"Why belong to one gym when you can belong to all of them?" This was the subject line of an email I received inviting me to learn more about this concept of gym membership. It sounds like a great idea, as long as the gyms (YMCA and Palo Alto JCC) are both included. I assume "all" gyms won't be part of the all-in-one membership. Probably not the ones that already are part of a large chain with numerous locations. But it sounds like a good way to help smaller, independent gyms that specialize or feature certain activities (ie. crossfit, boxing for example, kettlebells) gain some traction in the market and not be driven out of business by the larger operations before they can build a large enough following.
What I would suggest to the folks trying to kick-start this all-inclusive concept is that they look for gyms that also emphasize diet and nutrition and provide resources or information for folks with "food issues" ie compulsive eating disorders which I believe are probably at the heart of the obesity epidemic. I've used this platform before to try to get this point across and feel that dealing with our relatioinship with food is as important, or more important, than exercise alone.