It is getting to be the time for newbies and New Years resolutioners to start going to the gym. And I want to be the first to say, “Welcome! We’re glad you’re here!”
There is a small portion of the gym population that gets annoyed with new people invading their space, but I am not one of them. In fact, a few years ago I was a New Years Resolutioner. I am a firm believer that the gym is for everyone, especially new people.
I’m going to go through a few things this week, leading up the New Years, on what to expect going to the gym, and/or venturing into the weight room, for the first time. And one thing I want everyone to remember is, we all started somewhere.
Here are a couple pictures of myself taken roughly 10 years ago, a year or two before I started back in the gym. I have kept it all these years as a reminder of where I was and where I never want to be again.
Like a lot of people, I was a high school athlete, a good enough baseball player to play in college, and working out was a part of my high school experience. I found that I really enjoyed it, and it helped me come out of my shell in high school. I ended up helping our high school team win a state powerlifting championship and set school and state records in the bench press.
But post high school and college, I did not make working out a priority. I would go for a month or two, but then go years without working out. At the time of the picture above, it had probably been 8 or 10 years since I had been to the gym.
I can still remember the first day I rejoined the gym. It was at Crossroads Sports and Fitness in Helena, where I later worked, and I was nervous. I changed quietly in the locker room and made my way downstairs. My confidence level could NOT be any lower. I wore baggy sweats and a 4XL sweatshirt.
As I walked into the weight room, a place I once loved, I first saw a very attractive couple that was about my age (I later became good friends with them). I avoided them like the plague. I got through my first workout, felt good about it and returned the next day.
I was going on a trip to the Caribbean in less than two months and did not want to look like a beached whale. I hurt for those eight weeks. It was painful, but I stuck with it. The soreness quickly went away, and I started to really, really enjoy working out.
I made it through those eight weeks, and I was really proud of myself for picking it back up once I got back from the Caribbean. That was eight years ago, and also the last time I took that much time off from the gym.
I don’t even think about forcing myself to go to the gym. It just part of my day now and I can’t imagine life without it.
So if you’re nervous to start, that is fine. But please remember that everyone in the gym started somewhere.
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