Gym Culture

~ Laura

I’ve been a member of a gym for about 15 years. The first gym that I joined was above of bodega on Broadway near 181st Street. It catered to Dominican weight lifters. A sign above the door  noted that members had to leave their guns at home. I worked out at the gym until I was nine months pregnant. Hip hop music and Telemundo on the TV. Loved it. The staff treated me like a princess.

When we moved out here, we joined a traditional gym. Over the years, I have pretty much stuck to the same workout regime. I get on the treadmill for 30-60 minutes. I either walk really fast or jog. I watch Kardashian re-runs and gossip shows. I sometimes do the kicky machine, as I call it. I don’t talk to anybody around me. My ear buds are in, and it’s total “me time.”

With the New Year here, everybody is doing the “New Year, New You” thing. The gym is packed. Nicorette sales are up. Everybody is talking about diets. Hopefully, everyone will give up by February.

I never bother with the “New Year, New You” crap. I’m a flawed human being, and I’ll remain one. However, this year I thought I would start a “New Year, New Steve” program. I won’t change, but I can make Steve change. Yay! And maybe if I make him do stuff, I’ll try new stuff, too.

So, last weekend, I signed us up for a spin class. I have never taken a spin class before. In fact, I’ve never taken any exercise class before. I was always terrified that I would be the weakest one in the class or that I would embarrass myself. Maybe I wouldn’t know the secret handshake. Wardrobe malfunction. Public vomiting. So many opportunities for social catastrophes. But maybe if I had a buddy, it wouldn’t be bad.

Steve wasn’t that thrilled that we were going to an exercise class at 9am on a Sunday morning, but he went along with it. We didn’t completely fuck up, and we got a good workout. I was sore for three days. Maybe I’ll even sign up for a class on my own next time.

Published by Laura

6 thoughts on “Gym Culture”

  1. I wouldn’t go to a gym class at 9 am on a Sunday. I am allegedly running my second half marathon in May. I hope by tendons hold long enough for me to train.

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  2. “However, this year I thought I would start a “New Year, New Steve” program. I won’t change, but I can make Steve change. Yay! ”

    Hah. We’ll need reports on that one. I also don’t make NY resolutions.

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  3. Spinning – although I don’t love it it’s THE best cardio for 45 minutes. And trust me, once you get a bit more fit, it actually ends up being palatable. The music makes it – find instructors who have a great playlist. Watch your form – at “our” age, it’s easy to strain the knees if your weight isn’t over your pedals. And finally, stretch, stretch, stretch your IT bands (foam roller). What might feel like knee problems is likely a tight IT band pulling your knee out of alignment.

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  4. I’m a New Years resolution type. I recently figured out that there are different crowds at our gym at different times of day and I feel like I fit in better if I think about that. (Apparently previously I had been hitting the gym during the hour when lots of sad, hyperthin women with body image issues sadly ran on treadmills in the late afternoon. It made me sad. 11 AM is when the jolly fat people and kind old people walk on those same treadmills while throwing encouraging glances at one another. Who knew?)

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  5. I’ve never really understood spinning. Isn’t it just riding a (often fancy) exercise bike while someone yells things like “now we’re going up hill!” or “dogs are chasing you! Go fast!”? Or is there something else to it? I don’t mind mixing in exercise bike riding on my own, but don’t see the advantage of the class otherwise. (A personal trainer can be pretty useful, for helping you figure out what exercises can help with the things you need help on, and making sure you’re doing things right. They are expensive, so I’ve never used one when I had to pay, but I’d guess you could get 2-3 sessions for the price of the set of spinning classes.)

    Does Steve’s work have an exercise room he could use for 30-40 minutes on his lunch break? That might be a good idea.

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