Wednesday, October 20, 2010

So then I almost joined the gym...

For one brief moment today, I considered entering a gym. Taking the 'newbie' tour. Nodding with feigned interest at the dazzling array of machinery designed to tone various parts of a person's anatomy. Listening with feigned enthusiasm at the idea of one free session with a personal trainer who would pinch my Tuckshop arms, shake her head at my inability to touch my toes, draw in a sharp breath as I stood on the scales. Sidling around so that I didn't catch sight of myself in the mirror.

For one moment.

It's October. I've realised that soon I need to step onto the sands of the south coast's glorious beaches in a swimsuit. A fake tan and a bikini wax are not going to cut it as far as making me beach-babe ready. My 'winter coat' cannot be shed with a simple unbuttoning or a sexy zip. It's going to take work.

For that brief moment, I thought maybe I needed to try the gym again. Back in the day, I was a gym girl. Four times a week. Personal trainer. The lot. But I've got to tell you, I had a lot more time on my hands. I was happy to spend an hour here or there in a fluoro-lit room surrounded by other people's sweat.

Now, not so much.

I thought about what I'd be doing at the gym. Stationary cycle. Treadmill. Weights. I would rather be on my bike, or walking the streets. Strength training is important though, and it's almost enough to get me in the door, pen poised over a contract. But no.

Not today.

Are you a member of a gym? Do you go because you love it or because you have to go?


{image: via Marquette}


21 comments:

  1. Al, I posted about this a while back.

    Glam gyms don't do it for me at all....

    But a dusty hall at the back of the footy club serves me well.....

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  2. Nope. Not gyms, and sorry, Lucy, but your dusty footy club isn't very appealing either.

    There's a really popular boot camp class here in my village, at some ungodly hour a couple of days every week. By all accounts it's very social and 'fun', if you can describe being mercilessly driven beyond the pain barrier as fun. Many people I know and like go. Won't catch me there, either.

    I've come to terms with the fact that I like to exercise my body in the privacy of my own home. That's not shame or prudery talking - just a mature assessment of my own likes. You might be the same.

    Or maybe you like seeing other people beaded with sweat and contorted abnormally...? ;)

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  3. I think aboiut joining gyms. Often. And that's as far as it goes. I'm really slack when it comes to exercise. But I have started a daily walk routine. In addition to walking to and from work, I now take an extra evening walk of about the same distance. I'm hoping that will melt away a kilo or two.

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  4. I work at a gym, and let me tell you, I hate giving those newbie tours!!! Mainly coz I know shit all about the equipment, and also because I know that most newbies have no clue what I'm talking about.

    Gyms are great if you find the right one and actually GO. I don't exercise at my gym anymore, I stick to running/walking outside which is heaps cheaper and just as effective ;)

    xx

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  5. Oh your post title made me laugh out loud. Been there, done that. I too did the 4 times a week thing..20 yrs ago, when all I had to worry about was myself.... now 7 kg later, I walk, I play soccer with my boys and have settled down nicely in my not so perfect body thanks. I am just so grateful that it works and hope it does for long enough for me to mother my boys. A-M xx

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  6. To be really honest with you I've lived near those beaches for 98% of my life and I don't usually venture out to them during summer. (Amusingly I go there in winter sometimes to record dramatic video of crashing waves.) But good luck in however this turns out...

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  7. Hmmm. So it's not just me then. @Jane - your comment cracked me up. You work there and you still choose to exercise elsewhere... I don't think I'll be signing up any time soon. :-)

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  8. I go. I attend one of those half hour women only circuit bizzos. I go because if I didn't I would get zero exercise like for so many previous years which is why I was unfit and unhealthy. I've been going for a year now which must be the longest consecutive period of tinme I have ever done anything. Lost some weight too which is a bonus and the tuckshop arms are a thing of the past. But I don't love it. It's the only thing I can squeeze in. I couldn't manage a treadmill then weights then cycle session at a 'proper' gym.

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  9. I'm "supposed" to be doing 20 minutes per day on the exercise bike to help my knee recover - but oh, it kills me. I'd much prefer to get out in the fresh air and exercise. If it's an exercise that can be done outdoor (treadmill, rowing machine, bike) then I'd prefer to do it in its natural environment.

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  10. Gyms are a snare and a delusion. I want equipment at home which runs the television from my efforts - stop pedalling=stop watching! Isn't that an idea!

    Meanwhile I walk my neighbour's dog. At least that way I am guilted by puppy eyes, not unused gym fees.

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  11. Like you I used to do the gym thing. Can't stand the thought of it now. I prefer running outdoors and the constant changes in scenery. What are you planning to do as an alternative?

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  12. I don't love working out. But I do love my gym and I love the classes that they offer and that's what keeps me going back. Well, I guess it's that and the ridiculous membership fee that I pay that guilts me into it :)

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  13. I do this a lot. Almost join a gym. But then I think. It's food that is my problem. Exercise I do. Perhaps I should join WW instead!

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  14. I hate joining a gym, getting all enthusiastic and then feeling really uncomfortable with all the gym junkies who look like they've just jumped off a magazine page! Sounds like I have issues!

    So, I walk and recently I've bought some Kettle Bells for weights work at home - they are way cool! So is the Wii and things like Just Dance.

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  15. I have a gym membership. I only go once a week though, so I feel guilty about the money I'm wasting. But I don't want to cancel my membership because then it feels like I'm giving up! Ah, such a conundrum!

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  16. I must have blocked out your gym days on your behalf... x

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  17. Nope.
    Honestly, it wasn't until i was pregnant with Master D that i even thought about fitness, and well, i was on strict instructions to wait until the birth before doing anything.
    Since then, the wii fit is my friend. It tells me off if i miss a day, and honestly, i can do what i like when i want to, the kids at my feet trying the yoga poses too, and it's A LOT more fun.

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  18. I did the gym thing on and off for years, yet it's now that I feel at my fittest - a year after having a bub, and starting to run and do strength training at home. Are you going to start the Couch to 5km program? You know you want to!! :)

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  19. I just did a six week trial package, I made it twice! I have started walking this week and am surprised how unfit I am...yes, even just walking. But I am going to try for 3 kilos by Christmas, fingers crossed.

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  20. Not a member of a gym. I hate to pay for what I can get for free (e.g., pounding the pavement in my neighborhood and dusting off those weights in the garage).

    As for swimsuits, I haven't worn one in years. Spending the better part of the last four years pregnant and post-partum will do that to you, I guess. Maybe I'll ask for a personal trainer for Christmas ...

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  21. I actually have to quit my gym now. It was great when I had all the time in the world (during the summer). But I have absolutely none now : ( Plus, it's just to expensive if you're not going. We're lucky enough to have a fabulous trail right out our back door though, so I think I will that my new thing!

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