Workout Wednesday 2.21.18

Now that Rea is three months old, it has opened up the opportunity to go back to the gym! She hangs out with the nicest people for an hour or so while Jared and I get our workout in. We've been very happy to get back to sessions with our personal trainer and I'm feeling the soreness already!

With this, I have noticed a shift in my perspective when it comes to what some refer to as gym-timidation. Aka, intimidation about other's perception of us (or vice versa) while at the gym. 

When I quit ballet in high school (I think I was 14 or 15) I started going to the YMCA by my house with my parents. I had major gym-timidation back then because I had no idea what I was doing while at the gym. This machine does what? What button do I push to make this turn on? What's this funky ball that people are doing push ups on?

Since then I have had an on-again, off-again relationship with the gym. I always enjoy the outdoors whenever possible. But there is great value in the gym and what it can do for your chosen sport. I've had several personal trainers that have given me workouts once a week or so over the years. But I never understood the why behind the workouts. What was this move for? Why are we doing the moves in this order? And I was too intimidated to ask. So when I went to the gym without the personal trainer, I felt this mounting trepidation about what I was supposed to do. So I turned to my fellow gym rats and watched what they did. I think that's where gym-timidation comes in.

I would see guys bench pressing 300 pounds or more, making grunts and/or yelling as they did it. I would see these super fast people on the elliptical and get frustrated when I couldn't keep up. It's very frustrating to go to the gym and feel like you don't belong because you can't do what the other people are doing.

Since working out with my trainer Dustin, this has changed 180 degrees. Not only does he show us what to do and make sure we are doing it with proper form, he teaches us WHY we do what we do. And he always encourages us to just do better than we did last time. He has single handedly reversed my view of the gym that I have had for over a decade!

When I went to the gym a couple of days ago, I jumped on the bike for my warm up before meeting with Dustin. I pick a particular bike because it's in the corner of the upstairs and I can see the whole gym (for the most part) with that vantage point. It was one of the first times that I just watched people without pre-judging them. There were some overweight people on the treadmill and the elliptical next to really skinny people. There was a really beefy guy lifting weights next to a girl doing the stair machine. There was also this little older Korean woman who spent five minutes picking out which reclining bike she wanted before jumping on and picking level 10 (out of 20) to do her workout! (Side note: she could barely walk up the stairs...she's my hero!)

What I noticed was that there were people here of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds and they are all just here to workout and try to take care of their bodies. When I came to the gym as a 14 year old, I kept my head down and tried not to make eye contact with anyone. I just assumed people were watching and judging me. Thing is, now that I am confident enough to look up and actually see people for who they are, no body looked at me once. Nobody cared! It was a very freeing moment and I think it was a really important lesson to learn.

In life, sometimes we go about our day thinking that people are watching us and judging us. We automatically assume they think down on us or want to make fun of us because we are ignorant about trying something new when the reality is they don't care or are even encouraging us! Are there mean, judgmental people out there? Yes. But this mentality of always catering to the negative people will keep us from trying things new that we otherwise, might truly enjoy! It took me nearly a decade and lots of money for personal training to finally get my head out of the sand to see this. Hopefully, this post will be a much cheaper (and easier) way for you to find the confidence to do anything new that's on your heart. It could be going to the gym, trying a new wardrobe piece, or enrolling in a class you have always wanted to try!

Here's my workouts for the week:

• Monday - 3 mile walk
• Tuesday - Strength with Dustin
• Wednesday - Swim 200-400 m
• Thursday - Strength with Dustin
• Friday - 40 minute bike ride
• Saturday - Yoga class at the gym
• Sunday - Off