All things gym.

I ummed and ahhed a lot about posting this and I may end up deleting it or not publishing it lol

Gym experiences. We all have them and some of us have some horror stories. I must admit in my time at gyms until very recently i never had any bad experiences. I certainly was anxious over attending the gym and i personally thought everyone was looking at me and judging me...but of course that wasnt the case.

When I quit my old gym i stated on the blog i was sick of travelling, felt anxious about attending the gym, and needed a gym with more flexible hours. This was all true. I wanted to share this story to show even if something does happen....it doesnt mean you throw your fitness journey in. I hadnt actually told anybody about this till last night...and after i told Martine i kinda knew it was something i should post about.

So I was in a session a group session which was a circuit. I did the first exercise, that was all fine. I then moved on to the second exercise. It was a exercise I cannot do and attempting it would have actually put me at risk of injury. So i called over the instructor....she set up a different exercise for me...i did one or two reps and then it was time to move on to the next exercise. But what happened a female who was on the exercise next to me turned around and said "wait she didnt do her exercise" OMG i seriously wanted to die. Yes i know i didnt do as many reps as i should have but up till that moment i was simply proud to be in that group session...and to speak up when i had something i knew i couldnt do. By the end of the week I had been giving it a lot thought, mostly to the demographics of the gym and did i fit in anymore. I had felt pulled back to this gym many times. I had my success at it 2008-2011. And while i had left and gone to a different gym a few times...I felt connected to this gym. But what ive realised over the last few weeks...it wasnt the gym that helped me...it was fiona...pure and simple. The gym is the same building...but it has changed over time..and I felt i no longer fit into those demographics. The gym i joined i have been a member of before. I am going back to someone I trained with before...I always liked training with her...i only left cos i felt my success was tied to my old gym. This gym has both males and females...and yes it has plenty of females size 10-12 it also has plenty of people on their weight loss journey....and various ages. Going back to the comment that person said about me not having done the full exercise..here is my thought....you or i are not obligated in any group session to do every set or rep. There is no requirement for you to keep up with the person next to you...only person you need to keep up with is yourself. I put this comment down to the age of this person. BUT if you are at a gym or fitness centre where you encounter anything similar...YOU are in control....put yourself in a environment that is right for you, try to remove the emotions of it all and decide where you will get the most success from....but dont let any person stop you from your fitness journey.

I just watched a video clip where 7 of the ex US biggest losers discussed the study that came out recently about how their metabolism was damaged after being on biggest loser. Partly they were discussing how they have neglected weight training (and in fact one mentioned they lost 21lbs of muscle whilst on biggest loser) and we know the more muscle we have the better our metabolism works. Now i have done weight training for years, altho I was definitely stronger 5 years ago. Anyway the biggest loser peeps said something interesting ... "cardio is my comfort zone" and thats so true. Sure the treadmill isnt my comfort zone....but going especially on the cross trainer or outside walking...is definitely a comfort zone with me. With going back to the gym this week (Candice messaged me this morning so sure i will have at least one session with her this morning) I am going to step out of that comfort zone. As much as I am going to focus on my eating with weight watchers...I am also going to focus on becoming stronger which inevitably will mean my muscle is improving. If Candice sets me programs to do in the weights area (she prolly will) then so be it i will do it - time to set out of my comfort zone. Simple as that.