Sunday, September 20, 2015

Gym membership - 5 weeks in

If you had asked me a year ago if I would have been going to a gym on a regular basis I probably would have said no to you. Now I can say I am enjoying going to a gym and am happy about it.

Five weeks ago we had a gym open within walking distance from our home and that was one of the big selling points to us. Neither one of us wanted to have to drive or take transit to get to the gym and we also didn't want the personal trainers or all the classes that a lot of gyms offer. What we wanted was a gym where we could work out and basically be our own bosses for our exercises and that is what we found. The other nice selling point was something that was reasonable priced and that is also what we got.

We have been going to the gym now for five weeks and I am loving it. The routine is to try and get to the gym between two and three times a week if our schedule allows us to do that. Being able to walk to it also means that one of us can go even when the other one can't go for any reason. Our gym bag is now always sitting close to the front door ready to go so that when we decide to go there isn't the having to prepare the gym bag as it is ready.

For us the purpose of the gym is to get fit and be happy however building big muscles has never been high on the list of things we want to accomplish. The gym offers us the flexibility to do what we want and for how long we want without someone watching over us and saying we should do so many of each certain exercise each time we are at the gym. We have been enjoying going and our routine at the gym differs each time we are there.

The routine that I started with was walking a 5km walk on the treadmill with some other small exercises thrown in before and after that walk. Now my routine is more like 20 minutes on the treadmill at a higher speed and then more time on all the other equipment that I want to work on that trip to the gym. Of course, there is one machine that always get used and that is the one for working on the abdominal muscles. I am now normally using that machine twice each trip to the gym as it is my starting machine and ending of the trip.

The things that have really changed for me is my comfort about myself being at a gym and how I can actually do things. 5 weeks ago me completing the 5 km walk in under 60 minutes was a major milestone and if I could walk it at 3.1 miles an hour that was wonderful. Now I spend 20 minutes on the treadmill normally at around 3.4 miles an hour with sprints at 4.5 miles an hour so that is a big difference for me. I am now looking forward to getting the sprints longer and the amount of walking in the 20 minutes down but I that is going to take some time before I am running the entire 20 minutes.

One of the biggest things that happened was this past week. A friend of mine saw me for the first time since we joined the gym and she noticed a change in me. Of course, I haven't been really working on a lot of areas yet but she did notice that there is a change in my appearance/shape and that made me extremely happy. For me knowing that I have been making some changes in my life and I have been feeling some differences in how clothes fit makes me very happy.

The gym is something that I am really enjoying and now I am very determined to keep at it as we are also getting rid of some weight in this process. The weight isn't leaving quickly but I can say that in the last 5 weeks both of us have gotten rid of 3 pounds each so that is great. I am feeling stronger already and I can also walk at a faster pace normally now.

A gym is helping me change me in some good ways and I wonder what I will be like when I reach the three months of going.

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