Globo gyms VS Boutique gyms
GLOBO GYMS VS BOUTIQUE GYMS.
If you're on the search for ways to improve your fitness, you'll probably get to a point where you have to decide what type of gym is best for you.
You'll shop around based on prices, amenities, hours of operation, what is offered to you.
Yet... I would put good money on this...
You probably don't know what it is you need or what you're even shopping around for.
So... how does one compare all the gyms in their town not knowing what might help them be successful?
Let's attempt to decipher that issue.
Globo gyms are your bigger style gyms.
The ones where 100-300+ people attend.
They tend to offer the following
"Cheaper" (a relative term that only takes into account the persons perception of what that means) membership rates.
Amenities: Hot towels in the bathroom, steam rooms, hot tubs, machines galore, treadmills, stair steppers, free weights, etc, etc.
A wide range of hours you can come and go as you please
Boutique gyms are smaller style gyms.
The ones where 10-150 people attend.
They tend to offer the following
Personalized plans and programming done for you
Coaching
Community
Nutrition/lifestyle help
This list can be edited and exhausted in many different areas, but for the most part... these are the main differences.
If one is price shopping one gym to the next, you might find your local 24hr fitness (golds, planet fitness, anytime fitness, etc) a lot cheaper than the boutique gym.
This is often the reason someone goes for the "globo" gym first.
What us boutique style gyms see is... those globo gyms only work for some people. I would add, for the people it does work for... how many of them receive professional coaching to guide them along?
If you desire doing your own thing with your headphones on and navigating the gym floor while waiting for certain machines or weights... this is probably what you want.
Many people start in a globo gym and never find success.
How many people do you know like this or how many times have you had a gym membership and never got where you want to go with it?
You don't have a program that can be customized for you or that is done for you.
You don't have motivation from a community of others you become friends with, where you aren't in it alone.
You don't have coaching to check your technique and how you move to ensure you're optimizing in your efforts.
The list goes on.
My next argument is this...
How are you developing yourself in a globo gym?
Do you have ways to work on the following?
Strength, Power, Speed, Endurance, Stamina
Coordination, Balance, Accuracy
Flexibility, Mobility, Stability
If you don't, what are your goals?
You want to be fit? You want the gym to help your hobbies/athletic pursuits? You want to age well? You want more energy for life? You want to feel better/look better? You want to be in a place that accepts who you are with no judgement?
You could do it alone in a globo gym and figure out ways to work on everything above, or you could go to boutique gym that takes all of that into account.
Why is it important to develop those 11 pillars of fitness I listed above?
Do you want to do life better, or do you want to go to the gym and just "workout"?
Being functionally fit, increases your ability to move in the real world.
It increases your ability to improve in your hobbies/sports, age well, get out of pain, and develop over time.
We increase how your body moves and performs in real life—not just in the gym.
Through foundational movement qualities that support longevity, resilience, and athleticism.
Training them improves both Healthspan (how well you live) and Performance (how well you move).
Free Weights, Gymnastics, and Bodyweight Movements Are Multi-Dimensional
They build coordination, balance, and control—you have to stabilize yourself, not rely on a machine to guide the path.
They use multiple joints and muscle groups at once (compound movements), which better mimics real-life movement.
Examples: Squats, deadlifts, kettlebell swings, pull-ups, handstands, burpees.
You Engage Your Core and Stabilizer Muscles
Machines support your body; free weights force you to stabilize, improving posture, joint integrity, and injury resistance.
Gymnastics and bodyweight training require incredible control and stability (e.g. holding a plank vs. doing a crunch machine).
You Train Movement, Not Just Muscles
Functional fitness is about movement patterns (pushing, pulling, squatting, hinging, rotating, jumping).
Machines train muscles in isolation, but your body never moves that way in life or sport.
You Build Athletic Intelligence (a.k.a. Neuro-Muscular Efficiency)
Things like accuracy, coordination, agility, and balance come from challenging your nervous system to communicate with your muscles more efficiently.
That only happens when you train in unstable, multi-directional, full-body ways—not by sitting on a machine with a fixed path.
You Get More Transfer to Life and Sport
Carrying groceries, lifting your kids, hiking, playing sports—none of these involve sitting and pushing weight in a straight line.
Training with functional methods means you’re preparing your body to meet the real demands of life.
Machines are like coloring inside the lines.
You get a clean, safe outcome—but not much freedom, creativity, or carryover.
Free weights and gymnastics are like learning to draw from life.
You build coordination, awareness, control, and adaptability—skills that matter everywhere.
If your goal is full-spectrum fitness, resilience, and capability, then training with free weights, bodyweight, and gymnastics movements is essential. It helps you become not just fit, but functionally capable, durable, and athletic—for life, not just for looks.
Lastly,
Machines aren't the enemy, and neither is the globo gym. They have their place.
It takes time and a process to develop and learn in a boutique gym. It is not a quick fix. You need quality coaching and a program that takes YOU into account.
It's an investment into your health & wellness. You can do it now, or you can do it later in life when you don't have a choice.
You can go at it alone, or you can find a gym with coaching, community, and development in place... and get where you want to be faster, more efficiently, and with people who care.
The choice is yours.
See ya out there,
D.
