Adventures at the gym

I walked into the gym and there were quite a few people there. Lynda had told me that they are never busy but today they were. I put my things in the locker room and came out. Lynda was on a treadmill so I figured what the heck! She came over to help me get started cuz she knew it was my first time. I started and the pace was way too slow. I ended up walking about twelve minutes and the majority of it was at a pace of 1.6 miles per hour. Total distance walked was a quarter of a mile. Then I had to get off or risk falling off. My knees were starting to ache a bit.

I moseyed over to the recumbent bikes. They had other bikes there but I've been told the recumbent ones would be better for me to use right now. I attempted to climb onto one. I almost fell on my butt! I rearranged myself and finally managed to climb aboard. Next task was to get my feet into the stirrups. Oh my, but I must have been a sight and I'm sure I provided some amusement for someone! It took several tries and another readjustment before I finally hooked my feet into the pedals. Yes! I figure I can do this. I start to pedal and oh my. My poor knees were aching and within minutes they were screaming at me to stop. I told myself to push through the pain and keep going. I was determined I was going to ride at least a quarter mile. It took me ten minutes, but I finally managed to do it. I was quite proud of myself.

I climbed off the bike and wondered what in the world I should tackle next. I knew to avoid the elliptical for now. I tried one a while ago and lasted all of about one minute and the entire time the machine was telling me to "stride faster". I wasn't ready to try the stair climber and figure it will be quite a long while before I'm up to that one.

Lynda came over and offered to help me learn a few of the weight machines. I worked my triceps first but there was an issue with that machine. My hips and legs made it impossible for me to do the full range of motion. I did what I could as Lynda told me. I did three sets of eight and waited a couple minutes between sets. Then we moved to a machine that worked my biceps. At first it felt too light so I ended up doing 30 lb weights. Oh my goodness. After one set of those I moved it back to 15 lbs. Seemed awfully light but I was doing it.

We ended up by doing some basic stretching and parted ways. I lasted a full 40 minutes at the gym! I am so proud of myself for pushing through my fears, forgetting about everyone else, and just going for it. I came home excited and energized. I've been proud of myself all day. I may even go back and work out with Lynda again. I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I had FUN!