Make Your Relationship With Gym Work Out

It’s the time of year when a lot of people make a commitment to their physical health. I get giddy about it for every one of them whether I know them or not. There can be some barriers to gym success though. These are some things that have helped me tell those barriers to kick rocks. Maybe some of these will work for you.

Research: Talk to someone who you think understands you and your goals. Or maybe someone who’s got a fitness level you’d like to have. You can meet with a trainer, or just capitalize on the knowledge of others.

Set an Attaintable Goal: The goal should be something that you can sustain and measure based on your own progress. Example: “I’m going to get in 3 workouts a week” is going to be far more powerful than “I’m going to work my ass off to lose 20 pounds.” Consistency is FAR more important than intensity. If you had a super hard workout, but then can’t move for a week you are really working against your goals. But….

Push Yourself: As I “mature” I’m coming to realize that not everyone wants my opinion. I keep this in mind when I see someone that I know can lift more. It doesn’t come from a place of judgment. It’s more “I wish they knew they are stronger than they think.” Some day someone will ask me if I think they can add weight to their hip thrust and I’ll be like, “Oh my gosh!!!! I thought you’d never ask…! Absolutely you can. I didn’t think I could until I actually did it too! Let’s go chase some goals.” Until that day, I’ll just remember that my job is to worry about me. And one of the things that makes me worry is when I’ve left the gym wondering if I could have done more. I hate that feeling soooooo bad. My hack is to remember that I can always take weight off the bar/machine.

You Belong there Just as Much as Anyone Else: If you’ve not seen me walk around like a silverback ape, I’d be happy to show you. I’m pretty sure I can curl my lip and grunt to gain access to things I want to use at the gym. Once a potential member was being given a tour. “It’s the elusive woman in the free-weights room” was how I was described. My place in there is secure. But I used to be scared to death to be in there. That’s normal, but it gets easier the more you go. Also, weight room populations change rapidly. A room could look completely full but in 10 minutes be completely empty and it’s not always because someone farted. If you can’t find a thing you want to do, maybe walk the treadmill a few minutes then circle back. Or, you could always just fart.

No One is Judging You: It’s easy to feel self conscious when new at the gym. You can feel like all eyes are on you. Maybe some are because you’re hot, enjoy that. But for the most part, gym folks are there to work on themselves. “But what if I’m not doing the thing right?! They’re going to laugh.”

1. They probably won’t notice
2. You can always tell them your trainer told you to do it differently
3. They’re genuinely excited to see people working on themselves
4. If they are that one in a million judgy-judgerton, they are so wrong their opinion isn’t worth your energy. Not in the slightest. But if you encounter them, tell me who they are so I can go straight silverback ape on them.

Headphones are Your Friends: They can be the universal symbol for “I’m not here to chat.” Likewise, when someone peels off one of her giant Beats headphones, you can be sure she’s going to try to engage you in listening to some story about her kids. (It’s me. I’m “someone.”). There is some sign language to learn, but it’s worth it for the uninterrupted time to work out. Signs such as “you using that?” and “naw bro, it’s yours” come natural after just a few tries. Don’t feel like you need to blast music in those headphones. You can even have them on without music at all.

Accountability Matters: You gotta say out loud what your intentions are. And you should have people who will track those with you. The most consistent I ever got with working out was when I was carpooling. I didn’t want to text Stefanie that I just “wasn’t feeling it.” That would be embarrassing. You want someone that you don’t want to have to look in the eye and tell them you didn’t go because you had *insert excuse here* again. Someone who’s going to say, “Man, that’s too bad that your bicep hurts. How was your cardio? Because your ass still should have been there moving in some way.” If you don’t have that person, I’m happy to be it.

Be Honest: With others and with yourself. There’s a great sign at Crossfit that says “the body keeps an accurate reflection regardless of what you write down.” You know how there’s no point in lying to the dental hygienist about how frequently you floss because she can absolutely see? Same holds true for working out. You can’t lie about it. Your health will rat you out every time.

Just Move: You’re not going to get the perfect workout every time. Someone will be on the thing you wanted, or you’ll have a sore spot, or maybe you’ll have to leave early to get the kids; but any movement counts. Seriously, it’s worth it to go there for 20 minutes because that’s 20 minutes you wouldn’t have got if you stayed home.

Wait Until You’re at Gym Before Deciding if You Don’t Want to Go: So many times I’ve not wanted to go for one completely valid reason or another. I try to at least get there and give it a couple minutes before I dip out. Invariably, I’m happy I went. “Exercises gives you endorphins. Endorphins make people happy. Happy people don’t shoot their husbands. They just don’t.” (Legally Blonde, not my words)  

Be Ready With Options: It’s important to have a game plan when going to the gym, but be ready to regroup if needed. This fine Thick Thigh Thursday, I was planning to do some good mornings on the Smith rack. My goal was to work the spot at the bottom of my butt, and the top of the back of my leg. Some mountain of a man got to the machine before me. Luckily for my butt, I knew that a Bulgarian split squat would be a reasonable alternative. There is always another option or a modification for any muscle you want worked. Always.

Know Your Muscles: You don’t need MD level anatomy knowledge, but you can target your workouts better if you know your muscles. You can maybe even choose a favorite muscle. I can’t, but maybe you can (traps/delts/lats). Once you know the muscles….

Do MORE Research: If you see me on my phone at the gym, I may be trying to find just the right Justin Bieber jam for my work, or I may doing one of my favorite kinds of google searches; “muscles worked in (whatever exercise).” I look at the pictures and then ask myself if it seems like I’m using the muscles I’m supposed to work. This works great to help me correct my form or to create mind/muscle connection. Or I google things such as “alternatives to the good morning because that behemoth is on the machine I want.” It seems silly, but it’s really incredibly helpful. If you peek around, you may see that others are doing the same things on their phones.

Don’t Depend of the Scale: Weights fluctuate, and as we get fit, we may not lose weight. Look at other measures like the aforementioned tracking your number of workouts. Or getting a body composition analysis. Many gyms have these. Nutrishop in Redding has one that anyone can use free of charge. They give you a number that more important than weight; your percentage of body fat. They are easy to do, and super fun. You’ll learn the estimated weight of your right leg (in addition to all your extremities.)

Consistency: Things will get in the way. They always do. But just keep chipping away. If you do, there absolutely will be a moment when working out is the something you genuinely want to do. If you have a bad week/month, don’t let it saddle you. You wouldn’t slash your other 3 tires if you got a flat, why would you stop a lifestyle change goal because of a chunk of time that didn’t go as planned. Slow progress is still progress.

And most importantly,

Do What it Takes to Make it a Priority: Your health is important. For you and for the people around you. You’re not taking away from other important things to flippantly work out. You are improving your health so that you have more time for other important things. After the initial suck of making a new pattern, you will have more energy. You will sleep better. And you will feel good. Even it if feels like you’ve been bled completely dry, you will have no ragrets.

What other tips do you have? And, thanks for reading!