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Hold on to your hats my friends, because I have exciting news – I’m joining a gym!
Truth be told, and I don’t like to brag, but what the heck. Yep, I’m one of those. Consistently exercising since I was a tween. I was on my shag carpet in my bedroom with my leg warmers doing The Jane Fonda Workout. Pulled on those spandex tights for aerobic classes and then bought bicycle shorts to spin. Got the gloves to help with the weight training classes and to spend some time in the weight room.
Exercising keeps me calm. Protects my bones. Provides me with energy and I get that natural happy drug called endorphins. And the most important part? I love it.
Then came the pandemic and my gym closed. To my basement I went, where I converted my kids’ playroom into a full gym, and for the past five (!) years, it has been working out beautifully.
There are no lineups for any cardio machines. My Peloton is all mine! Sure, family members join me once in a while, but it’s pretty rare, as I always schedule my workouts when no one is home. As for weight machines, I have been using bands and free weights, so there is no need to ask to “get in” to share.
The best part of all is that it takes a whole 15 seconds to commute from my bedroom to my home gym. See you later traffic and searching for parking spots.
Exercising at home is simply convenient and a pleasure – period.
My “why” is in the first paragraph, but let’s take it a bit further.
We all sit at our desks for hours. Sometime during your day, you have to get up and move. Walk. Play a sport. Lift weights. Swim. I found that stepping away and letting myself zone in on a workout allows my ideas to flourish. Writer’s block tends to disappear. I was curious what Google had to provide for exercise and writers and a whole bunch of articles popped up. Here’s a goodie.
For a couple of years, I have been making weight training a priority. I am at a certain -ahem- age, and studies have shown that cardio should be a part of your workout, but it shouldn’t be the star of the show.
So, I have been using my bands and lifting my weights consistently. And it was working. Up to a point.
This is the point of my story where I say: exciting news – I’m joining a gym!
For a couple of years, I have been working with coach Debra Basch, from the fitness company Lady The F Up. You see, I’m a “check in” person. I like to check in with my editor for my writing and I like to check in with a coach for my workouts. I need to know that I am progressing in the right direction and am grateful for that awesome accountability. These editors and coaches push me to my full potential and call me out when I slip.
This is how the conversation went:
“Sharon, it’s time to go back to the gym.”
“Whhhyyyyyyy?”
“There’s just so much you can do with bands and weights. You need to progress more.”
What Debra says, I do, because when it comes to fitness, she knows her sh%t.
I won’t be abandoning my home gym, because I really love the convenience and privacy. But I will be mixing it up with the professional machines that will challenge my muscles that my exercise bands can no longer do for me. The result from this change will be muscle growth. One of the major reasons why I show up to exercise.
I ask around to all my gym peeps where they dump their money to access the fancy equipment. Of course, I’ve got my stipulations. I want to make sure the gym I chose is close to my home. Is there parking? Perhaps there is a grocery store nearby to pick up a few things on my way home. Oooh – is there a coffee shop nearby where I can do some writing before or after my workouts?
After checking off all my boxes, I make a decision and I reach for my credit card to electronically sign on the dotted line.
So here I am. At Good Life Fitness Clubs. Where they have every machine known to man. And so far, it’s been pretty cool.