Exercising :: Taking Stock Of Q1

This low-impact WOD that we do at the gym is just 30 minutes.
Easy to replicate at home, i.e without equipment. Motivation is subjective.

When people ask me how often I get to exercising weekly, they tend to blink at my answer, “About 40 minutes each day. Five to six days a week.” Actually that's quite normal for a segment of the population. I’ve no idea what they think I do (or what we do), but I get the impression that what comes to mind is lots of jumping and running. Hahahaha. NO. Neither jumping or running appeals; I avoid them whenever possible. You’ll almost never see me on the treadmill or run at warm-ups even. For many reasons, I stay away from CrossFit and Spartan Race obstacles.

That’s why I haven’t stopped this gym membership although the 12-month commitment has ended. I pay membership fees on a weekly basis now. The gym seems to be able to retain good instructors and offers a variety of classes that covers the range of functional training to HIIT, strength and flexibility. This is something smaller gyms and studios can’t offer. I’ll have to sign up with three smaller studios to get back to the ideal weekly workout regime. But I am gym-shopping.... 😉

Classes at the gym are pitched at a generic multi-level audience. What you get out of class, is truly what you choose to make out of it. Don’t look around and compare yourself to other gym-goers. We’re all at different stages of our ‘get fit’ program. If you don’t know where the others are at, and blindly compare, that ain’t doing any favor to your self esteem. The competition is with yourself. The goal is always to do ‘two more reps’, and that’s it. FWIW, I don’t track steps walked, distance jogged or calories burnt. If I know the details, that’s because the friends or fellow gym members gleefully yell that out.

Since I don't particularly like running, cardio for me, is in the format of krav maga and HIIT programs, for example, my favorite cardio + weights 30-minute burn in a Les Mills GRIT Strength class. I favor loads of stretching and strength training in the form of uisng my body weight as well, and pilates done in a specialized studio is my preferred method. Can I do this without joining a gym? Of course. I'd just need Youtube, a space, and loads of perseverance to incorporate daily sessions into my lifestyle. I do this in hotel rooms; not sure if I'm disciplined enough to do it at home on a regular basis. However, injuries and bad form tend to prevail without the presence of a trainer. My current week looks like this: