HOLLA!!!!

On second thought, don't.  If there is one place that I think is inappropriate for cat-calling, it is the gym.  (I am choosing not to include workplaces, etc for the sake of this discussion.)  


Just the other day, I was crankin' away on the elliptical when over the sound of my iPod I could hear whistling and hooting as a girl walked into the gym.  Granted, she was beautiful.  And as a matter of fact, she was scantily clad.  BUT!  The gym has become a safe place for me and a number of my friends.  Don't forget, I have even written about the crazy things I wear to the gym before.  I get to go to the gym without makeup or a care.  I don't go there to feel like I am walking into a dance club.  You don't get to judge me here.  Besides, I do a bang-up job of judging myself already.


Granted, I can be sensitive to these situations because, truthfully, I am insecure about the way I look.  That may well be part of the problem.  However, I still don't think guys should be shouting across the gym to get the attention of a pretty girl.  At least be kind enough not to interrupt our workouts too.

After this incident, I couldn't help but think of the Planet Fitness commercial where a conceited guy struts up to a girl who is just trying to get her workout in.  Even though she looks bored, he persists to ask the gym loudly, "Hey, did somebody lose a washboard?  Because I found one over here.  I'm just joking, it's my abs."  And he lifts his shirt up by strings at the sides that operate his shirt like a set of cheap blinds.  I laughed at this commercial!  I LOVE it!  But part of the humor lies in the truth behind it.  The Stiffler look-alike in this commercial exists everywhere.  He's annoying and never gets the picture when you gently blow him off and go back to your workout.  Such is life.

Thankfully, the gym has gone back to being my safe place.  But sometimes when I hear someone, man OR woman, hooting at someone in the gym, I can't help but cringe.  Don't get me wrong, meeting people at the gym is just fine!  I am merely suggesting that you actually go up and introduce yourself.  Don't scream across the room or machine-stalk them for an hour.  Sorry dude, but that's just creepy.  And it has happened to me.

So, I say...  The gym is my place to sweat.  This is my place to get dirty and not care that my hair is all jacked up and my face is beet red, even though I am surrounded on all sides by mirrors and plate glass windows.  This is where no one cares that I haven't showered yet today.  They care that I showed up, if they notice me at all.  And that's just the way I like it.

Zumba is No Joke

I have now tried the somewhat new exercise craze, Zumba, twice.  Keep in mind that I am not the most coordinated person in the world, but I love to dance.  To the beat of my own drummer, of  course!

After reading one of my blog posts, a friend, S, suggested I join her for a night of Zumba.  Truthfully, I was nervous and unsure because I tend to trip over my own feet just walking down the sidewalk!  But after being assured that no one cares, I decided my work out routine gets a little drab, so I'd give it a shot.  After all, what did I have to lose?

I loved it!!  SO much fun and a killer workout at the same time!  Our instructor actually turns the lights off in the gym as well.  I'm not sure if that's so it feels more like a dance club, or so that those of us who can't manage many of the steps don't feel so silly, but I love it!!  The steps range from very complicated to beginner.  Another friend I dragged along just last night, T, said after the first song that it was already a better workout than another Zumba class she tried.  :)

We shook our groove things at a very fast pace to keep our heart rates up and laughed at ourselves when we couldn't quite get the hang of a series of moves.  It was a great time and a fabulous departure from my normal gym routine.  In fact, last Tuesday, after Zumba-ing till I dropped on Monday night, I found my elliptical and weight machine routine to be... well... boring!  I still plugged right along, but was secretly wishing that I could Zumba again.

In fact, I think I might make Monday night Zumba a part of my regular routine.  It doesn't hurt that our instructor  has a terrific figure and manages to make the moves look downright sexy!  I find myself wanting to work harder to do the moves just like her.  

If you haven't tried Zumba, I highly recommend it!  It's a blast!  And who thought a mere year ago that my girlfriend 'dates' would involve more exercise than beer and food!?  It's just one more happy, groovy, shimmying step towards a healthier lifestyle!

If at First You Don't Succeed...

TRY, TRY AGAIN!  We have all heard this saying.  What is most frustrating about it, is that it is so true.  Especially when it comes to losing weight.  For our health's sake, for our confidence sake, for our peace of mind.

And I find myself trying again more often than not.  This journey of mine has not been an easy one.  So many pitfalls, so little time.  I had put 5 pounds back on.  I was discouraged.  With the encouraging voices of my precious girlfriends ringing in my ears...  I picked myself up off of the couch and got back on that blasted elliptical.

I am in the process of trying to 'shock' my body into losing weight.  I am trying to switch up the workouts, but still get my calorie burn in.  Not easy when your gym doesn't offer classes.  That's ok.  I am thinking outside of the box and got a piece of advice from a friend that I'd like to share.  She said her trainer told her to simply "do one thing a week that makes you uncomfortable."  If you are not a runner- run.  If you hate the stationary bike- do it anyway.  And the rule of thumb he gave her was to give it 15 minutes.

Personally, I despise the gazelle-like ellipticals.  They hurt.  They make me feel like a gawky teenager again.  They make me think my coordination ranks right up there with most toddlers.  But I did it anyway.  And hated every second of it.  I cursed the gym, the world, my well-intentioned friend.  Until I got on the scale 2 weeks later.  I have lost those pesky 5 pounds I had put back on.

So it is now my mission to do some kind of exercise that I hate or that I would normally avoid because they make me uncomfortable.  I can do anything for 15 minutes a week.  And last week, i did a full program on the 'gazelle.'  28 horrible minutes.  But I was proud of myself for doing it.  And it's working...  so I'm pressing on, sista.  Are you up to the challenge??