Gym notes: differing world views but the same equipment

[redbird]

There's a new trainer at the gym, who I think I dislike. I was minding my own business on the exercise bike, doing my warmup (well, a little past the usual amount of time for weeknight warmups), and heard a voice say "Fight it!" And then he asked me how long I was planning on doing; I told him about another 30 seconds, finished same, and went to the Xpressline machines. While I was waiting my turn there, he came over again, commented on how fast I'd found my card, insisted that the trainer who was setting things up wasn't named Omar but [name of some basketball player] and, when I finally convinced him that I don't fight the equipment because it's not my enemy, it's a tool, tried to tell me that it was my best friend.

It's machinery. Machinery without any kind of brain. It's useful. Tools are how we made ourselves, they're a very good thing. But it's a tool, not my best friend (my best friend wasn't even in the building).

Once I got settled in, all went well: I had to say "hey, check the settings" twice (once on amount of weight, once on seat height), but I did the twelve reps that are the maximum they recommend on the Xpressline, on all the machines. Same weights as last time, but I may increase some of them on Monday. And decrease one: my left triceps was feeling a bit tender, so Omar recommended using a lower weight next time (which I hope will be Saturday). Then I went and did crunches, back arches, and the yoga "tree" balance exercise, and finished off by stretching. Elliott, my favorite of their current staff, stopped by to say hello while I was stretching; we chatted a minute, including about my having been away from the gym for a bit, and my comment that I'd taken a break because I wasn't feeling well physically, and come back because I needed the stress relief as well as because I was feeling better.

Comments

[maryread.livejournal.com]

Coming back to it is good. Maybe the thing that a lot of people have trouble with -- besides that attitude of enmity, of fighting the machines. I've been sort of on-again off-again, partly from not feeling well, partly I think from needing a new routine, so I've been back at it but taking longer on the cardiovascular, then leaving things out to take it easy on myself, not so compulsive. I look on them as toys, very big toys. Tools. Same thing?