There Is No Initiation Fee To Join The Earth Gym
One of the finest examples of simple living in action is the Earth Gym. I became acquainted with the Earth Gym after reading a book called “How to Live Green, Cheap, & Happy” by Randi Hacker. This had an amazing impact on me. Something about giving a concept a label makes it easier to incorporate into my life.
The Earth Gym is simply using your everyday life and the earth as your free gym where you don’t have to make extra time to fit exercise into your schedule, don’t need designer workout clothes and don’t need to pay to join a health club. Here is how the Earth Gym concept affected me within one week of reading the book. I had scheduled two appointments in town one day. The first was to a doctor whose office was within two miles of town. I left the doctor, and as I headed into town where parking costs $2 per hour, I began to grumble about the cost of doing business in town. Then it occurred to me. Parking near the doctor’s office was free. I could easily have left my car in the doctor’s neighborhood and used the free Earth Gym by walking briskly to and from my second appointment. With traffic and other downtown foolishness, I don’t know that it would have taken me much longer to walk.
The next time the Earth Gym concept dawned on me was at a family camp weekend. All participants drew cards in the beginning that indicated which chore we would perform during the three-day camp. My job was to mop the floors of the lodge building. The lodge building was huge and the floors filthy because that was where everybody ate dinner.
Prior to learning about the Earth Gym, this task would have put me in a crabby mood because the job demanded a lot of energy to shove one of those big, heavy, industrial mops and buckets around an enormous amount of floor space. In fact, it seemed to me like I picked one of the hardest jobs.
Enter Earth Gym. I grumbled for about five minutes when the light bulb went off as I began to sweat, push, pull, stretch and lift. I was getting a free aerobic workout while going about my daily life! This is a true story. I suddenly became joyful and thankful that I had drawn that card.
I was thankful because lately I have been trying to make it to a gym or at least an aerobics class. I just never seem to get there. Lo and behold, the Earth Gym concept blows in my door! So now I have accomplished four things: 1. Save money. 2. Save time. 3. Get exercise. 4. Get a new attitude about chores. Chores are now an opportunity rather than a burden. Who would ever have thought it?
Think of the possibilities! Here is another one I actually created prior to hearing about the Earth Gym concept. I live about two miles from my children’s school. One day I told them they had a choice. They could either ride the school bus (not their favorite activity) or they could walk with me. They chose to walk with me. This doesn’t happen every day, but so what.
I’m using the Earth Gym whenever I can. And the kids have learned about it, too.
In my pre-children days I once lived in an apartment that was about two or three miles from the place where I had a summer job. I was in school and had no extra money to park my car downtown. So I walked. It helped that I was always waiting until the last minute so I had to walk briskly. Without even trying or thinking about it or dieting, during that one summer I lost two pant sizes, felt great, and saved huge amounts of money that I would have had to spend to park all day in town.
By using the Earth Gym, you’re not only helping your own life and attitude, but think of all the gas and resources you’re saving in the process. And you don’t even need to make Earth Gym your only gym. Some of you may like or feel the need to go to the commercial gym, so you can use Earth Gym to supplement. Or you can supplement by doing situps and other exercises on your own floor for 20 minutes in the morning. Either way, you benefit.
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