8 Comments

Thanks for your post. I enjoyed reading it, Sarah. It was interesting to know that there is a far-top-end gym I cannot afford. I also asked myself the objective of going to the gym. I tried to go to the gym regularly and always realized myself discontinuing. But after having my back problem recently, I started thinking about doing something again. The time has come to do something serious: continue my tennis and climbing mountains. At my age, in my early 60s, keeping up my strength and flexibility has always been key. Your post gave me a good chance of my exercise plan.

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Offers like this remind me of how differently we all experience life. In this case, it’s hard to fathom how someone could just slap 40k a year down to run on a treadmill and get prodded, measured and monitored. It sounds kind of miserable, in my opinion. Sure, extra cash would be nice, but think of all the other things one could be doing (that also applies to celebrity manicures btw.😂 Can you imagine all the TIME spent beautifying nails, hair, face…). And my goodness, what a shame to miss out on all the great things life has to offer in the name of a 6-pack!

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Haha! You’re exactly right, it does sound utterly miserable. Imagine the pressure of having to maximize that kind of membership too! Although if you have tons of money, spending 40k on a gym membership is just small change.

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Equinox's pricing reminds me of the movie Elysium, where only the wealthiest have access to healthcare on the moon (or was it a space station?). I know, right? When will sci-fi stop becoming a playbook for the future!

Wouldn't it be amazing if Equinox's all-encompassing health plan was available for everyone? (I know I'm a silly girl.)

Good luck on finding that perfect gym. Gyms create that eye twitch for me because I'm not good at playing with others. 😅 But there's something for everyone ~ everybody just needs to find the healthy lifestyle that works for them! Your life depends on it!

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I know that I’ve heard of the film Elysium, but not seen it. But it does sound very much like Equinox’s pricing!

And it certainly would be amazing if these kind of options/facilities were available for everyone. This idea was definitely where my mind went when I read about the programme originally. (Hey, guys — how about finding public health care systems properly so that everyone can benefit, right?). But… capitalism.

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It's funny this came today, I have a story for you. Today, I visited a fancy health monitor thing that tells you how well you fit into certain categories like BMI, blood pressure, and fat content. For the first time in my 44+ years of life on this planet, I was comfortably healthy in pretty much all my metrics (I know - round of applause, right?) All those green windows were very affirming indeed. You know my secret? Going to the park each evening and doing the monkey bars. That's it. 100% free.

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Definitely a round of applause in order haha!

And I love how you describe how it was affirming - it is!

The original version of this piece was a bit more of a rant at the way that exercise and 'health' more broadly can be packaged and commodified. It sometimes feels as though the only way to be healthy is spend money on stuff like clothes, gym memberships... when actually, you can do so much for free like you do!

I am curious, what prompted the visit to the fancy health monitor?

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That's good to hear, Hideo.

Your comment about considering the objective of going to the gym gave me pause too - gym facilities certainly aren't for everyone and when the weather is good, I would much rather be outside!

I try to walk as much as possible in HK, and fortunately the city is relatively easy to get around. I would imagine that places like Tokyo are much the same?

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