I have a confession. A big ol’ hairy one.

I am a personal trainer who hates gyms.

They just aren’t logical to me.

Don’t get me wrong, I completely believe in the value and necessity of working out, exercising, and being active. However, I don’t see the necessity of going to a gym to do it. Have you ever really looked at what goes on in a gym? It reminds me of a torture chamber.

Grab the Ditch the Gym Fitness GuideIf you are someone that absolutely loves going to the gym, no judgment. I just personally don’t get it.

I think this is where my hippie roots come out glaringly. I am a child of the sun. I would much rather get my activity frolicking, climbing trees, and running amuck. You know, getting in touch with my inner goofball of a child.

My ideal workout is taking my kids to the trampoline park or going to a playground and playing my butt off. I am actually writing this poolside as my son swims and you’d better believe that I will be joining him shortly and we’ll be getting our heart rates up and putting stress on our muscles just playing around.

Much better than the gym.

It is a little more difficult during the winter, but that makes it a great time to do all the heavy lifting, re-arrange furniture, shovel snow, push the morons who think our hill isn’t icy out of ditches, take the kids ice skating, or play stick and puck with my son. So don’t give me the excuse about not being able to be active during the winter because I’m not buying it.

Honestly, one of the only reasons I step foot in a gym today is to powerlift. And it is only because I enjoy it. With a little guidance on how to properly target muscles and maybe a few home fitness tools to supplement your activity, it is completely do-able to avoid the gym altogether.

Today’s society has put such an obligatory, “should” and “have to” connotation on going to the gym that it makes it pretty damn impossible for people to have room to “want to”.

Life is too short to do shit that you loath doing. It’s like eating Brussels sprouts for every meal. (theoretically, because I personally love Brussels sprouts)

Life is too short to waste on things you loathe doing @ashliepappas

Click To Tweet

There are some people that love going to the gym, it’s their oasis from their day-to-day. That’s cool. But there are many who feel like they have to go to the gym to be considered healthy or fit and that just isn’t true. They put so much pressure to hit the gym x number times a week that when they find they hate it they put more pressure on themselves and then ultimately quit altogether and find a new series on Netflix to binge out on.That’s not cool.

There shouldn’t be any shame or guilt attached to whether someone chooses to go to the gym or chooses to forego the gym. I am giving you permission to give the gym the finger and never look back (unless of course, you decide the gym is your cup of tea).

If you are at a loss to find ways to stay fit, toned, and healthy outside of a gym setting, grab my outside the box exercise guide, it will give you an idea of what muscle groups you can work doing daily tasks as well as fun activities. For now, I am going to go hop into this water and play tag with my son.

Do you have a love or hate relationship with the gym? What resonates with you? Do share in the comments below!

Grab the Ditch the Gym Fitness Guide