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From a reader named Laura Brown:
I recently joined a gym in a low-income part of Baltimore. For $10 a month, a person has unlimited access to the equipment — including treadmills that have individual televisions with about 20 different channels. For $19.99 a month, they have unlimited access as well as unlimited guest privileges. I’ve only been to the gym twice since I signed up, but both times (in the evening), the gym has been almost to capacity. However, despite the fact that it is almost impossible to find an open treadmill, many patrons don’t seem to be there to workout — most of them are obese, and the majority of the treadmills seem to run on the minimum speed settings — .5 mph — not fast enough for anyone to even break a sweat. I was pondering this yesterday during my jog, and it occurred to me that it is entirely possible that many of these people are using a gym membership (and the subsequent treadmill-television access) as a substitute for cable.
Worth a raised brow for sure, and maybe a chuckle, but living in New York, my first response was: $10 for a gym membership?
and 
. You can also watch it on 
I believe I used to be a member of this same gym. Possibly even the same EXACT gym you speak of in Baltimore. I canceled my membership once it got the the levels you that have just imagined. While you raise an interesting question, I doubt that the people joined for the cable. Especially because they have to drive there with gas costing $3.40 a gallon. If you drove to the gym half of the days of the month, and used half a gallon of gas round trip (7-15 miles round trip depending on car/truck) then you could have bought yourself a cable package. This, of course, does not take into account people coming home from work, passing the gym. But American Idol is on at 8, work is over at 5…
As an ACSM personal trainer, my suggestion to your observation of “most of them are obese…minimum speed settings — .5 mph…” is that they take the motto of the club to heart. “The Judgment Free Zone.” I once saw a woman drinking a Pepsi while walking on the treadmill… I judged. Talk about counterproductive. Although, to her credit, the 150 calories in her Pepsi is still less than the 220 calories in one Monster “energy drink”… These people likely do not understand how they became obese and will be equally as confused when they fail to lose weight at the gym walking at .5mph.
“$10 for a gym membership?” And how many months are they required to pay? How many months can you continue at $10?
Historically these places have signed people up using a “cheap” plan with a one year minimum (some more, some less), people quit going after a few weeks but are stuck with paying the balance. Those that continue to use the gym find that the rates are much higher after the teaser rate runs out.
What Laura is missing in her haste to blame poor people for clogging her gym:
Walking, even at a speed too slow to “break a sweat,” IS valuable exercise, especially if these people are doing it for the length of a network TV show or two. (Show me an obese person who regularly walks for an hour (or even a half-hour) of their own volition.)
In fact, those TVs are doing their job, helping the aforementioned obese people get exercise they desperately need, whether or not you approve of the intensity.
Wow. So many obese people are at the gym. *gasp* How dare FAT people take up the treadmills – and going so SLOWLY too!!! What are they thinking.
I just don’t really know what to say here. Ms. Laura Brown has obviously never been obese and doesn’t have the first clue that when you’re overweight and out of shape, you can’t just hop on a treadmill and start running. Sometimes a slow walk is the best you can manage w/out pain.
I used to be one of those 100+ lb obese people and I know how hard it is. How lame you feel because you can’t run, you can’t do what looks so natural to everyone else. How embarrassing it is to put your fat ass on a piece of gym equipment and have no idea how to use it properly. And that, my friends, is why a lot of obese people DON’T go to the gym. They know people are looking at them and mocking them or judging them because they’re fat and out of shape. Like perfect Ms. Laura is up there.
Ditto!
Ms. Brown comments are truly arrogant. In any case, considering that normal walking pace is about 3 MPH, 5MPH is not all that slow.
Some time ago I had the privilege to work with a man who helped develop a portable lactate meter. Without going into details it was useful to determine at what point one’s metabolism during exercise turned from aerobic to anaerobic. We found that some housewives were anaerobic simply moving about their kitchens.
Clean your screen – you missed a decimal point.
I don’t think so. How many TV’s do they have? They are forced to watch certain channels. They have to be lucky to get the ones they want. Maybe they are so poor that anything on tv is good. But then, it’s good for them even if it is 0.5 speed setting. I thought you were going to say many of them just gather and stand to watch, that would be appaling.
I have wondered about gym population as well. My gym background: I work out at 24 Hour Fitness and got lucky years ago when a new one opened up and paid $1200 down once and now pay $20 a year. I have worked out at 24 Fitnesses all over the SF Bay Area in varying economic communities, the most recent being the well-to-do Marin County.
Going *very* early inthe morning, say 6 am there aren’t a lot of people there (at any location). 7 am, is far more popular and is mixed with people finishing up cardio routines and high schoolers. 8 am, the crowd dips again. Noon, the lunch corwd comes in. In all of these, 5 days a week, the pattern is the same.
The weekday evenings and weekend mornings are the craziest to find an open cardio. Most people aren’t focused on the TV, but are legitimately working out. Maybe because they have DVRs where the lower income ones don’t? Weeknight corwds are filled with *everybody* – after-schoolers, people getting off work, and some just looking for a date. You’d be surprised ho many people put on make up or cologne before going tot he gym.
As for the last comment, I don’t think Planet Fitness in NY is much more than $10.
$10/month will give the peace of mind and the excuse.