So, I've finally decided to hit the gym. Again. After more or less taking the summer off (of course I've had various excuses--lower back pain, being out of town, sleeping in, watching TV), I've once again realized, thanks to my body's excellent fat-storage mechanisms, how much I need to get back in the routine. Especially with school starting. Nothing like the thought of standing in front of 160 strangers to make you want to feel your best, most intimidating self.
My first day back this week I decided to take it easy. Why push 30 minutes on the elliptical? 25 is plenty. Why run a full circuit of weights? Only the biceps need major work right now. I don't want to get too committed yet, especially when I know commitment is not my greatest strength.
As I pulled down the lateral bicep machine, thinking Hey, this isn't so bad after all, two burly men began working out on the machine next to me. Not at the same time, of course; they obviously learned their sharing lesson in kindergarten.
It's always funny to me to hear the conversation between two men at the gym. It's usually about how built they're going to be in a couple of weeks or how many pounds they pressed last time or what sorts of enhancers or energizers they're using. Like today, for instance. I overhead--which wasn't hard, considering he was practically yelling it to the whole gym--a guy's entire plan for getting built and how confident he was in his program's success. His friend amiably agreed and continued to pump up his ego. **Sigh.**
These comments that first night, however, ran a little differently. Macho guy #1 sat down and pounded out his butterfly press reps. Macho guy #2 sat down and began his reps. Struggling, half way through, though, he yelled, "S***! Whatch'ou have this set on?" (I love a man who admits his own weakness.) I had to chuckle. Macho guy #1, seeing me laughing, chided his buddy: "Hey, now, watch your mouth around the ladies!" then turned to me to apologize for his profane friend. Wow, I thought to myself, what a blast from the past! Imagine the recurrence of a concern for ladies' "delicate" ears? However, something about his goofy manner made it clear that it was less a genuine concern and more a jocular statement made to pull me into the conversation.
Not biting, I got up and left after finishing my own set of reps. With such an entertaining memory to welcome me back to the gym world, I think it's time for the gym excuses to fade away.
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