Today I was discussing with a close friend of mine the fact that her husband does not attend group fitness classes at our gym because he really just likes to do 9 miles on the Stairmaster then call it quits. And if that works for you, awesome. However, lately I've found myself only attending group exercise and not using my gym for all that it offers. But how did I get this way?
Well, I'm not quite sure WHEN it happened, but at some point I was in my gym, struggling on the pull up machine. As I pulled and sweated and sweated and pulled, I looked over and saw a gym couple. All I could think of was how cute they were, until I noticed what was going on.
They were pointing. And laughing. At me.
There weren't many people in the gym, and we were the only ones in the area. I knew that I was the one they were snickering and jeering at. I was struggling to lift only a portion of my body weight, since it was a hydraulic pull up machine. Sweat was pouring, and I was borderline in tears. But that didn't mean anything. My struggle, my attempts, meant nothing to these people. What meant something was my weight and my lack of strength.
And that's when I quit.
I quit doing my pull ups. I quit using the weight lifting machines. The most I would do was go walk on the treadmill or use the elliptical. My workout suffered, and I found myself attending more aerobic based classes than doing what I truly love - lifting weights. Eventually I got burned out on the classes and quit going to my gym for about two months. I also gained about twelve pounds.
Now, I didn't quit the gym because someone was laughing at me. But see how it all snowballs? I literally undid HALF of the work I had worked so hard for (I had lost 24 pounds) because my workout was suffering. I don't know their names, I don't even know if they still go to my gym. I just want this to be a wakeup call for everyone who attends a gym. If you point and laugh at someone, they might end up like me. Don't aid someone in undoing all that they've worked hard to do.
**Update**
I am back in the gym, working hard. I've been doing my classes, but mainly focusing on strength training with a little bit of aerobic. Les Mills BodyPump, anyone?!
