Help me set a goal.

[disneysteve]

Home gyms are boring.

huge psychological factor - what does a person like to do? I see too many of my patients sucked into the gym on New Years Day and they get bored and have stopped going by St. Patrick's Day.

I like to swim.

I think all of this makes sense, with the understanding that the first statement was just your personal opinion, as many people love their home gyms. But I agree, that you need to do exercise that you enjoy or else you won't keep doing it.

Personally, I've got a treadmill and I use it. I like to walk. I pop in a DVD and watch a movie while walking and half the time I don't want to stop when my 30 minutes is up because I want to see what happens next in the film. Replace that treadmill with some other piece of equipment and I'd likely never use it. Am I getting a good all-over workout? No. But I'm getting a lot more exercise walking than if I wasn't walking.

It sounds like you are quite confident that you and other family members will make good use of a pool. So it is just a question of how to pay for it.

[Scanner]

InDebtinDC,

Gosh. . .I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I actually have a huge respect for personal trainers and the breadth of their knowledge. Let's just leave it at that as I don't want to bore the forum with internecine feuding that DC's, PT's and certified personal trainers often engage in. Let's just say I am more likely to refer to a personal trainer for exercise instruction/conditioning than a PT.

What I guess I mean is the gym (home or otherwise) is boring to me.

Yes, cross-training is the mantra of the day but I don't know. . .I don't want to learn new sports. I don't want to cross-train. I'm almost 40 and I don't want to be a Bo Jackson.

And a personal trainer can't make me want to.

I want to swim.

I want to swim.

I want to swim.

I miss it. Having a family and business has seperated it from my first love.

There's an old saying in coaching maybe you are familiar with - when you try to strengthen an athletes weaknesses, you just end up with strong weaknesses. That's what cross-training does IMO. I do think cross-training has it's place for serious athletes when they are attempting recovery in their primary sport. Of course, triathletes constantly cross-train.

Point of the old saying, you aren't going to make Tiger Woods into a Reggie White.

You put me on the track or one of those machines that move up and down (a stairstepper?). . .I'll just end up being a weak runner or a weak stairstepper. I am not built to be a sprinter or marathoner or a skinny, little cute aerobic instructor who bounces around with a pony tail. I'm a big guy, even when I was 15% body fat.

I have big shoulders, an average chest, and a belly that needs reducing.

Swimming I can do the rest of my life. Running as long as my knees holds out.

Did I make it clear I want to swim?

[sweeps]

Did I make it clear I want to swim?

Again I know this is sacrilege around here, but do you want to wait another 5-10 years before you get "reunited with your first love"? How much more will the home equity payment be than the amount you plan on saving per month?

[Aleta]

Scanner: What state do you live in?

[InDebtInDC]

InDebtinDC,

Gosh. . .I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be disrespectful. I actually have a huge respect for personal trainers and the breadth of their knowledge. Let's just leave it at that as I don't want to bore the forum with internecine feuding that DC's, PT's and certified personal trainers often engage in. Let's just say I am more likely to refer to a personal trainer for exercise instruction/conditioning than a PT.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you were disrespectful. I meant that I wasn't going to label you as one of those problematic clients because doing so would be disrespectful to you.

I know a lot of trainers rip people off, and I don't blame you for your attitude. Plus doing something is better than nothing at all

And to be honest with you, I've observed a lot of trainers who don't know I'm a trainer. Overall I'm not very pleased with how a lot of them operate or the level of knowledge they have. So I'm on your side.


My only concern is that it's a big big investment. Are you sure you will make it worthwhile? What's your exit strategy if 2 weeks later you realize you don't like it?

[humandraydel]

Have you considered a standard in-ground pool? I have no basis for this, but my feeling is that a standard in-ground pool will increase the value of your house more than an endless pool will. Lots of people will enjoy the social gathering aspect of a deck and pool. Mmm, barbecues!

[Scanner]

I liive in NJ and I live in a McMansion.

SO I have a big house on a small piece of property making an inground pool a nightmare to install.

My house is on an 80 x 100 lot.