I don't like exercising.
Actually, I love exercising. It's just, I hate exercising.
The thing is, once I get going, it may be difficult but it feels great and gives me energy and happy exercise chemicals for a few days. But getting going is often an obstacle that just doesn't get overcome.
There's always something. I can't run; my knees don't allow for it. Bad knees seem to run in my family. Em is probably going to have to have surgery on her knee again (this will be the fourth time). So, I do the next best thing (and some experts say it's just as good or better for weight loss): power walking. Walk as fast and hard as I can while keeping good form and steady breathing. It's actually a great workout.
I hate exercising outside because it's too hot, or too cold, or too humid, and there are allergens, and there are people watching. I don't like people watching me when I'm all sweaty and gross.
So, I bought a treadmill. I love using a treadmill because I can control my speed and add incline, making the workout much harder. I've used it off and on, but it's in my basement and I don't like my basement. Furthermore, Scott's computer, and now Jon's computer, are in the basement, which means I could only exercise when they're not there (which isn't that often) because I don't like people watching me.
I was complaining about this last Monday, because I really do want to be in shape, and Scott suggested I join a gym. I had briefly considered this before, but the idea never stuck. Gyms have huge enrollment fees and large monthly dues and there are people watching.
But I got online and looked up all the gyms in the area, and it turns out there is a ladies-only gym two blocks from my house. I never knew it was there, just sitting behind Target. I went over and asked for more info, and they gave me a tour and showed me all the classes they offer and went over pricing with me.
LUCKY ME!
They were having a sale. A big one! Usually they have an enrollment fee of $150 and then a monthly fee of $45 (when you sign up for a year). For a few days, until September 1, so until the day after I went there, the enrollment fee was waived and the monthly contract price would be $35. Happy!
So I signed up. This gym doesn't take checks or credit cards; they pull the money directly from your account every month. I was allowed to set the date, so I asked for it to come out on the 5th of every month, since that's the day Scott gets paid and that way there would always be money in there in the cataclysmic event that something happens and we have less that $35 in the account. Since that was only in a few days, they didn't think the paperwork would go through on time, so they decided to just give me a free month and not charge me until October. Happy!
I don't like signing contracts. I don't like being locked into something. I feel like I never know when something might happen and I might need that money, or I might not want something in a few months...worry, worry, worry. In this case, I decided that first of all, if I were actually paying a fee to belong to this gym I would be more likely to go use it (instead of letting it sit in my basement...) and secondly, this is my health I'm talking about, and if I want to make comparisons, I can just take a look at my $35: it's less than Scott spends a month on soda.
So I went almost every day last week! I went to a class called Boot Camp, and they call it Boot Camp for a reason; I was so sore the next day I didn't exercise at all. I went to a few X-Biking classes, which is like spinning but the handlebars on the bikes rock back and forth for an upper body workout as well. Those kicked my butt, but I really enjoyed them. I did cardio on the treadmills several times and got a free session with a personal trainer. She was really great; we went through my goals and did a few measurements and talked about the best ways for me to reach those goals. I also got an appointment with one of the employees to go through all the weight training machines and show me how to use them and help me decide how much weight, how many reps, etc. I did upper body on Tuesday and I will be learning lower body today after work.
I'm thinking that I'll probably go a little less over the next few weeks while Li is here, since I'll want to spend as much time with her as I can, but I have been feeling so great for the last week that I'm hooked.
It turns out it doesn't bother me when it's other women around me while I exercise, and I think it also helps that there are women there of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels, so I don't feel like a total failure when I have to take a break while everyone else keeps pedaling. The instructors are really great and helpful and I'm just really happy I made this decision.
I better get skinny.
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