Joining a Gym....

     First off, as many of you know, I live pretty far out in the country.  30 minutes from any fast food – something that has stood me in good stead!  But this also means I live pretty far from a gym or a whole foods store.. so, for the most part, I rely on my home workouts (walking, dvds and free weights) and whatever I can find at a grocery store.  Anyway – 45 minutes away, in an area I hit once or twice a week.... is a gym.  And my goal for the last week in May was to stop in and see what was there.  That’s it... just darken the door with my presence.... and I think many of you understand what an achievement that was all by itself.

      So, I was running an errand on that Tuesday and decided to bite the bullet.  Made it inside the door.... it wasn’t too busy so I talked to the young lady at the front desk for a minute and discovered that membership (which included some free classes like Zumba and other stuff I’ve never tried) was only $20/month...... and, if I joined before the end of May, there would be no annual commitment.   Hmmmm.....  I tend to leap first & look later... so I decided to give it a 24-hour test.  I had to go back in to town on Wednesday anyway.

      Next day, well.. I am excited.  Seriously, $20 is the cost of some dvds.... and I couldn’t FIND classes to take that would cost this little.... and a gym would add a layer of motivation (well, maybe).... and, with no annual commitment, I could try it for the summer.... so, what’s to lose?  I drove there, walked in, and it was a ZOO!  You know how busy some places get... not a big problem.. I found someone to wait on me, and take my money.  But it was so crazy.... I decided I would have to come back to find someone to at least give me a tour of the place.  I knew that I would be coming in with my son to brave the wireless phone store Friday morning and I thought that things would be calmer then.  So, I leave.... at this point, signed up but really intimidated by all the machines and noise.  The people were perfectly nice – but I am fat and intimidated in my brain – so sometimes I need a little extra loving care.

            Turns out, my son was free on Thursday... so back in the car to deal with things.... and I stopped by the gym again.  Now all is quiet again and I am back with the original young lady.  I talked to her for a few minutes and tried to get a little information – like a tour (where the heck are the bathrooms?  Where are the classes held?).  Bless her, she looked at me like I had 3 heads.. she answered my specific questions.. but I still didn’t set foot past her desk.  Finally she said that there was a class on how to set up your own training plan on Friday morning... maybe I could try that?  I said I’d try..... but I think you KNOW how defeated I was walking out of there.  NOT confident..... NOT excited.....  NOT looking forward to driving in yet AGAIN... TOTALLY intimidated.... close to kissing that $20 good-bye and writing it off as a bad idea.

            Friday morning, I was still not sure.  I had a headache.... I was grouchy... and a little bit aggravated at this point – with myself as well as their welcome package!  But, with a little nudge from my beloved, I decided to drive in AGAIN anyway and check out the class.  BINGO!  Thank you, God for the fortitude to get that far!

            I was the only one to show up for this class.... the personal trainer I met with worked with me NOT to set up a training plan.. we spent the hour checking out the facility and introducing me to each machine.  We also talked about the different things the gym offers and how to get involved.  We decided that I would come back the next time the “design your own plan” class was offered that fit in my personal schedule and go from there.

            So here we are now.... I am so proud that I pushed and pushed and made myself get that far.  I was SO CLOSE to walking out and giving up.  I now feel able to go back and actually do something.  My goal is NOT to use the gym X amount of times per week.... my schedule is so variable that I can’t always get there.  But I wanted a reasonably priced alternative to add to my personal home program.  A place to possibly get a workout on the days that I have to be out and about all day.  I wanted a method of enhancing my workouts that wasn’t solely reliant on ME and my mindset.  And maybe I will be able to hook up with some people in real life to work with when I am able to... it’s all good.  And I made it happen – what happens next is another story...