5 Hits on the Gym Dislike Button

It’s not my nature to dwell on what I hate about exercise, and besides that, my parents drilled into me not to use the word “hate”, but instead say “dislike intensely”. Nevertheless, let’s go ahead and briefly vent about some dislikes and how they might be dealt with. I’ll make this light-hearted.

Workout preparations are a pain — figuring out (and remembering) what time I need to leave the house, getting ready, driving to the gym, finding parking, inevitably getting to class a tad late — it’s a wonder that I make myself do this nearly every day. Going to the gym is a lot like going to work. When people at the gym comment that ‘you’re here A LOT’, I can say ‘it’s my job.’ The pay is zilch, but the payoff is great! Maybe someday soon I will finally get the hang of time management (but I doubt it).

My hair sticks to the back of my neck when I’ve worked up a sweat. This is a love/hate thing — love the physical evidence that I’ve exerted myself, hate ruining my hair-styling efforts. Sometimes I roll up a little towel and stick it under my hair, which is somewhat effective but looks odd and is hard to keep in place while continuing to work out.

As time goes on, my body is imposing more limitations on what I can do. This is another plus/minus thing — good to challenge my limits, but need to be aware of when to dial it down. I maintain a focus on adapting exercise to the current state of my body, keeping in mind the goals of increasing stamina, building muscle, and staying limber. After suffering through a tough workout, a 15-minute session of stretching helps to counter anything I might have inadvertently torqued.

Kids in the locker room. Post-workout, I prefer winding down in a peaceful, quiet locker room, undisturbed by kids yammering, running around, crying in the shower, etc. When things get really obnoxious, I’ve been gutsy enough to suggest that it would be infinitely better for all concerned if Mom would simply take advantage of the pool-side family-friendly shower rooms and dressing areas which were constructed at great expense just a few years ago for the very purpose of keeping children out of the main locker room, and which caused a huge increase in my monthly dues. Also, I’ve been known to point out that boys of any age aren’t allowed in the Women’s locker room, as the sign at the doorway stipulates. But usually, I just seethe and make haste to leave.

Complaining. Another thing my parents taught me: “Quit belly-aching”! Really, although it provides good fodder for conversations with workout buddies, there’s not much point in bemoaning our vulnerabilities or bitching about the management of the Club/Gym/Yoga Studio. It’s only good to complain if it gets our adrenaline up and drives us to overcome the adversity. Or, I like it when we end up laughing about our complaints and our propensity to complain, and the laughter puts us in a good mood for the rest of the day.

OK, I see that it’s now about time to start the process of making preparations for getting to the Gym on time. Hey, I’m making strides towards overcoming Dislike #1!