Health Pirates and the return on their investment.
Not sure where this post should go. It technically does not involve running so I figured it would be a good opportunity to update this blog and get a certain reader off my back.
In November, driven by injury and my desire to do a triathlon, I did something I vowed never to do. I joined a health club. I am not really a health club kind of guy. This stems mainly from my aversion to social interaction and my disdain for the social status that is regularly on display at these establishments. I have been very critical in the past of people dropping $60 a month to run on the streets around the health club instead of running on the streets around the health club for free. This still bothers me.
To my surprise I have not totally hated this experience. There are quite a few people like me at the club. I can tell because they also keep to themselves and have the disdain in their eyes that I’m sure mine reflect. I also have started to enjoy swimming and “spinning”. Both are excellent no impact workouts.
The club experience is not the point of this post. The point is the people who go to this club and their individual shapes. As I said I have been a “member” since November. Over the three months I have been there I have attended at least 4 times a week, more often I am there 5 or 6 times. I regularly see the same people there. The odd thing is they look EXACTLY the same at they did in November.
You may be asking, “Tom, Why wouldn’t they look the same? It’s only 3 months”. I realize this is a short period of time, but a large percentage of these people are kind of……well…….to be kind….larger. After 3 months you would think a little improvement would be the norm. I can’t say I have seen more than one or two where this is the case and many have drifted the other direction.
This has been bothering me. I was at one point a rather floppy kind of guy. When I finally buckled down there was drastic improvement in the first 3-6 months and steady improvement thereafter. At my club this is not the case. You continually hear things like “I wish I had time to be here” and “I’ve got to start working out more”. To that I say “pffff”. Anyone can find a spare hour in their day, especially when your club is open from 5am-10pm every day. Even the freaking President (who is not normally complimented on this site and should not get used to it) finds an hour to work out every day. Of couse making sure you catch all 3 news casts and Wheel Of Fortune every night is much more pivitol than what most us “excercise nuts” go through.
So over the past 3 weeks I have been observing. I find I see certain people on certain days, but very few every day. The few I see every day do not fall in with the large percentage.
I have come to a staggering conclusion, the majority of the people who need to be there every day are not and the people who could slide once in a while don’t. The people who should be there are getting a TERRIBLE return on their investment. Every month they figure it is worth $60 a month to exercise 1-2 days week and see no improvement.
These people are the workout equivalent to Pittsburgh Pirate fans. They pay an enormous sum of money for a state of the art facility, they rarely show up to use it, and when they do it is a painful experience. And like Pittsburgh Pirate fans there is very little hope it will ever get better.
The strange thing is, in the difficult economic atmosphere we are in, you would think their numbers would dwindle. To the contrary they seem to be multiplying. Somehow, despite hardships they voluntarily continue to shell out cash for something the don’t use. And that is where their comparison to Pirate fans end. At least they stop showing up in September.