Lets Get Physical

           

               Most women I know don’t know how to work out properly. They live on the treadmill and elliptical machines, or in spin classes. But, if you’re trying to be fit and healthy, and not just working out to lose weight, cardio is only a fraction of the equation. Know what the problem with that is? Most of us are not working out for its health benefits. Sure, we know it’s good for us, but I’d say 90% of women in the gym are not there for the good checkup from their doctor….it’s for those Michelle Obama arms.

               The gym can be a super intimidating place. I’d like to think of myself as athletic, but having heard I run like a wild goose by several people, I may not be the Olympic athlete I once thought I was. All those different machines that are supposed to sculpt and tone your body into Jennifer Aniston’s look more like Chinese torture devices to me…I mean, how do you know if you’re using it right?! Yes, I realize they have instructions on the actual machines, but I don’t want to look like a newbie! Thank goodness for YouTube. Yes, I YouTube how to use the exercise machines! I don’t want to look like an idiot, or at least more athletic than I do on the treadmill.

               Women base most of their lives around events. Weddings, birthdays, hot dates…we plan our eating, working, and working out around these things. I won’t wear an outfit if I know I plan on wearing it for an event in the near future. I am a bridesmaid in a good friends’ wedding and have tried to curb my sweet tooth in place of fruits and vegetables. One thing that I think prevents a lot of women from getting down and dirty in the gym is the infrequency. Most of us only lift weights if we have a strapless dress to don in the near future. But retraining my brain into thinking of the gym as a place to get healthy, not a quick fix, has really improved my workouts. I go harder, last longer, and am more consistent with my routine. I may not have Michelle Obama arms or Gwen Stefani abs yet, but I feel a lot healthier. My blood pressure is better, I am feeling and sleeping a lot better (hello endorphins!), and look at the gym as a place for mental and physical challenges, not a faraway place I need to visit only when even Spanx can’t make me look skinny.