Pain is my friend. Allow me to introduce you to it.
So, my mom's Christmas gift to me was a membership to my local YMCA, and I started going this week. So far it's going nicely, if constant body aches count as 'nicely.'
I think I'm probably a freak, but I really like going to the gym. The concept's kind of ridiculous, isn't it? Paying to go to a building wherein you can run in place for half an hour. Why not just go jogging? Or play basketball with your friends? Or something. But the gym fits for me. First of all, I cannot exercise with other people, because if there is one thing public school gym class has taught me (and it was only EVER this one thing), it is this: exercising in the presence of other human beings is a recipe for humiliation. I have a humiliation squick. :P So sports are out. Going jogging/walking with an exercise buddy is out. And walking doesn't really work for me anyway, because I tend to slow down when I'm tired (read: within two minutes). "Meandering" isn't good cardio.
But on the elliptical machines, it doesn't hurt to go quickly, and you get feedback. You can see how hard you're working and how fast you're going. It's like a video game - I see the numbers I'm getting and I want to get better numbers, so I don't slow down. I feel like I'm accomplishing something and it becomes, dare I say it, fun. The weight machines are the same way - my scores are how much weight I can handle.
It's all about finding what works for you, right?
(That said, this is only Day 2. We'll see how things go. XD)
1 internet cookie to the first person to identify the quote in the subject line.
I think I'm probably a freak, but I really like going to the gym. The concept's kind of ridiculous, isn't it? Paying to go to a building wherein you can run in place for half an hour. Why not just go jogging? Or play basketball with your friends? Or something. But the gym fits for me. First of all, I cannot exercise with other people, because if there is one thing public school gym class has taught me (and it was only EVER this one thing), it is this: exercising in the presence of other human beings is a recipe for humiliation. I have a humiliation squick. :P So sports are out. Going jogging/walking with an exercise buddy is out. And walking doesn't really work for me anyway, because I tend to slow down when I'm tired (read: within two minutes). "Meandering" isn't good cardio.
But on the elliptical machines, it doesn't hurt to go quickly, and you get feedback. You can see how hard you're working and how fast you're going. It's like a video game - I see the numbers I'm getting and I want to get better numbers, so I don't slow down. I feel like I'm accomplishing something and it becomes, dare I say it, fun. The weight machines are the same way - my scores are how much weight I can handle.
It's all about finding what works for you, right?
(That said, this is only Day 2. We'll see how things go. XD)
1 internet cookie to the first person to identify the quote in the subject line.