What and where is your gym -- any gym? Is it a sophisticated one for the elites or the plain simple ones for the plebeians? Or do you just get in a good old workout on the park or along the roadway? Call it whatever you like, but it's the place where you work out in pursuit of a healthier, better looking you.

How many hours have you piled up, and what is the result? You have probably spent days beating your body in subjection to the spirit, and you have probably lost the pounds. Now what do you look like? Your mental capacity should be top notch.

I look at myself having piled up thousands of days, now, and I look across at others for whom the gym is interwoven into their life's repertoire and I wonder, is it worth it? I bear in mind the gossipers in the gyms who use the gym to talk people's business, to vent their bitter agonies and leave having bared their burdens, only to anxiously return for another round of more of the same. So here we go round the mulberry bush. The vast majority of persons never improve their physique through regular gym attendance. Let's see if we can nail down some principles to challenge us in the gyms of life and thus make us more productive.

You need a personal plan
Most people have no idea of what they are really going to do once they get to the gym. The objective of the gym and theirs don't really mesh. Most people's plans consist of "I think I need to get off my lazy rear and work this fat off".

They're right, but they must have a plan once they get there. If they don't, they will wander around the gym, having no clue what to do. They find a person with a physique they envy and start copying what they are doing.

We do not factor in that the person they seek to copy might just be using steroids, and could do any workout and get results, or that person has the ability to avoid carbs. What is your personal plan? What is good and proper for you and your happiness in life? Fight being intimidated and looking over other people's shoulders.

Be open to coaching
There are countless exercises to choose in most gyms. Many people only walk in the outdoors and that's it. Most don't have any idea as to where to start. We need proper coaching. You might need to walking, but what else? You might need to do bench presses or squats. Too often, we think that the machine will do the trick. You need people. We all need help. We were placed here to walk together. We do not have all the answers. We should shut up and listen to someone else sometimes.

Track progress
Everyone goes to the gym to get better. "Better" varies based on your goals, but we all seek improvement. Whether the goal is to run faster or get stronger, you must start by establishing a base line.

Pick some exercises and see how much you can do. You might see how much weight you can lift. Measure how far you can run in a certain amount of time. Whatever you can do, write it down. Then the next time you work out, try to do more. If you can't do more, try to figure out why.

To get started, get a piece of paper and a pencil. Write down what your goals are. Make them specific, attainable and measurable (SAM). Next, you need a plan.

You need to write a workout program that will allow you to achieve your goals. Need help? Ask a friend or an expert to assist you design a program.

The final step is to execute your plan, tracking your progress along the way. It's worth it. You'll look better, live longer, feel better, think more deeply and positively, become more livable, be less cantankerous, people will love you more, your family will appreciate you more, friends will invite you over, and, when you die, no one will have to tell lies at your funeral, boosting your image in death.

We are all in the gym of life. Apply yourself and make plans. You need a coach. Life was never made to go it alone. In fact, Jesus sent his disciples out two by two.

We all need a shoulder to cry on, friends to share and bounce ideas. If you go it alone, the devil will swift you like wheat. You are no match for him. Chart your progress and write things down. Remember, a goal has a deadline. How else will you measure the degree of your effort? Work out you must, but you must be going somewhere or you will get nowhere fast and worn out.

o Reverend Canon S. Sebastian Campbell is the rector at St. Gregory's Anglican Church.

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