Why I Switched Gyms

The Obsession

Edition - 017

Welcome to The Obsession, glad you’re here.

I recently changed gyms, from a big “luxury” brand-name gym to a smaller HIIT + Strength Training gym that’s class only.

I hated the former during the two months I was there. And honestly, leaving it was one of the best things I’ve done lately.

Here are the two reasons why.

1) It saves time (and decision fatigue)

If you go to a gym with an open floor, I’d bet you spend more time wandering or thinking than you realize.

“What should I do today?”
“What machine is open?”
“Do I feel like lifting heavy or taking it light?”
“What’s the plan?”

Even if you’re disciplined, the open floor creates friction. Too many options, too many distractions, and it’s easy to waste time without realizing it.

At this class-only gym, none of that exists.

I don’t prep the workout, it’s already planned.
I don’t wait for machines or weights.
I’m not walking from one area to another.

I show up and we go.

No phone distracting me. No eyeing a machine I want to use. No standing around because someone else isn’t sure what to do.

It’s simple: less thinking, more working.

2) The people at the gym matter

This is my favorite part.

At the class gym, there’s no “I kind of feel like taking it light today.” It doesn’t matter how you feel, you’re pushed by the people around you. You feed off the energy. It becomes normal to show up and do the work.

And the moment it clicked for me was small, but it mattered:

After one visit, the staff and other members remembered my name.

That might not sound like a big deal, but it is. It instantly feels like a place you belong. And when you feel like you belong somewhere that holds a higher standard, you start showing up differently.

At my previous gym, it felt like a lot of people were there to be seen more than they were there to train. Not everyone, but enough that it changed the environment.

And it reminded me:

You are a product of the people and environment you surround yourself with… so choose wisely.

From day one at the new gym, I felt welcomed. I felt pushed. I felt a community I could actually be a part of.

And I like to think that’s a pretty good way to spend time working out.

The Weekly 3

1) One Question I Asked Myself

Where am I adding friction to my routine that doesn’t need to be there?

2) One Idea That Shifted Me

The right environment makes discipline easier, because it raises the standard of what’s normal.

3) One Challenge to Take Into Your Week

Pick one area of your life (fitness, work, habits) and remove one thing that adds friction.
Then put yourself around one person or place that naturally raises your standard.