But tonight there were just too many people for my liking.
I will admit, I am somewhat selfish when it comes to my space at the gym. I like to have a treadmill/cross trainer/bike etc spare between me and the next person. I like to be able to use, if not the weights I want to, then another weights machine I want. I like to have room when I stretch, and not feel cramped in like sardines. And I like that I can do it with people not watching/glaring when I walk up next to them.
I get in a kind of zone when I'm exercising on my own. I can't do it in a gym class etc, but when I'm on my own, be it at the gym, on a run, outside, whatever, I just turn my music on and let my mind wander. Most of the time I don't even know what I've been thinking about when I finish. When I warm up I go through what I want to work on. When I cool down/stretch, I think of what I have left to do that day or something similar. In between... I have no idea. But I always feel lighter when I finish. Maybe my brain works through some problems or something without me noticing, but I always feel like something has been lifted off me.
I can't get into this space when I have people within close proximity to me, particularly in a gym setting. Their pace on the treadmills plays with mine, I have to hope that the machine I want next will be available and if not, what else can I use. I have to hope that noone is going to take that last space to stretch when I'm on my last set etc.
But more than that...
I notice when people aren't doing exercises properly. And I just want to walk over to them and correct them. But they're usually people who give off a 'stay away from me' vibe. So I just do nothing. It's probably a bad thing for a trainer, but I'm not employed by the gym I use so...
Take a couple tonight. While I was stretching they were doing ab work. They started doing scissor legs, then onto the plank. Neither of them were doing either of the exercises right, (I will explain both of these in a later post), but it was the plank that annoyed me most. The woman was the worst of her and the guy she was with. She had her butt so far in the air she almost made a V, not a plank. He was straighter than her, but still not great.
I think they possibly caught me looking coz they both kept throwing dirty glances in my direction. So I just left them to it. If they want to do something that really isn't going to help them, and intimidate people who want to help them, they can.
This, this is the reason I go of a morning or during the day. Less people. But I hadn't been today, so I went tonight after dinner. I have complained about this before, and I should have been more organised, but I was waiting on a phone call back about my flights from LA to Sydney, so I wanted to wait around for that. It never came. I will be calling again tomorrow.
Trainer's Tip: Exercise when YOU FEEL is the best time! There's so much information out there about when's the best time to train. Some say early of a morning before you eat. Other's say early of a morning but eat just something small. Other's say during the afternoon because your muscles are at their warmest, therefore at their most flexible, making you less prone to injury.
All these ideas have merit. And they all work. But if they don't work for you, what's the point? You might naturally be a morning person, so working out at night might be impossible for you. You might have children, so the night might be better for you because you have someone to look after them for an hour or so. Maybe you have kids at school, so you can exercise sometime during the day.
Point is, if you don't fit in exercise when it fits WITH YOU, you won't do it. End of story.
So tonight... was actually quite a light night. A 5 minute warm up on the treadmill before hitting some reasonably light weights for my arms, chest and back. Some body weight single leg squats. 5 minutes of intervals on the rower. Then 5 minutes of abs work then about 15 minutes of stretching. All in all about 60 minutes.
It wasn't my best workout, and it definitely wasn't my hardest workout. But it was a workout.
Only got in 1 outdoor workout last week. Work was insane so my exercise suffered. I didn't make it to the gym at all, but I did get in a circut workout at home. Not nearly enough, but better than nothing.
Off to bed now. Sleep is important too.
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