Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Gym


My shoes.  Asics Gel Nimbus.  They rock and this is probably the 6th or 7th pair I've owned.  I LOVE these shoes. (Ignore the pasty white ankles.  Thank you.)
But they haven't been used to their fullest potential in the last two years.

TWO LOOOONNNG YEARS.

I used to be a gym rat.  I was the one awake and at the gym at 5am and I loved it.  My husband and friends thought something was wrong with me--maybe something was wired a bit differently--but it was great to get up and out and done with a workout by 7am.  Then there was no excuse for missing a workout.

I guess sleeping in could count as an excuse, but I have a guilty conscience, so if I slept in, I'd feel horrible about myself until I did my workout.

"Was" is the important word here.  I haven't gotten up, on purpose, at 5am, for almost two years.

Today was my day to start back after a two year hiatus.  And no, I didn't get up at 5am.


Funny thing is that I've had a gym membership this whole time.  What a fantastic member I was!  I was THE perfect gym member...paying my dues every month but NOT using any equipment.  Getting my money's worth, I tell you!  Learn from me, friends......

Armed with my iTunes playlist filled with dance music, my awesome running shoes and dressed in workout clothes, I head in.

It must be the same feeling as the First Day at a new school.

"Will the kids like me?"
"Will I know how to use the equipment?"
"Are my clothes ok?"
"I hope I don't trip and fall on the treadmill and end up with road rash on my face." (This would totally happen to me...and has...but not the road rash on the face part. Falling off the machine was mortifying enough. )



I tried to be cool about everything.  I tried to have that "don't-talk-to-me-I'm-a-serious-gym-goer" look, but that fell apart as soon as I couldn't get the elliptical to start.  I'm doing the feet part, movin' and groovin', headphones in, music on, but the machine wouldn't come on no matter how many buttons I pushed or how hard I mashed them.  Classic.
For 5 of the longest minutes of my life and  after moving to three different machines, the gym gods smiled upon me and the machine started.  *Sigh* I can feel the coolness factor going down exponentially.


Why do you work out? Or not work out?  Honestly, I don't work out to be cool.  I work out to look better.  Let's just be honest here.  I'm 39 and I don't want to look my age.  Working out seems to help stem the tides of time just a bit and I'm all for building any kind of sand bar that will do that!

It also helps that I have friends who are in shape.  Take my friend in the picture.  I'm on the right, looking oh so lovely after the Muddy Buddy.
She's in fantastic shape all the time. 
She's my exact opposite (personality wise) and that may make her more of an inspiration.
She eats healthy food, finds time to work out no matter what and is one of the craziest and most fun people I know.
She looks fantastic in the above picture, I know, but look at this...

from Oxygen Magazine, November 2007
Awesome, right? And I can attest that the abs are NOT airbrushed.  Sweeeeet.  Plus,  I get to claim her as a great friend.  Now when she visits, she'll give me street cred at the gym.

When I grow up I want to look like my version of her.

I guess the Girl Scout cookies will not help me on this mission. Bummer.

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