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Entry tags:
Starting slowly
Let's be optimistic about this and open a "gym" tag - why not. I've now been there twice over the past week, which counts as the most regularly I have ever attended a gym (but then, so does being in one twice over the past year). It's a sort of intimidating environment, being surrounded by people who are obviously fitter than you and know what they're doing. The main floor of the gym is laid out in areas with names like Core Strength Alcove and Cardio Arena, and these are populated with treadmills and twisted machinations for healthily straining very particular muscles like a Fisher-Price Spanish Inquisition. There's also a weights room on the lower floor I've never entered, but you see occasional men with the physical characteristics of Liono going into it with some snatches of Eye of the Tiger audible through the entranceway.
I started with the first routine in the couch-to-5k beginners' running schedule rather than being overambitious like last time - I followed a couple of stretches given on the site while trying to look like I knew what I was doing and didn't feel stupid, then found a free treadmill. I still felt out of place at first taking a stationary stroll with Whitney doing her much more stressful routine on the elliptical machine behind me, and with the two people on the neighbouring treadmills going at it so hard that in the event of a sudden powercut they would lurch forwards and tear a wormhole through reality.
After the warmup walk, though, I worked out how to set the treadmill to toggle between two speeds, and alternated walking and jogging with my 80s motivational music from 2011 to encourage me along. I actually did a slightly more stressful routine than the page recommends at the start - it says to cycle between 90 seconds of walking and 60 of jogging, but I did 60 seconds of each (by mistake at first and then just because it was easier to count).
And I reached the end of the 25-minute timer without distress! Apart from when I finally got off the treadmill and the entire floor seemed like it was moving backwards, like your eyes adjusting to stationary things again after watching scrolling credits - I had to lean or move constantly forwards to stop myself falling over. I will also have to work out a better position for the iPod, because a slot is provided on the machine for it in front of you, but if you catch the headphone wire with your arms then it flies out of it and goes pinging away over your head unprofessionally. And I don't really know what walking and jogging speeds are and I think I actually underestimated myself this time - I think I had walking at 2mph and jogging at 4.5, and could easily stand to increase both of those by .5mph next time.
It only feels a bit strange that I'm going to a specific building where I walk in place for twenty minutes when that energy could be used for forward momentum, but it feels good to have made a resolution to go there together - and I'm very glad of the indoors arrangement now that the weather has turned to volcanic once more. Perhaps if I keep this up, when the weather cools down, I could start running to work a couple of times a week. But it would look a bit silly with my briefcase.
I started with the first routine in the couch-to-5k beginners' running schedule rather than being overambitious like last time - I followed a couple of stretches given on the site while trying to look like I knew what I was doing and didn't feel stupid, then found a free treadmill. I still felt out of place at first taking a stationary stroll with Whitney doing her much more stressful routine on the elliptical machine behind me, and with the two people on the neighbouring treadmills going at it so hard that in the event of a sudden powercut they would lurch forwards and tear a wormhole through reality.
After the warmup walk, though, I worked out how to set the treadmill to toggle between two speeds, and alternated walking and jogging with my 80s motivational music from 2011 to encourage me along. I actually did a slightly more stressful routine than the page recommends at the start - it says to cycle between 90 seconds of walking and 60 of jogging, but I did 60 seconds of each (by mistake at first and then just because it was easier to count).
And I reached the end of the 25-minute timer without distress! Apart from when I finally got off the treadmill and the entire floor seemed like it was moving backwards, like your eyes adjusting to stationary things again after watching scrolling credits - I had to lean or move constantly forwards to stop myself falling over. I will also have to work out a better position for the iPod, because a slot is provided on the machine for it in front of you, but if you catch the headphone wire with your arms then it flies out of it and goes pinging away over your head unprofessionally. And I don't really know what walking and jogging speeds are and I think I actually underestimated myself this time - I think I had walking at 2mph and jogging at 4.5, and could easily stand to increase both of those by .5mph next time.
It only feels a bit strange that I'm going to a specific building where I walk in place for twenty minutes when that energy could be used for forward momentum, but it feels good to have made a resolution to go there together - and I'm very glad of the indoors arrangement now that the weather has turned to volcanic once more. Perhaps if I keep this up, when the weather cools down, I could start running to work a couple of times a week. But it would look a bit silly with my briefcase.