I've been going to the gym for the last month. I'm up to three days a week now, and it feels good. So good that I have tentative plans to keep going.
I actually started going to the gym a year and a half ago, when I hired a personal trainer to hold me accountable to a routine; I floss because my dentist holds me it, so I thought the same could be true for going to the gym.
It sort of worked. My trainer introduced me to a lot of new exercises and helped me feel more comfortable in the Y, which is best described as a zoo, but I didn't stick to the program.
It's different this time though. I now have the fancy gym membership that gives me a few perks. Most importantly, it gives me access to a sauna.
The promise of some quiet time in the sauna (I often have it to myself) has proven to be enough to lure me to the gym. It is my carrot. It's cool that I can do push-ups and all, but what I'm really into is the sauna.
Of course, when my commitment to the gym is flagging, a few inspirational words don't hurt either. Alice Bradley just wrote about what exercise has done for her, and it made me want to go to the gym every day too. Well, no. But her words did help me commit to three days a week. If you like it, you can also read her older, funnier posts about getting a trainer and getting stronger.
4 comments:
Congrats on keeping up with the new routine Erin! In my dreamlife, I too have a gym routine, but in reality I do a bit of yoga in my living room and walk a few blocks to grab a coffee and call it exercise. I haven't quite figured out how to keep up both a mental routine (cause I'm studying all the time right now) and a physical one, but I'm working on it. When I had a Y pass, the sauna was definitely my carrot too. Good on ya!
I have another routine that I'm trying to make into a habit, which is meditating. I managed to meditate this morning so hopefully it's the start of a renewed commitment to my practice (I keep reminding myself that it's called a "practice" for a reason--cause you have to do it not just think about it).
I sort of think of my sauna time as my meditating time.
Another thing that I wanted to mention in this post is the fact that I've been watching Village on a Diet on CBC, and I love it. I love everyone, and I just want them to succeed! The show doesn't make it seem easy though - the constant message is that achieving health is hard work. Don't I know it.
In addition to the gym, I also ride my bike or walk to work, so I'm getting exercise every day, whether I want it or not.
I enjoyed and related to this post, Erin! I was also inspired a bit by Alice Bradley's gym post. Not inspired enough to actually join a gym (they're really expensive here), but inspired enough to start making an effort to incorporate more exercise into my routine.
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