With summer coming up and extreme studying for finals I thought it might be a good idea to hit the gym. I had mentioned in an earlier post that it is encouraged for us students to try and workout or at least do some kind of physical activity to reduce stress and improve our brain power.
My first semester I rarely, if ever, went to the gym or used any of the other fitness services the U of L offers. So this semester I rented out a locker so my stuff would already be there and I would have a bit more of a push to go and at least make good use of the locker.
The gym is intimidating at first. It seemed like everyone there knows what they are doing and has a set out fitness plan or something. After wandering awkwardly for a bit I figured starting on the treadmills was a safe bet. It then took a good five minutes of button pressing to figure out how to work the thing, but I felt awesome once I was jogging at a good speed. I decided to creep on the people next to me and realized that they’re speed is almost double that of mine so I up my own speed so I don’t look slow or that out of shape. I crashed after five minutes; it was time to move on.
Machine weights are easy enough and I tried to stick to the ones I learned how to use in high school rather than the scary ones that look like torture equipment let alone something to build muscle with. When I ran out of machines that I knew how to use I grabbed a couple free weights and did the very few arm moves from the latest magazine I had read. Finally, I go to the mats, grab a bosu ball and copy any and all the moves I could see other people doing. Hey they must be doing them for a reason, right?
Thankfully after going a couple times I got into the routine of doing things and don’t feel as awkward wondering what in the world I’m supposed to do. I’ve even tried some other things like running around the track, different machines and read up on some new moves to try. I encourage you guys to give the gym a try, or even the pool or rock climbing wall. It might be awkward like it was for me but at least it will give you a good laugh. You gotta start somewhere!