfortable inside a gym, I decided to give you some idea of what our community is like to prove to you that it isn’t what you may be imagining.
While I guarantee you that The Athletic Club in Marble Falls is unlike any place you’ve worked out before, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a better idea of what The Athletic Club is all about. We’ll start with the reasons behindwhy our members work out, go over a FAQ, and close out with a bad pun. But first, why do people work out?
Why People Work out at The Athletic Club
I want you to close your eyes and imagine what someone looks like who goes to the gym. What shows up in your mind? If you’re like most folks, the first image when I talk about gym goers is the traditional Hollywood and social media image of fitness: the sculpted abs, the incredible physique, etc. It’s easy to see all these carefully edited glimpses into what the fitness world sometimes looks like from sources like online influencers, because the lighting is always just perfect, and if things aren’t quite what they want to show, no problem—Photoshop will whisk someone’s physique into some airbrushed nonsense image. Vaguely, in the distance, you hear the song “You’re So Vain” playing.
In this world of online influencers, it’s easy to imagine that us “normal” folk won’t fit in at the gym. In fact, that’s one of the top reasons that people have anxiety about trying out a gym—because they aren’t one of “those” people. And while I can’t speak to the experience of a big commercial gym, I wanted to do an in-depth analysis of who works out at The Athletic Club, and why.
So, today, I ambushed a bunch of innocent members who were just trying to get their workout and asked them. It was perfect. I laid in wait by the front door and by the time they realized, like an antelope unaware of the alligator’s eyes poking out of the water, it was too late to escape. Here’s what they said!
People work out for quality of life first, followed by mental health, followed by aesthetics.
The overwhelming majority of people here are here because of quality of life—click here to learn more about the benefits that can come with lifting weights, for example. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to hone your physique, most folks, from the 18-year-old to the 90-year-old, care about how it improves their day-to-day lives as the top priority.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does Everyone Weight Train?
Nope! While we have plenty of folks who are here to weight train, a big percentage of us aren’t here for that alone (or at all). As you’ve likely guessed from the survey, people have all sorts of reasons for working out, and if you never touch a weight in your life, you won’t be alone. A percentage of our folks feel most at home on the cardio, in the pool, or just doing functional fitness like using our expansive open room for ab work, stretching to increase mobility, doing their own self-guided yoga work, and so forth! Click here to learn more about our facilities and what a membership can offer you (everything is included in every membership).
2. What if I’m Really out of Shape?
Ah, yes. The biggest, worst question of all. The one that keeps more people home than you’d ever imagine. Let me just clear this up for you—we don’t care if you’re fit or not. Our members are here to be their best self, and absolutely none of that relates to what you look like or how “behind” you are.
That was so important that I’m going to say it again, in italics.
We don’t care if you’re fit or not. Our members are here to be their best self, and absolutely none of that relates to what you look like or how “behind” you are.
Every single person—EVERY one of them—inside our doors is a human being. We’ve all had our moments wherewe’ve been disciplined and on top of things and proud of ourselves. We’ve also had times where we’ve not been our best and we’ve had to start over again. That, my dear reader, that drive to not let the anxiety win and to work on yourself anyway, is what separates people. I’ve told you before that I had to hire a trainer to get into a gym at first, and that’s because I almost let that anxiety beat me and I thank my lucky stars that I didn’t.
Some of my closest friends at The Athletic Club have lost a lot of weight (or gained it, depending on their goals). I myselfhave lost 30 pounds. Some of my closest friends have physiques I’ll never be able to get to, and that’s okay. Because it isn’t a competition between you and someone else— it’s a competition between you and you. And when we see other people fighting that battle too, it gives us all strength to keep fighting ours (plus, it’s a really fun thing to do once you start).
3. What If I’m a Beginner?
Then you have nowhere to go but up? Then you don’t have lots of terrible form and you can build a great foundation from the ground up? It’s really not a problem. People come in with various levels of knowledge and experience, but one of the wonderful things about the Athletic Club’s culture is that we all like health and guiding people. Beyond the friendships you may develop with your fellow members, click here to learn more about our trainers and how we can help you learn our machines/develop programs/etc. (and yes, we do this for free!).
4. What if I Have Injuries?
Two nights ago, I threw out my neck again in the middle of the night. I don’t know how, and I don’t know why. But it’s a serious problem that I’ll likely someday have to have neck surgery on to repair (which I obviously don’t want). As I’m writing this, my neck hurts. Injuries like to whisper in our ears and say, “you can’t do this.”
But you can.
All it takes is some modifications. We’ve worked with a whole lot of folks and a whole lot of restrictions, and the thing to keep in mind is that you can create a workout program for you, even if you’re limited. My fellow trainers helped me design programs for myself that I can overcome my neck injuries, knee surgeries, and so forth. I tried the “well that hurts, so I will not work out ever again” strategy for a while and I hated it. Once I got back into it, I’ve been able to live a happier, healthier life. All I need to do is figure out how to not get bested by an oddly shaped pillow.
5. What if It’s too Late?
While it is true that if you start young, you can take full advantage of the benefits of working out, you can start them at any point in your life and enjoy the benefits as well. There’s no time that is too late to begin a life of fitness, and this looks differently for everyone. For example— one of our training clients began fitness to be able to walk up the bleachers to watch her grandson play football. She did! After developing the strength and mobility, now on Friday nights she is out there living her best life and doing the things she wanted to do—because of fitness.
The best time to start is right now. I know I’m with a fitness club, and so you may be wondering if I’m just trying to coax you into buying a membership and if this is true. It is true, and you don’t need a membership anywhere to live healthier and be happier. Whether you’re a local here of Marble Falls and the surrounding areas, or whether you are somewhere way away and have somehow stumbled here, please—I urge you, take the steps to become healthy, whatever it looks like for you.
If you choose us as your ally in that, awesome! Come check us out! We’d love to have you. But we got into this business to help people, and that’s what matters to us. If you do choose us, click here to learn more about weightlifting and the benefits that help everyone from youngsters to senior citizens, and here to learn more about the heated indoor pool and how that can help with mobility, enhanced heart health, recovery, and more.
How The Athletic Club Stands Out
We did it, gang. Another blog post in the books, and you made it all the way through. I hope you learned a little something-something on the way, and as promised, here is the bad pun—what do you call a fake pasta? An impasta. Boom, there you go.
I told someone last week that the best part of working here at a gym is that I get to be around so many people working towards their goals and I get to watch their lives change, and I meant it.
Come check us out. Come see what we are all about. But even if you don’t, I urge you to take the steps to pursue fitness. You won’t look back.