So I took a few days off work. I dropped the boys at school and off I go to the gym. I am wearing my usual ancient attire and get there at about 08h00. I'm feeling a little apprehensive as I'm going into foreign territory now so to speak. As I walk in a very friendly chappie gives me a very perky "good morning" and as he swipes my card adds "welcome to our gym, I see this is your first visit". Well, ok, I'm impressed so far and feeling a little less apprehensive! Off I go to the changing rooms. As I'm padlocking my locker, in walks a Facebook friend!! Ah, a friendly face AND I notice that she is looking fantastic AND that she's clearly survived a workout with her personal trainer. Woohoo there is hope! We have a brief chat and she highly recommends her PT and asks me if I've ever watched the Biggest Loser on TV - you know the show where the PT's work you so hard that you go and puke in the flowerbed - yes, I know that one. Well, she says (still smiling) that's how she felt at her first session with the PT!! Alrighty then, if I were fitter, it might be an idea to run now! However, I do remember that I am here by choice and I have a goal to attain. Right, so the sweat towel slung casually around the neck, I march confidently out there and over to reception. There is a really tiny little girlie there with a track suit on and a clipboard in hand. I ask her how one goes about making an appointment with a PT. She says you choose a name off the board and points over to a board with all the PT's names and pictures on. She gives me a grimace rather than a smile. I pick a PT and take their business card for later use. You see when I joined the gym I got two free sessions with a PT thrown in, and the boy who did my intro said that I should gym for a few weeks and then appoint a PT. That way I could get some freshness injected into my training schedule.
That taken care of, I proceeded up the flight of stairs to where the serious business takes place. I took a stroll around to see if I could spot any familiar-looking equipment. I was pleased to see such a mix of people - young and old, black and white, thin and fat - all with one thing in common... it looked like they were here to workout and sweat and not be pretty and parade! Cool. I like it here already. So this is going to be by cardio session. I decide to start on the cross trainer, move on to the cycle and finish off with rowing. Ok, so the equipment here doesn't have its own TV screen, but there are screens hanging from the ceiling. If I remember to bring my earphones I can plug in and listen to Sky News or whatever's going.
I hop onto the cross trainer, set the time, set the "effort" button to 9 and get moving. After five minutes I think I'm going to have a heart attack or possibly even a stroke, or maybe both, and I take a quick glance around to make sure nobody sees me changing the "effort" down to a rather pathetic 5! Ok, I can now catch my breath and realize I may survive this cross trainer after all. I finish my time and get off. The legs are a little wobbly, but hey, I'm okay! I drain half my water bottle and get the cycle set up. I hop on, punch in the time, and off I go. I have to admit, in retrospect, I was downright lazy on that cycle. I could really have pushed way harder, but I was still trying to shake off the wobbly legs from the cross trainer. While sitting there I was watching a spinning class. Now that looks like it might just torch off some body fat hey. I felt I may need to get a little fitter before attempting a class like that, although I did spot a man in there of about 80 and a couple of old ducks too! Mmmm, maybe I'll give it a shot. I'll check the schedule before I leave the gym.
Next piece of equipment - the rowing machine. Now I really love this machine. You just find your rhythm and you go. You can zone out totally - it's like meditation in motion. And let me tell you, it works your body really well. With the sweat towel well and truly used and the water bottle empty, it was time to leave. Wow, I felt really good. I think that maybe once I've won that big Powerball jackpot, you'll find me in the gym for a couple of hours every morning. It's an awesome way to start the day!
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