Let me explain. I work with gym rats. Not that it is a bad thing or the term should be considered derogatory. It is what it is. I have friends that work out 5 or more days of the week; to me they are gym rats. For years they have been trying to get me to work out with them (2 years and 11 months to be exact.) And I, for the same amount of time, have respectfully declined their offer. "I don't do exercise classes." Or so I thought. Here's how it happened.
It was a slow change; honestly it did not happen overnight. I decided one day to go to a yoga class at the local YMCA with one of my friends from work. I had always had interest in yoga - but I could never do it on my own as the "clear your mind" concept was so foreign. I needed instruction on how to do this. PLUS I am about as flexible as a 2x4 so why not. I LOVED it. I could only do half of the poses, but I could quickly figure out how to adapt them to fit my skill level. It was 40 minutes of butt kicking relaxation that I immediately fell in love with. I was hooked.
Jason and I realized that the Y had more to offer than just the yoga class, they also had a pool. Because the older kids are half fish, we decided to join. Yes, the Peterson family became members at the YMCA. That was step one.
Step two came when I finally caved and went to another class - this one called Group Power. I had been hearing about this class for months. It is a "weight lifting" class. I thought now that I have a very mobile and somewhat heavy toddler (although a very healthy weight) I needed some help to improve my muscle ability. Success! I was hooked after I attended my first class. We used a step (as a weight bench), a mat for padding, a bar (with whatever weight amount you are comfortable with), and hand weights. I quickly learned, again, how to adapt the exercises and the weights to match my skill level..and quickly starting walking out like a 90 yr old woman because I was using muscles I didn't even know I had.
Now I was working out two days a week; yoga on Tuesdays and group power on Wednesdays. But I wanted more. I set a goal for myself to go three days a week. I figured I would start small, keep reaching that goal and slowly increase. I figure if I make it MORE than 3 days a week that would be a huge success, but if I made my goal of three, I would be happy. I had gone on Mondays to run on the treadmill but I found myself bored with it. The treadmill would work in a pinch, but I wanted to try something else. I was then introduced to "circuit workout"..and again, I was hooked.
Friday mornings (yes MORNINGS!) I try to be at the gym by 6:05 to go thru a circuit...different exercises every week that we do 3 times each. I love the variety and I love that I go at my pace. I work out, again, with people that I work with but it is fun to see how they vary the exercises and see just how far I have to go! We have done lunges (with or without weights), jumping squats, regular squats, wall sits (with and without weights), burpies (and whomever came up with this "exercise" needs to be slapped) and a whole variety of other exercises. 40 minutes and I'm done- walking out like a 90 yr old woman - but ready to start my day. There is an instructor there to walk you thru the proper form for each exercise in each circuit (each "stop" in the circuit has 3-4 exercises you have to do (15-20 reps each) and there are usually 3 or 4 stops).
And I still wanted more! I decided to try a group power class on Monday mornings. I loved it, but it’s hard to get there consistently, but I loved that it is a very different challenge than the class on Wednesday. In fact, the instructor is a mom at the same daycare that Harvey goes to...and how weird is it to see her in the gym and then see her dropping of her child.
And I am still not satisfied. I kept thinking I needed to incorporate something on Thursdays...and I look at the pool and think "can I do it?" And yesterday, I found out that I can. I tried swimming for the first time in years - "sport swimming" and loved it. I figured I would...but again, I used muscles I didn't know existed in my body. I thought by now, in my "late 20's" the muscles would have disappeared, but they are still there. I woke up so sore, yet all I could think about is going back to the gym today at some point and starting over!
I guess that means that my transition to full gym rat status is almost complete. I have found classes or exercises to keep me motivated and excited. And they exist every day of the week. I can fit them into my daily life without having to sacrifice family time (or at least much of it.) My next step is to get the whole family involved. We are starting small - one day a week. Last week I got the big kids into a class that certified them to use all of the cardio equipment on their own. Now, they can go and work out on the cardio machines without an adult present. They loved the class and have asked, daily, when we are going back. My goal is to get Jason and all the kids to the Y one day a week. Who knows, maybe this time next year I can say that the Peterson family has become a gym rat family.
