[pavel_lishin]

For me it's a combination of things.

1. Convenience. If I have a gym in the building I live in, I'm about 10x more likely to use it. If it's a block down the street, I might go once a week. If it's two blocks down the street, it might as well be in Algiers.

2. Knowledge. I don't know how to lift weights, and I'm afraid I'll do it wrong and end up injuring myself. Apparently even running isn't trivial to do without potentially hurting yourself. If you don't have a friend who can show you how to do things right, it's not as easy to get started with confidence. (And let's face it, most of us here are probably not super likely to ask a stranger at the gym for help.)

3. Laziness. I've got work to do and video games to play, man! Working out isn't fun. I like riding my bike, but I'm not doing it in 30 degree weather, or in the rain, or in the snow.

[JauntTrooper]

> 2. Knowledge. I don't know how to lift weights, and I'm afraid I'll do it wrong and end up injuring myself.

This kept me from lifting for a long time. This year, though, I hired a personal trainer for 5 classes to specifically teach me proper form of a few lifts I wanted to learn well (squat, bench press, deadlift, strict press). We spent most of the classes reviewing the nuances of where to place hands, wrists, legs, knees etc. He would then watch me try, and correct my posture on the spot. It really helped me develop the muscle memory I needed to do it correctly.

[xirdstl]

You've pretty much nailed it, especially the last part about the cold. I will run sometimes, but the motivation required to go run when it's freezing outside is frequently beyond my grasp.

[koide]

Bodyweight only exercise, for example HIIT routines or abs, or even dumbbell based strength training can be done from the comfort of your own living room. I just need 4 square meters.

If you need help, check out http://fitnessblender.com and start at a difficulty level you can manage.

[cballard]

If you like video games, you might like climbing more than lifting - unlike lifting, the numbers are mostly made up and don't really matter, the only thing that counts is solving problems.

More like a strategy game than lifting, which is like, I dunno, Cookie Clicker?

[pavel_lishin]

I've gone climbing a few times, and it was fun! But I run into the convenience problem - there's no nearby places to climb. (Plus, given that I have a moderate fear of heights, I prefer bouldering :P)

[henry_vonfire]

I haven't met anyone in a gym who is not willing to give you advices about how to lift.

[icebraining]

Why would I trust advice from random strangers? For all I know, they're damaging themselves as well.

[henry_vonfire]

You don't have to trust them, but that won't change the fact that they are willing to do it. You can compare and research by yourself if you think that what someone has told you can risk your health.

[jazzyk]

You are entitled to your opinion, of course. Two things though:

"Knowledge." - no need to ask strangers. Everything is just a google away. There are plenty of YouTube videos which show proper form (but read the comments, because there are a few which are actually terrible). bodybuilding.com is a treasure of wisdom.

"Working out isn't fun". If someone told me 10 years ago that I could not wait to go to the gym and lift heavy objects, I would be rolling on the floor laughing. Go figure.

[pavel_lishin]

There are youtube videos, but it's difficult to check whether your form is right - even if there are mirrors.

And you might find it fun, but I don't. Every time I jog, I do so on a treadmill so I can zone out and not focus too much on what I'm doing (other than making sure that nothing obviously hurts) - jogging outside means I have to be present for it :P

[jazzyk]

Sure, what is fun to me may not necessarily be fun to others, I get that. The point I was trying to make was to perhaps try finding other ways to exercise - I found it in an unlikely (for me, 10 years ago) activity, maybe you will, too.

[jonesb6]

I'm in the same place, but there are a lot of people who aren't. I think the gym is incredibly intimidating to the uninitiated.

Probably best to start with pushups / situps at home, cardio at your local park at a deserted hour. Then once you get that confidence start at a cardio-focused gym like 24 hour fitness. Once you get the hang of gym'ing go to one that is more focused on your style, weight-lifting, cross-fit, etc.

[jazzyk]

"the gym is incredibly intimidating to the uninitiated"

Many people say that and I am always puzzled why. Over the past 10 years, no one has ever looked at me funny or laughed at me - and I was in my early 40s when I started. Supportive crowd, eager to help if asked (spotting, etc).

[sean2]

It's not so much that people think they'll be mocked, but entering that big facility with dozens of verities of machines and weights and you're the only person who doesn't know what they are doing, is incredibly intimidating.

It's not an unfounded feeling either, when I first started going, I got ejected or talked to for rules I didn't know about yet: no jeans, no open toed shoes, don't touch those machines, you don't do that with dumbbells. And that's just the formal rules, then there's the informal: how long can I occupy a machine? Can I take the dumbbells into the other room? what's "switching in"? how much is talking allowed? Can this injure me? Is that guy really advanced, or should I tell him that he's going to hurt himself?

I got started in the collage's free gym, with lots of other beginners and rule breakers. But I'd never have shelled out $150 in initiation and membership fees to try out this weird new sport I wasn't comfortable with and might not like.

[pavel_lishin]

> Many people say that and I am always puzzled why

Probably some level of social anxiety, and fear of being judged/mocked. The reality that none of that won't happen doesn't make itself obvious until you go once, and you don't go because you're anxious, etc., etc.