Intention to Action - Forging through the Reasons to Not Join a Gym

Ok, so I knew if I put it out there that I intend to lose weight, get fit, whatever, along those lines, that it would get me moving. I hate to embarass myself in front of other people. If I say I am going to do something, I am going to do it. That's probably why I never took one single puff of a cigarette once I quit.

Of course that is one of the reasons I never really joined a gym before, too. I was afraid of being the butt of people's jokes, sniggers, or at least glances. Well, that and there being crime scene tape and a bunch of cops surrounding 24 Hr Fitness last time I went to check them out. Seriously. That bought me a couple of more months.

So, today I got up, went to the farmer's market, bought some fresh tomatoes, bananas and a sunrise (red inside) papaya. Hmm, at least I think it's a sunrise. I do know it's red. I decided not to go to the beach close to there, which is my usual form of exercise, and my first reason for not joining a gym. I'm an outdoor girl and I've always said, "I don't understand why people choose to exercise in a boring gym when they could be bodyboarding, surfing, biking, hiking, or doing something fun outside." Well, after going bodyboarding maybe 10 times in the past three months, I decided I really do need to consider an alternate means of exercise, and maybe one that is intense enough to really get myself back in some kind of decent-er shape.

My mission for today was to get information about the two gyms I know of close to me. So, I went back to the Y to check out their gym again. The good news is they got TVs since I was there last. That's another reason I never joined a gym. I was afraid I would get bored. The bad news is that the gym manager basically told me that they are usually busy during the hours that I would most likely be there, so I figured I might be doing as much waiting as working out. I know me well enough to know that wouldn't fly.

Then I went home and downloaded a 7 day pass to 24 hr fitness. So funny, by the time it took me to put on my sneakers (another reason I never joined the gym - I Hate shoes, or at least my toes do) and drive the 3 miles there, Segundo was on the phone asking when I'd be in. Another reason I never joined the gym - I didn't want to be pressured into signing up for a year or more.
So, Segundo took me for a walk through, let me try out a few machines. After showing me how, that is. Really. The last stationary bike I was on was over 20 years ago, and I think the only times I've ever been on a treadmill were to take stress tests. Now that elliptical thingie - kind of like stairs, but I guess there are many ways to walk up stairs. Time will tell on that. Now Segundo never actually laughed, but his eyes did widen when I began to sweat only 2 minutes into each of them. I guess he was afraid at that point that I might die before he could make a sale.

So, he hurried me back down to his cubicle, talked me into signing a 2 month contract with no sign up fee and a free assessment with one of the trainers. I feel okay about it, because I can cancel it any time within the next week if it looks like it isn't the place for me, but I am kind of pissed at myself because he didn't give me my free week and even though I mentioned it, I didn't insist on it. As we were wrapping things up I got a call from a mainland insurance company who has not paid for my services to one of their members for 8 months, so I opted to take the call. I walked out of the facility while I was on the phone because Segundo and his co-workers were laughing loudly. I was so busy with my call I didn't have a chance to see if they were pointing at me, but it is very suspicious that they started laughing right after he walked away from me and while my back was turned. I'm going to be keeping my eye on Segundo.

Now, here is the really good part. After the phone call I walked back into the gym and actually did some exercise. Not a lot, but something. I mean, I had already accomplished my goal of the day, which was to find out information. I chose a bike because I wanted to do more than 5 minutes, which is what I was afraid was all I could do on the treadmill or elliptical. Okay, so this is so I can look back at how far I've come a few months from now. I did the bike for 16 minutes, 3.4 miles, and burned 100 calories. That sure doesn't sound like much, but it is a start.

The other thing I learned today is that spinning classes don't involve whirling dervish type dancing. And I was so looking forward to those.