ok clever clogs - first of all please explain to me (and a few others it seems) what a 'good phiz' is ?

and then please explain your theory to my good lady who has lost much of her large intestine and two thirds of her liver making eating certain things,that is things which the system finds hard to digest for various reasons...

I,on the other hand can and do eat anything,usually 'in moderation',I love my food and appreciate it,that's probably why i'm obese (ish) but don't come on here and make sweeping generalisations that make you look rather silly not to mention coming out with phrases which not common within my 'oldie' circles !

And people who have a self important pompus style as as yours, who then have to pick fault with grammar have lost the argument.

Quote ="sanjunien"ok clever clogs - first of all please explain to me (and a few others it seems) what a 'good phiz' is ? and then please explain your theory to my good lady who has lost much of her large intestine and two thirds of her liver making eating certain things,that is things which the system finds hard to digest for various reasons... I,on the other hand can and do eat anything,usually 'in moderation',I love my food and appreciate it,that's probably why i'm obese (ish) but don't come on here and make sweeping generalisations that make you look rather silly not to mention coming out with phrases which not common within my 'oldie' circles !'" Check out this site for some basics on body shape and metabolism www.intense-workout.com/body_types.html good phiz is physical exercise, and it doesnt need to be sweating like a suicide bomber and blowing out of your harris, especially to lose weight. As for you wife sorry to hear of her unfortunate procedure, i wouldnt class her as mrs average when looking at her digestive system and ofcourse a special diet will be required. Enjoy your phiz

Quote ="sanjunien"ok clever clogs - first of all please explain to me (and a few others it seems) what a 'good phiz' is ? and then please explain your theory to my good lady who has lost much of her large intestine and two thirds of her liver making eating certain things,that is things which the system finds hard to digest for various reasons... I,on the other hand can and do eat anything,usually 'in moderation',I love my food and appreciate it,that's probably why i'm obese (ish) but don't come on here and make sweeping generalisations that make you look rather silly not to mention coming out with phrases which not common within my 'oldie' circles !'" Check out this site for some basics on body shape and metabolism www.intense-workout.com/body_types.html good phiz is physical exercise, and it doesnt need to be sweating like a suicide bomber and blowing out of your harris, especially to lose weight. As for you wife sorry to hear of her unfortunate procedure, i wouldnt class her as mrs average when looking at her digestive system and ofcourse a special diet will be required. Enjoy your phiz

Quote ="liedetector"Check out this site for some basics on body shape and metabolism www.intense-workout.com/body_types.html good phiz is physical exercise, and it doesnt need to be sweating like a suicide bomber and blowing out of your harris, especially to lose weight. As for you wife sorry to hear of her unfortunate procedure, i wouldnt class her as mrs average when looking at her digestive system and ofcourse a special diet will be required. Enjoy your phiz'" thanks for the explanation at nearly 58 years of age and with very dodgy knees after nearly 40 years of physical graft the diet has become more important than the physical bit - my job gives me ample exercise but thanks or the tips.

Quote ="liedetector"Check out this site for some basics on body shape and metabolism www.intense-workout.com/body_types.html good phiz is physical exercise, and it doesnt need to be sweating like a suicide bomber and blowing out of your harris, especially to lose weight. As for you wife sorry to hear of her unfortunate procedure, i wouldnt class her as mrs average when looking at her digestive system and ofcourse a special diet will be required. Enjoy your phiz'" thanks for the explanation at nearly 58 years of age and with very dodgy knees after nearly 40 years of physical graft the diet has become more important than the physical bit - my job gives me ample exercise but thanks or the tips.

"A good workout" doesn't need to be in the form of an organised exercise routine, certainly doesn't need a gym, in fact I'd ban gyms altogether for someone who simply wishes to lose a little weight and feel a bit fitter (not be out of breath after walking up a slight hill for instance).

Cycling 15 miles a day to/from work (total mileage) lost me a stone in six weeks which is unsustainable but welcome at the same time, more importantly I started to feel fit again and yet was still 16 stone - since buying a car for the winter I have maintained the current weight but am now missing the cycling and seriously thinking of leaving the car behind three days a week and getting some rain on my face again, it certainly wakes you up in a morning.

What is it with you old folk and your attitude to gyms? There is absolutely nothing wrong with training in a gym - it can and does work for a lot of people. Even if you just take cardiovascular exercise, some people prefer to exercise indoors. But, as I said earlier, the benefits of resistance training are many, and it could easily be argued that this form of training is best/most safely carried out in a gym.

I'd rather see a ban on the sale of home exercise equipment and those bloody stupid "Slendertone" things.

I have a long-held view that the value or usefullness of any item is in inverse proportion to the numbers seen at car boot sales. That's why every other stall has a Reebok Step, step machine, cross trainer, rowing machine, exercise bike and/or breadmaker/smoothymaker for sale

with respect,I don't know how old you are (20/30s ?) but age does make a difference - my ma in law is 80 and is as fit as a fiddle - she's had a busy life both worrking and domestic though not overly 'physical' - i'm 22 years younger and have always done physical graft and certain body parts get worn believe it or not and the gym or any kind of physical work out is the last thing I want to do - my work keeps me physically strong and I do it despite the aches and pains - twenty years ago or even ten years ago I could have done the regular physical stuff now my body doesn't allow it - i'mhanging on as long as posible before having a total knee replacement because I know that will effectively end my present job and the chances of finding any other work at my age will be impossible

oh,to be younger...

That's an odd viewpoint, if I may be so bold. If you surveyed those sections of society who are members of gyms, and compared them to those who are not, the percentage who are overweight or obese would, I'd suggest, be markedly lower in the former group.

