I'm An Old Woman

Well, in all honesty, 23 isn't old but it's been two days since I was at the gym and my body is still SO sore.

On Monday, I worked out with a personal trainer which I haven't done for six months. Either because I felt there are other, more worthwhile things I should be spending my money on and also because I was always so busy. But I finally got to do a session with the PT and now my whole body is letting me know. It's not an agonising pain where I can't walk at all; it IS kind of pleasant in a way, like I've used muscles that I haven't used before. At one stage on Monday he was getting me to lift weights and I felt like I was about to die, then when I finally put them down, I felt really lightheaded and had to lie on a mat with my feet propped up until the blood came back into my head again. Meh! At least I'm a lot fitter than 14 months ago when I first joined the gym.

I've also been asking myself - why do I go to the gym? I like to ask that question about anything I spend money on. After being at uni for four years, then starting work last year, it can be tempting to spend money on crap, just cos I can. This is a list of reasons for my going to the gym:

* It motivates me to exercise. Having someone take money out of my bank account every month is a sure way to want to at least get something for it. I like to get what I pay for and I don't know how some people can join a gym and pay so much money but never actually go to the gym, or maybe go once in a blue moon. They're not getting any fitter or healthier. When I was in student housing, I had a flatmate who joined a gym and when he went there he just sat in the pool or the spa or swam a few laps really really slowly. Kind of a waste of time and money I reckon.

* I DON'T want to be mega muscly with veins and stuff popping out everywhere. That's gross. When I did my first personal training session and the trainer asked me what I hoped to get out of it, I replied "I don't want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger". He laughed and said there was no way that could happen with women and that I'd have to take steroids and work out obsessively to even remotely look like Arnie. I just want to be toned and stronger. I couldn't even lift anything when I started and I'd get puffed after a couple of minutes on a cross trainer.

* I DON'T go there because I'm impressed by all the meatheads there lifting weights. There are groups of guys who arrive at about 5pm and fill the weights area with their groaning and puffing then looking around to see if anyone just noticed they'd lifted 100 kilos with their neck. Well, in the words of Shania Twain, "That don't impress me much."

* Without going to the gym, I WOULDN'T exercise. Before I started going I used to play tennis a couple of hours a week and it wasn't nearly enough. Now I feel heaps healthier.

* When I was in high school and younger, I had an extremely fast metabolism so I could heaps of junk and not put on any weight. Sadly, that isn't the case anymore. If I want cake, I have to make room for it ;)

So there are my reasons for going to the gym. I don't always enjoy going, usually because I don't know many people so I work out alone and it's difficult to always be motivated. I find classes a great way to exercise with others. Here's to many more gym sessions :)

But man, I DO feel like an old woman today.