The Gym.

(And why it is so intimidating)

I have talked a LOT about working out on my blog, but never really much about the gym. As in, what to expect, and such. I think this could be interesting.

Obviously, I will mostly be talking about Goodlife, but I think this can apply to all gyms.

First off. At Goodlife, there is a Womens section with Cardio + weight stuff. Its somewhat small, but its enough. It is upstairs. Also upstairs is the spin class room and the general weight area, for men and women. I have never been out there because yes-- it is intimidating. I want to try this one pull-up machine. Apparently you can do something to it so you aren't doing your full weight in pull ups, so its easier. I dunno. Downstairs is the most of the cardio machines and some other weight things.

When I go to goodlife, I am in the Women's section... 65% of the time. Sometimes I go downstairs to the general Cardio area (mostly because it has my favourite treadmill which is not in the women's section).

Here is what I think of the "Women's Section". I am more comfortable in here to be... weaker, compared to men. But honestly, I feel that you are judged a lot more by the women then the men. When you are working out around men they don't really "judge" you. But around women everybody is looking at everybody, which can be intimidating. I prefer doing cardio in the mens/womens cardio area. But my pilates and weights, I like doing in the womens section.

People at the Gym:
There are all types of people at the gym. There are buff people, overweight people, skinny people, bitchy people, nice people, quiet, young, old, nerdy, experienced and inexperienced. All people. So there is no way in hell you could ever feel like you don't "belong".

I guess if I were to stereotype myself I would be the quiet one who thinks she knows everything. I just carry myself throughout the place like I know everything. Which I don't. But yet, I still do.

You begin to recognize faces and such at the gym. There are these 3 girls that I almost ALWAYS see. If there is a day I don't see at least 1 of them I am in shock. The one girl goes there for like.. at least 3 hours though, and she is always there. There is another girl that goes there for about 1.5 hours, but yet I always seem to see her. Whether I am there at 11am or at 10pm, I have seen her there. Its not like she is a student, its just coincidental.

I can't say there are people there I DON'T like. There are a couple of girls that seem like real bitches, but I have never talked to them, so I don't know.

There is one really funny guy at the gym though. Why is he funny? He comes in with a black wife beater, blue jeans and a coffee and then goes straight to the bikes. Why do I find him funny? 1. He's wearing jeans at the gym. 2. He is drinking coffee. Coffee dehydrates you. He is working out. This is extremely unhealthy.

Sigh.

Anyways. I am actually really surprised how fast I am getting results. I had a meeting with my "personal trainer" (which everyone gets one assigned, just to keep track of your progress, even if you are not being "trained" which I chose not to pay to have). And she asked me what I wanted to achieve and a time limit. I told her. and then I told her by the end of April. She was certain I would have them achieved before april, and I doubted her. But I actually achieved them. So BAM :).

Anyways. I find that the busiest time to be at the gym is about 6-8pm. The least busy is around 1-3pm on a Sunday or after 9:30 during weekdays.

But in general, the people there are really nice.

The only things I haven't done yet is gone to any classes or to the general weight area on the 2nd floor. Those would be things I'd rather not do alone.

I have only seen 3 people from school there before. One person who graduated that was in Triology with me. And one teacher.

Why is the gym so intimidating? Its obvious. People staring at you, judging you. But the only way to conquer this fear is to do it! You don't have to wear anything revealing. Wear black. Just blend in. You don't have to do anything too crazy. Get a personal trainer and they can make you feel a lot more comfortable and welcome. Also, its intimidating because you get there and see all of these machines and are like OH MY GOD WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS!? So many buttons and shit you get confused. I think the most embarassing thing that I did (Besides having my protein smoothie explode on me once) was trying to figure out the stepper thing. Not the stair stepper, but this other thing. I was REALLY bad at it. But who cares? You get into a routine eventually.

Although, my routine is new almost every week. I can't stick to the same things over and over again. It just gets boring. Plus if you are doing the same things, you are working the same parts of your body.

Right now I do this:
30-45 minutes on the treadmill.
10-20 minutes either on the rowing machine or this eliptical thing

10 minutes of legs
15 minutes of arms
25 minutes of abs

But I will change up the exersizes I do on my legs arms and abs.

Oh, and if you are just getting started at the gym and you are wondering what to wear. Pretty much anything. Girls tend to wear Yoga pants or yoga capris with a tank top shirt or a t-shirt. But lots of girls wear sweaters and sweatpants and sports bras by themself. I like to wear yoga capris, shorts, spandex, t-shirts and tank tops. I FINALLY got a good pair of shoes. I want to get another pair specifically for running. MARATHON TRAINING :)


Oh, speaking of MARATHON TRAINING.
I am so pumped to start running on land. I haven't since Februaryy. I went jogging a LOT November-February. Which makes absolutely no sense because it is winter. But I jogged before I joined the gym. I randomly started in November. So suck on it. I just want to get out there and run. I just don't know when, because I like to go to the gym to workout now. I'd run to the gym, but I'd prefer biking. Tomorrow I might run on land. Just because its easter and I am doing homework so I don't have time to actually GO TO the gym. So I might just run a bit.

ALSO. Today at the Gym I ran 3.6 miles on the treadmill without stopping. So I am pretty proud. I have got my legs to run the RIGHT way, and I don't breathe like a freaking dog now. But it is boring. Which is why I want to get off of the treadmill! Before I run a marathon I want to run a half-marathon or something, just to have the experience of what its actually like, before I run a full one.

Also, I have calluses on my hands from the freaking rowing machine and weights. I want to get training gloves but I can't find any my size! I actually hate the rowing machine, but I started using it again, just because its basically cardio for my arms. I mean, it works your ab, butt and back muscles as well, but I don't feel it there. My arms are so weak. I can't get any progress as of late.

ALTHOUGH. This one Arm machine that I only used at the very beginining when I joined the gym I did at 30lbs. Today I did it at 52.5lbs. So I am also happy about this.

I am not bragging, but I could be a fucking personal trainer. I can figure out peoples bodies so easy and know exactly what they should do. Like if I went around with you on each machine I could help you figure out what is and isn't meant for you. And then fucking pilates I could kill you with!

I think the next thing I will really focus on is balance. I am getting better at this. I can do this now: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumblarge_476/1265437776873KD1.jpg

without falling over. Which is pretty awesome.

But I will focus on balance. My core is pretty good, so you'd think I'd be good at balancing. But nooooo.

Well. Enough is enough. I am amazing. So. Fuck yea, And. I'm modest now. You are pretty.

Life Advice: The amount of times I say "JUST DO IT" to myself at the gym is somewhat ironic.
Just do it.