My last relationship with the gym lasted a few weeks a year or two ago. I had this goal of going more regularly, but (like most gym goals across the nation, I imagine) the practice proved to be much more difficult than the theory. I just . . . stopped.
I’m good at doing routines. I’m also good at streamlining my life in a way to make things as easy and sustainable as I can. When it came to the gym, it proved to be too much extra routine for me to comfortably handle, and so ease trumped discomfort. (Go figure.)
However, since then, Denisa has started going regularly to the gym, and her diligence began to rub off on me. If she could do it, why in the world couldn’t I? I took a step back and tried to analyze why I really didn’t like going.
First and foremost? I didn’t feel like I had too much extra time to add One More Thing. I’m already doing so much, it felt like throwing something else into the mix could start to break some of the other projects I’ve got up in the air.
Second, I feel out of place at the gym. Impostor syndrome really kicks in the moment I walk through the doors. I am not a Gym Person, and it feels like everyone who looks at me would be able to tell that easily.
Finally, I hate the changing room. I know that seems like a silly reason to avoid something that would make me healthier, but I’m just being honest. I don’t like getting changed in public. (Or, well, in a changing room.)
With those three obstacles in mind, I tried to come up with ways to get around each of them. First off, I figured I could start going to the gym during my lunch break. It’s just a short walk from the library, after all, and if I treated that walk like part of my warm up routine (and the walk back as part of my cool down), then perhaps I could make it work. I already take the time to jog in place during lunch. This would just take the place of that, three days a week. That way, it wouldn’t be One More Thing. It would just be One Different Thing.
For the impostor syndrome, a friend came with me to show me some appropriate exercises I should do to stay in basic shape. He showed me how to use the relevant machines, and explained how much weight I should use, etc. It didn’t magically make me feel confident, but it at least helped somewhat. I know if I start going regularly, that will help as well.
And when it comes to the changing room . . . that’s a problem I haven’t ironed out yet. When it’s warmer, I think I can just change in my office, but that will only work half the year, and I don’t want things to get derailed just because it starts getting colder again. So in the end, I decided to just try to suck it up and get through that.
The good news is that I’ve now been to the gym a grand total of 4 times. However, 3 of those times have been during my lunch break, so the proof of concept is working. Will I keep it up? I hope so. I know it makes me feel better when I do it, so . . . here’s hoping.