I had a gym membership at Planet Fitness for a year before I set foot in the door. I really don’t know why. It was easy to put it off for a few days after signing up, and then the longer it went the more of a feeling of panic I would get each time I thought about it. Almost like there was going to be someone standing at the door as I came in, who would point at me and yell “WHY WEREN’T YOU HERE BEFORE THIS, WHY WERE YOU PAYING FOR NOTHING, CLEARLY YOU NEED US!” So I didn’t go, and I didn’t call to cancel, I just….did. not.
In January, my best friend M agreed to sign up and be workout buddies with me. With that impetus, it began. Although, I was quite proud of myself a few weeks ago that I continued going while M was sick and couldn’t be there.
I always thought I wasn’t really a big fan of exercising for its own sake. Until just recently I would have said that I would rather play a game, or dance, or go on a hike–something that had a tangible immediate goal, something real–than go to a gym and jog on a treadmill. I still think that’s a great way to exercise, and I try to incorporate that as much as possible. But schedules are busy these days and having a set time to go to the gym for fitness just made sense. And now I actually find myself enjoying the process.
My schedule is as follows:
Monday 6am- gym for cardio (We’re currently doing the C25K program for most of these workouts, sometimes if we’re feeling the need for a change up, we’ll get on the recumbent stationary bike.)
Tuesday 7pm to 10pm Line Dancing! I’d say, at this point with all the dances I know, I’m getting in a good 60 minutes of straight up dancing during that time, with breaks in between.
Wednesday 6am we do the 30 minute circuit of weights that Planet Fitness provides. They make it very simple, Green Light you go, Red Light you stop.
Thursday 6am cardio
Friday 7pm Line Dancing Lessons which are sometimes tougher than Tuesday nights, especially if it’s a small class and Cowboy Gary won’t let us sit down!
Saturday/Sunday M and I change this up depending on what we have scheduled, but one day of the weekend we try to get in an hour workout, both cardio and the weight circuit.
I’m thinking I need to add in more weight training, especially after reading this article: http://aeryssports.com/workout-eat-repeat/fashion-cardio-vs-weight-training/. I’ll see where to fit that in.
I took my first Zumba class last week on Presidents’ Day and loved it! Unfortunately it is at 6pm, making it nearly impossible to get to on a work day. I’m looking around to see if there is another class that fits better.
I’d also like to take a class to learn how to use Kettlebells, but I haven’t found any in our area that aren’t associated with a gym (I’m not switching gyms just yet).
Do you have a set or flexible schedule for working out? How does that affect your commitment level?
