Self-discipline

On Monday, I made my first visit to the gym. I'm loathe to wake up early on Mondays to begin with, but to wake up extra early to exercise is really a personal challenge. Nonetheless, I had made an appointment to meet with a personal trainer to familiarize me with the equipment, so I dragged myself out of bed.

I was scheduled to start at 7:30 but arrived at 7:45 and changed into my workout wear. That left me with 30 minutes to analyze my weight, percentage of body fat and bone mass as well as take my blood pressure, then do some warm-up on the stationary bike, continue with 10 minutes of stretching and finally a couple machines. For 30 minutes, I felt that I had accomplished quite a lot, and my trainer was friendly and accommodating throughout.

Thus, I scheduled for another visit on Tuesday morning and vowed to arrive for a full one-hour workout. On Tuesday I woke up in plenty of time, downed my cup of coffee and arrived before 7:30 to change. This time I went through an abbreviated diagnostics course, hit the stationary bike, did my stretches and then trained on the rowing machine, bench press and weight training to strengthen the lower back and abdominals. I finished orientation about 10 minutes early so I did a bit of cardio on a machine which has a name that I can't pronounce (it simulates walking, more or less).

This morning I slept in (until 7:30) and plan to go again tomorrow, but I'm happy to say I am not too sore. I reckon that means I'm not overdoing it. If anything, I want to settle into a regular routine of going about three times a week, and I find scheduling to meet with a trainer helps to keep that schedule. At this gym, that is all included in the fee, so after my first 5 visits they will help me to conjure up a training schedule with certain objectives.

I'm not really a "gym type", per se, as my objectives are to be healthy and not succumb to love handles so often seen on the matured male body (I'm not quite advanced in age enough to say I'm middle aged... give me another 5-10 years). The trainer showed me my charts and recommended some weight training to boost my muscle mass, which I can see is the right direction to go. My other objective is to stay physically active despite what is more or less a desk job. With all the new technology that promotes "mobility", it's funny how it has ultimately allowed us to remain in one place to do all of our work. Now if they could only invent a device that delivers a healthy body and mind through a broadband connection and block reception to fat and fatigue. Until then, looks like I'll be frequenting the gym.