Gym fun

It was great at the gym last night. Fairly quiet for once, air-con on at full belt so beautifully cool (although I wasn't - I, er, glowed like a horse!) and it was really, really enjoyable. Felt brave enough (for the very first time) to wear a fitted sleeveless exercise top and found that everything was so much easier without a baggy old tee-shirt flapping around me. Maybe it isn't all a pose, maybe that's why those gym bunnies wear them!

Did a good cardio workout, although the knee grumbles a bit at the antiquated stepper now (which groans more than I do). Then loved my weights circuit. It felt fairly easy so I'm going to increase the reps next time. If all goes well I hope to increase to two full circuits in time. The core stuff was OK, until right at the end when my energy just slithered away from me all of a sudden... so the fat lass slithered sweatily to stretches and the showers.

No significantly creaky or achy bits this morning and the rower soon sorted out the few that there were. I feel really positive today and am looking forward to another walk at lunch and going back for another gym session at the weekend.

There was a larger lady at the gym last night who I noticed in particular (hmmm, now I wonder why that might have been). She reminded me so much of where I was a year or more ago. I felt like hugging her and telling her she's doing great. She looked as though she felt very self-conscious among the young, skinny-minnie fit folks at the gym (and, no, I don't include the fat lass in this). She kept her eyes down and spoke to no-one. There she was on the cross-trainer, bright red and sweating, but doggedly keeping at it.

I tried to smile to her but didn't speak. Maybe I should have done, but I remember (all too well) how mortified I would have been if anyone had approached me when I first started going to the gym. Silly as it was, I felt like I had no right to put my unfit flabbiness on display or squeeze my sweaty self onto the equipment. As though my very presence and use of 'oooh, er, look at that' low weights somehow 'let the side down'. Thankfully, and probably because I went with my lovely hubby, I got over it.

Now I don't give a damn if someone sees the belly or flabby upper arms and 'tut-tut's. I know there's less of them than there used to be.

Now I don't care if someone thinks that maybe I ought to be using a slightly heavier weight. I know what my body can do and how far I can push it.

I guess it's just about following the good advice of Soctrates, and various other Greek gurus, to "Know Thyself" (aha! that's what the picture is all about) and learning to accept who and what that is.