The Gym--the Final Frontier

There's a good chance aliens re-wired my brain. Or perhaps it's just that ideas seem so much better at 1 a.m., but along with two of my roommates, I've decided I'm going to start lifting weights. And that means going to the gym. The Gym. Going running is weird enough for me and I'm even more shocked that I enjoy it, but running isn't really that athletic. It's more of a health thing. And more importantly, you don't have to be good at it. This is not to undermine competitive runners, because they honestly intimidate me and that kind of running is definitely a sport. However, everyone and their dog can go for a run without being "sporty." Going to the gym is a whole different thing for me.

Today I remembered why I've avoided the gym for so long. I walked in and two guys just looked at me. Typically, I don't mind the whole guys-looking-at-me-when-I-walk-into-the-room thing ('cause it happens all the time...NOT)but I had absolutely no clue what I was doing and the last thing I wanted was an audience. I walked around a little, trying to find a machine to work on. I didn't know what half the machines did. Once I found one that looked familiar, I started doing a few reps. The equipment is incredibly close together so that while I'm doing arm pulls there's a guy two feet away from me on some other machine; while my butt is in the air doing some leg lift, someone's right behind me doing a leg press. All I could think is that these people know my technique is all wrong and are laughing at my ridiculously low weight. Could this be my own insecurities messing with my mind? Yes, but how does everyone else get over it?

The old Kelsy, would probably have left and waited another 4 years before returning and then only under duress, but I'm being brave this summer. So I decided to make a study out of it. I'll keep going to the gym (hopefully, with a better plan of action) and see what I can learn about gym culture and maybe get in better shape while I'm at it.

But if I start taking protein shakes and flexing on my downtime, you'll know it was the aliens.