So, whilst it could be argued that a 'rising gym culture' hasn't prevented the obesity epidemic, it's also fairly obvious that the epidemic could have been even worse if it wasn't for people using gyms (or taking other forms of exercise).

Your argument is akin to saying food aid doesn't stop famine because there are still people dying of starvation. And whilst you'd be right that more fundamental steps could/should be taken to prevent famine on a more widespread scale, there's no arguing that the food aid hasn't been beneficial to those who have received it.

But you didn't announce yourself on here having a go a me for being a 'self-declared nutritional expert'? Glass houses and stones, sunshine.

And now it seems that you're addressing the issues like a sort of exercise fundamentalist who thinks everyone should eat and exercise like some sort of sports pro. See San J's comments.

You think I'm old


I don't, I'm 25 in my head but far wiser than I ever was at that age.

Gyms work for some.
I'll emphasis the "some".

Mainly all that gyms do is extract £xx out of gullible peoples wallet every month for years, offer them a health and safety introduction, give them a "to do" list that the "Sports Science" students could write out in their sleep (and probably do), and leave you to it - been there, done it all, its why I am wise.

If you want exercise then just get off the bus two stops earlier every day, walk the stairs instead of taking the lift, cut out the sweets, eat a few less biscuits with your coffee at 11am, don't buy coffee with anything more than coffee and water in it - none of those things require a membership or joining fee, all of them will be of benefit.

You won't have abs like a boy band member or biceps like a WWE jock, but then those things don't last for long when you realise that you need to save £xx a month and spend it on heating your home instead.

To clarify, I was talking about some of the older posters' attitudes to gyms, rather than whether or not they use one.

Of course the gym isn't for everyone, I wouldn't pretend it is. But just as I don't deride a person who prefers to cycle to work or go for a walk, I don't see the need for others to deride gyms and gym usage.

I'm with you on the Slendertone items, but I'd have to take issue with the home exercise equipment. Many people do use the stuff they buy, and just because many more do not, is no reason to ban its sale.

Where's the evidence of that?

Looking at the people I know who go to a gym, they're either very sports minded (and rather younger than me), are fighting the same constant battle with weight that I fought for years (and, like me, losing it), or actually like the gym, or are actually panicking about being middle aged.

The ones who stuff the junk food etc aren't likely to be going to the gym (or doing much else in the way of organised exercise).

Seen many cookbooks Coddy?

And you wonder why I think you're old? Jesus.

Let's dispel one myth here and now: gyms are not only beneficial to those who want a six pack or bulging biceps. I used to manage a hotel gym whose members were nearly all aged 50-70. They benefitted from regular exercise in a safe, friendly environment, and got to have a chat with their friends. You see, not all gyms are massive metal sheds populated by steroid-fuelled tossbags.

I take your point about the staff not being great in a lot of places, but, again, this tends to be more the case in the larger commercial gyms.

You seem to be confusing 'wisdom' with intransigence, in this instance. There are good gyms out there, there are some good gym staff out there (though many are crap, granted), and gyms work for a much broader cross section of people than 'jocks' and 'boy band members'.

I don't see the size (

) of the problem here anyway.
We only have to change a t to an s in the thread title and we are sorted.

I don't have any evidence, just going on my own observations. When I look around the inside of a gym, I see fewer overweight people as a percentage of those present than I see in, say, the supermarket. So, if we have a 'rising gym culture', it's reasonable to suggest that this rise might have mitigated some of the effects of the obesity epidemic. Whilst not compelling evidence in itself, it has at least as much merit as your assertion that gym use isn't part of the solution to these problems.

Yes, thats why I said they work for "some".

Do you see what I mean about wisdom now as well ?

Not really, since you went to great pains to stress the "some", then went on a little mini-rant about gullible people joining gyms, boy band members and jocks. The subtext was abundantly clear.

Thousands, I've even bought the odd one myself - "Prawnography" being the latest

...and with you agreeing that many gyms and staff are far from being to the standard that you describe as your "friendly hotel gym"...



For far too many joining a gym is either a hope for a magic bullet with no thought about commitment or a trend that fails on the first cold wet morning or dark winters evening when an extra hour in bed or drinks at a bar in town with workmates seems like a better idea.

I've been a member in friendly hotel gyms (Post House and Seb Coe) and in one of your "commercial" gyms (Esporta), they were useful in their ways but no match for doing it for free in the fresh air with no goal but to stay fit.

LMAO where does a balananced diet with good physical exercise, become a sports pro???? Which sport for a start..... You obviously consider yourself a font of knowledge on this so please digress.

Many are. But we're talking about gyms in general, not all gyms. And even those that don't hit that particular standard are useful to some. My gym is far from the best in terms of staff, and many of the members are half-witted meat heads. In its favour though, it's cheap, well equipped, clean and relatively local. That works for me.



That can be said of any exercise regime or fitness programme. There are many people who won't get off the bus two stops earlier or go for a bike ride when it's cold/raining/dark/windy, either.



For you, and many others, perhaps. But there are just as many people for whom that method does not work, and for whom the gym is a better option. To suggest that one way is inherently better than the other is ridiculous and blinkered. I much prefer training in a gym, but I can easily respect those who prefer to stay fit in other ways. Horses for courses and all that.

Intense-workout.com is not a site aimed at ordinary people. It's a site aimed at fitness/sports buffs.

And when are you going to actually respond to the points I raised to you earlier? You seem to be ducking them at present.

And no, I don't consider myself a "font of all knowledge" and have never claimed that. That doesn't mean that I do not have knowledge and experience, and have not bothered to invest some time in studying some of the issues we're discussing here.