Overcoming Gym Fears

Hey friends! Hope your weeks are all going by swimmingly. I had a stellar day at work today. Spent it in the office and blew through the to-do list that?s been looming over my head. Felt good!

So I totally sucked as a food blogger today. Most of my meals were packed today and I forgot to take a photo! So tonight?s post will be light on pictures and heavy on words. Go fetch your reading glasses ;)

I?ve been growing a little bored of my workouts lately, so I decided to switch it up this morning. Instead of sticking to the treadmill for my cardio, I branched out and tortured myself on a few other machines.

Elliptical

Minutes
Level
Effort


0-3
8
low intensity


3-5
12
medium intensity


5-6
16
high intensity


6-8
13
medium intensity


8-9
17
high intensity


9-11
14
medium intensity


11-12
18
high intensity


12-14
14
medium intensity


14-15
17
high intensity


15-17
13
medium intensity


17-18
16
high intensity


18-20
12
low intensity


20-21
16
high intensity


21-23
13
low intensity


23-24
17
high intensity


24-26
14
medium intensity


26-27
18
high intensity


27-29
14
medium intensity


29-30
17
high intensity


30-32
13
medium intensity


32-33
16
high intensity


33-35
12
low intensity

Rowing Machine

Minutes
Grip
Intensity


0-2
overhand
medium


2-4
underhand
medium


4-6
overhand
medium


6-8
underhand
medium


8-10
overhand
medium

Stepmill

Minutes
Level


0-1
6


1-2
10


2-3
6


3-4
10


4-5
6


5-6
10


6-7
6


7-8
10


8-10
6

 

I loved this workout! So fun to switch it up sometimes. The elliptical can be kinda boring, but the intervals kept me interested. Then the rowing machine and stepmill threw in some extra upper and lower body resistance in there for good measure ;) Overall, it was 55 minutes and I burned a mega 500 calories. Perfection.

Then I went straight from the gym to work. I am so far liking this routine much better than coming back home in between. It requires more preparation the night before, but it leads to a less rushed morning for me.

I had to work again tonight, so I didn?t have long to come home for supper.

A random duo of food, but both elements were absolutely delicious!

First, grilled turkey stuffed with laughing cow cheese and raspberry jam.

And because I didn?t get enough fibre in the leftover chili I had for lunch?

Sweet potato stuffed with black beans and salsa. Yum yum :)

I just had to sit in on a communications class tonight for work. They were doing something neat that I?m going to follow up on. So weird being back in those classes!

I had one thing on my mind when I came home ? one of April?s protein cakes!

I made it in a mug with a heart indent on the bottom ? can you see it?

15g chocolate whey protein powder
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp splenda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp banana baby food
2 tbsp egg whites
sprinkle mini chocolate chips

Stirred into my heart mug and popped in the microwave for one minute.

Slathered in peanut butter! These are really growing on me as a night-time snack. While I don?t really subscribe to the whole ?no carbs at night? line of thinking, I do find fat and protein is what I crave at night. It also keeps my belly the most full until morning. Think it?s time I start experimenting with what kind of different flavours I can come up with!

 

Gym Fears

I got some great comments on my last post about how to deal with the ?social? aspects of the gym. Especially when it comes to being assertive, or even just putting yourself ?out there.? Hallie noted the weight room isn?t really all that scary because most of the beefy guys are more into themselves than those around them. This really struck a chord with me. It reminded me that at one point, I too was scared of the gym.

In the past, I?ve delved a lot into my social anxiety disorder. It?s something I?ve struggled to get a handle on ever since being diagnosed with agoraphobia at the age of 15. While I am great in small groups of people, being in big crowds, or exposed to large groups of strangers, terrifies me. There are some things, like going to the mall or school, that I?ve learned to deal with. Other things, like going to big concerts, still hold me back. At one point, this fear translated into going to the gym. Just think of it ? an anxious me exposed in my workout clothes, sweaty, red faced, in a big room full of people I don?t know. Of course, in my head, the strangers were staring at and judging me too.

I overcame this fear by coming to the same realization that Hallie mentioned ? people at the gym are so into their own workout, they don?t give a damn what you?re doing. Really, who cares if I?m sweating buckets, so long as I?m not interfering with the person beside me. Who cares if I do something incorrectly, so long as I?m not going to injure myself. Ever see what people are looking at when they lift in front of a mirror? Themselves!

One big step for me was venturing to the intimidating ?weight area.? When I started the New Rules of Lifting For Women program, I had never lifted free weights in front of other people before. It took me three visits of playing around with the moves before I finally took the plunge and did a whole workout in the weight room. One thing that helped a lot was bringing notes of what I was supposed to do and reminders on how to keep my form. That way I couldn?t get there and blank on what I was supposed to do!

For a period of time, each workout was challenging. I always felt embarrassed, even when I wasn?t doing anything that would be classified as ?embarrassing? (although, I?ve had a few of those too!). Weeks and months passed, muscle was built, miles were run, and I slowly started to gain confidence in the gym. All I had to do was realize that 1) I?m a crazy paranoid person, and 2) I had to keep pushing myself to get through it. Now, not only do I look forward to my gym visits, but I LOVE every moment spent there. On top of that, I hope to work in one!! I?ve gone from someone who could barely spend 20 minutes in the place, to a person who now wants to train and pass my knowledge along in the same environment.

I share this story because I know there are a lot of people out there who are scared to make fools of themselves in the weight room, exercise class, or new machine. There are some people who feel too ?fat? or ?out of shape? to even show up at a gym full of ?fit? people. I get these feelings, but sitting on them isn?t going to make anything better. You have to take that first step to confront them, and I promise it is all downhill from there. Remember, every person in that gym did not come out of the womb fit, muscular, and running 8-minute miles. They all started somewhere, and will not judge you for where your start may be :)

 

So another evening, another rant. Now my bed (and the Biggest Loser) beckons. See ya tomorrow!

 

Questions of the Day:

1. What?s one thing that intimidates you? How will you overcome it? I?m awful at ?mix and mingle? type events. I?ve started hyperventilating at them before. What I usually do is track down an organizer and get them to put me to work so I don?t feel too pressured to socialize!

2. What sweet treat should I bake for my birthday? I?d like to make something special, last year was carrot cake, and the year before that was cheesecake. My mind so far has gone to chocolate pie, chocolate chip cookie cake, or blondies. But suggestions are welcome!