I usually stayed in decent shape through undergrad and law school due to walking to class and using the gym 2-3 times per week. Since I graduated law school last May, however, my life has become much more busy while simultaneously becoming much more sedentary. I sit at my desk from 8:30 to 5:00 while I'm at the office and then even more when I work at home.
I kind of hit my physical rock bottom earlier this year. I'm 5'8 and ballooned to up to 199.8 pounds and, more importantly, found that I was extremely sore after playing a game of...softball. This motivated me to get a decent hold of things--I improved my diet, went on walks during my lunch break and at night with my girlfriend, and added more physical activity (e.g., cut my dad's grass with a push mower).
I got my weight down to about 189 pounds, but things have plateaued. I really haven't made much progress in the last month and it's been frustrating. I'm still sore for a couple days after playing softball and that's actually de-motivating me from doing more physical/grinding exercise in the morning.
So I'm contemplating joining Planet Fitness, which is $10.73 per month and has a $31.00 annual fee. That's pretty cheap ($159.76 annually) and shouldn't impact me too much financially. I really miss lifting with weights and using cardio machines...that's when I was in the best shape of my life.
I hesitate, though, because I think my problem is more on the mental/motivational side than what I'm actually doing. There's a local bike trail right across the street from the gym that is obviously free...I should go running there but I never do. My girlfriend has Insanity tapes and I think about using them...but never do. I have ample space to do exercises at home (push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, etc.)...and never do. And I've had gym memberships before--much more expensive ones--and eventually stopped going for weeks at a time.
So I guess my question is this: should I make the plunge and join a gym? Or, for those with desk jobs, what do you do to stay healthy if you don't belong to a gym?
I wake up at about 6:30 and don't go into the office until 8:30 or 9:00, so time isn't the issue. It's motivation. I'm hoping there's some sort of great home circuit (30-45 minutes) that I could do each morning to improve my overall health without the necessity of paying a gym membership fee.
Thanks.