Perhaps it was simply a by product of my renewed interest, but it seemed as I glanced around the gym, that everywhere I looked, some aspect of each person's work-out routine was catching my eye. The person on the treadmill next to mine wasn't simply walking, she was pumping 10 lb weights in each hand to match her strides. At the far end of the gym, one of the physical trainers was having his trainee do some sort of routine that seemed so complicated that I doubted that she would be able to replicate it once she had no trainer reminding her of the next step, and the women on the Ab machine's face was flushed such a deep red and she was sweating so profusely that I was seriously concerned that the next crunch was going to end with her clutching her chest.
I was struck by the differing routines and levels of efforts around me, and I randomly found myself thinking "Slow and steady wins the race". The person next to me on the treadmill only managed about ten minutes on the machine before she had to stop. The person working with the trainer had a defeated look in her eyes by the end of her session, and it occurred to me that I probably would never see her in the gym again. While the person on the Ab machine thankfully made that her last stop of the day.
Clearly every individual person is the best judge of what works for them, but as I surveyed the gym I found myself thinking that this penchant to overcomplicate the process or over reach didn't seem to be working for any of the three individuals I was looking at. None of them were in excellent shape. The person next to me on the treadmill may have simply been doing short bursts of cardio weight training and that had been her last for the day, but it was hard to imagine that the ten minutes she spent walking with weights gained more than the forty five minutes I spent walking pumping my arms. The women on the AB machine completed one short set before she walked away, and I found myself wondering if she had used less weights or perhaps crunched a little slower, could she have achieved more. Was that short set on a weight machine more effective than the 250 crunches I did laying on a mat in the back room? Perhaps, I wasn't really sure. The women with the trainer was definitely sending off the "I'm done with this vibe". The trainer seemed to be completely oblivious to her deer in the headlights look and kept pushing her to do more and more complicated combinations of weight/cardio exercises. By the end, the only thing she reaped from spending time with that trainer was convincing herself she couldn't be successful. I was sure she would not be coming back. What she had needed wasn't whistles and bells, but a simple path to improving her fitness level that she could manage eventually on her own.
In the past I have almost always made the mistake of overshooting my goals. I let my ego lead the way, and I would start by trying to run instead of walking only to injure myself, or instead of starting with the smallest weights when I hadn't lifted for months, try and lift where I had left off the last time I tried to get fit. Inevitably I would end up ridiculously sore for days and sabotage my own progress. I would buy the unlimited monthly yoga pass thinking I would go every day only to go twice a month and waste money better spent on other things. What I've learned on this journey is: Simple definable goals minus ego plus simple, fun routines plus steady schedule = healthier girl for now.
I was struck by the differing routines and levels of efforts around me, and I randomly found myself thinking "Slow and steady wins the race". The person next to me on the treadmill only managed about ten minutes on the machine before she had to stop. The person working with the trainer had a defeated look in her eyes by the end of her session, and it occurred to me that I probably would never see her in the gym again. While the person on the Ab machine thankfully made that her last stop of the day.
Clearly every individual person is the best judge of what works for them, but as I surveyed the gym I found myself thinking that this penchant to overcomplicate the process or over reach didn't seem to be working for any of the three individuals I was looking at. None of them were in excellent shape. The person next to me on the treadmill may have simply been doing short bursts of cardio weight training and that had been her last for the day, but it was hard to imagine that the ten minutes she spent walking with weights gained more than the forty five minutes I spent walking pumping my arms. The women on the AB machine completed one short set before she walked away, and I found myself wondering if she had used less weights or perhaps crunched a little slower, could she have achieved more. Was that short set on a weight machine more effective than the 250 crunches I did laying on a mat in the back room? Perhaps, I wasn't really sure. The women with the trainer was definitely sending off the "I'm done with this vibe". The trainer seemed to be completely oblivious to her deer in the headlights look and kept pushing her to do more and more complicated combinations of weight/cardio exercises. By the end, the only thing she reaped from spending time with that trainer was convincing herself she couldn't be successful. I was sure she would not be coming back. What she had needed wasn't whistles and bells, but a simple path to improving her fitness level that she could manage eventually on her own.
In the past I have almost always made the mistake of overshooting my goals. I let my ego lead the way, and I would start by trying to run instead of walking only to injure myself, or instead of starting with the smallest weights when I hadn't lifted for months, try and lift where I had left off the last time I tried to get fit. Inevitably I would end up ridiculously sore for days and sabotage my own progress. I would buy the unlimited monthly yoga pass thinking I would go every day only to go twice a month and waste money better spent on other things. What I've learned on this journey is: Simple definable goals minus ego plus simple, fun routines plus steady schedule = healthier girl for now.
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