Subscribe to Better Fitness

There has been a recent boom in health tracking and related sites such as thedailyplate.com, which helps users track their health and daily food intake. It always amazes me just how many online fitness subscription services / forums there are. It is obviously a topic people feel passionate about and web entrepreneurs are only too happy to oblige.

While there is no specific problem with the sites, it goes without saying that while you are on the internet you are probably not getting much exercise. It’s great if you have the discipline to exercise and track yourself, but the reality is that many of us don’t. The motivation of group exercise or personal training is not something you’re going to easily replicate online.

There are arguments to this of course. For example, the internet could be a great way to meet exercise partners in your area. In cases like TheDailyPlatter.com there is an obvious benefit to being online in the sense that you can track your calorie intake at home, at the office etc. via the internet. BUT in terms of actually getting people out the door and exercising, you can’t go past a subscription to your local gym. Being around like minded people who are also exercising is a highly effective way to get motivated and develop a regular fitness habit.

A big deterrent to gyms is the price tag. Fitness giants like Fitness First have even been accused of heavy handed tactics to maximize profits, and some ex-clients have even given them the nickname “Finance First”. Between trying to track yourself on the internet and loosing a big chunk of money to gym membership, the task of finding good ways to stay fit can become exercise in itself. One piece of advice is to try out your local YMCA, RSL or PCYC. Often these community groups offer great fitness classes but at a fraction of what gyms charge. You might also like to try your local gym instead of a chain, and ask existing gym members what they think.

While the internet can offer great online tacking tools for health and fitness, you really can’t go past a subscription to your local gym for developing a fitness habit. Once you have the discipline to get out there by yourself and develop a fitness habit, online tracking might be the solution for you.

Written by Aaron Newton, a Sydney Fitness fanatic who stays fit by swimming in Sydney harbor at 6:30am each morning. I was inspired to write this article after visiting One55 Health and Fitness Gym at Rooty Hill RSL and my experiences with online health tracking.

Article Directory: EzineArticles http://ezinearticles.com