Geelong's Gym

Have you been thinking lately that you need to do some exercise, but you don’t want to shell out on a Gym membership?  I bet the next step in your thinking goes something along the lines of… “I know, I’ll get a treadmill for home – that’ll be heaps cheaper and I’ll use it all the time!”

Sounds like a great plan.  Except, it doesn’t usually work out quite the way you think it will…

Dr Marc Dussault from Exponential Programs sent me this great graph he got from GraphJam, which I thought I’d share with you.  Still thinking it’s too expensive to join a Gym??!!

Yes, it’s true.  Geelong’s Gym is contributing to the Australian economy and not just by providing jobs!

I’m sure you know health and fitness is good for you and everybody else, but it’s also good for the economy.  Why?

Well, it has a huge impact on the cost of health care, employment and even our GDP.  Currently, around 1.73 million Australians are estimated to use fitness centres.  That’s a big number, true.  But here’s what Fitness Australia has estimated will be the impact if that figure increased to 10% of the population:

• An additional $204.8 million will be saved in health care costs
• 2609 extra full time employees in the workforce
• As a result of the additional employees mentioned above, an increased GDP of approximately $82 million

Maybe you’re a bit sceptical.  But the simple fact is, improving your health and fitness is the best thing you can do for yourself, your family, your community and your country!

You see, the fitter and healthier you and the rest of Australia are, the more energetic and productive we’ll all be and much more likely to participate in the workforce.  This, of course, is fantastic for the many businesses and industries we are involved in.

Maybe it's time to pull on the exercise gear and start getting fit and healthy

But that’s not the only benefit of health and fitness.  The four main diseases most associated with physical inactivity are:

• Type 2 Diabetes  
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Osteoarthritis
• Cancer

Did you know in 2004-05, the direct health care relating to these four diseases was $14.6 billion?

Now imagine the savings if we could reduce the number of obesity-related chronic diseases. Even if just 50% of gym users exercised regularly, the estimated savings in direct health care costs is $71.9 million – $49.8 million of that figure is just the avoided costs of cardiovascular disease.

And it’s really simple to achieve… all you need to do is start getting fit and healthy today!

The Center of Disease Control and Prevention states that most adults just need about 30 minutes of moderate exercise, five times a week to stay healthy. This moderate exercise can include taking a brisk walk, dancing, swimming, cycling, or even walking your dog! What you’ll realize is that packing in 30 minutes of such activity should not be an issue at all.

Did you know that more than half the people who start a fitness regime give it up within less than a year. Almost 3 in every 4 men feel that they should be exercising more than what they do. Almost 100% of men admit that they have at times skipped workouts and opted for some other activity in times of a conflict.

It’s surprising that fitness takes such a backseat in our lives especially since an average adult male can save up to a thousand dollars in medical expenses by being regular with a fitness program.

The issue doesn’t only plague adults. With increasing dependence on computers and technology, outdoor games have become a thing of the past for many kids. Even in high school, only about 1 in 5 students is physically active and for only 20 minutes in a day. Can you believe that?!?!

The thrill of fitting into a dress that you have not been able to wear for years or the great feeling you have when you know that someone is checking you out is something that really can’t be explained.

So guess what? Get yourself to the gym NOW!!!!

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