Remembering My First Time in a Gym
I’m working my way through Natalie Goldberg’s new book Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir and many of the beginning exercises begin with “I remember…”. Below is an excerpt of what I remembered this weekend during one of these writing exercises:
I remember the promise I made to myself when I started my freshman year of college. It went something like “I will not gain the Freshman 15!” I made a pact with my new roommate and some of my new friends. My experience in a gym was limited – high school gym class was it – and while I was active in high school as a member of the marching band colorguard, I wasn’t an athlete. I was so glad to have this new group of friends to accompany me to the gym as I probably wouldn’t have gone alone.
There were 5 of us who walked into the gym that day, male and female, all having made that same promise. I remember thinking “How hard could it be?” I started with the stationary bike, figuring a seated exercise would be easier than anything else. I could handle biking! Boy was I fooled. 6 minutes in and I thought I was going to die. I could barely catch my breath. I looked at my friend, seated on the bike next to me and said “This sucks.” He agreed and we both got off our bikes.
I didn’t return again for 6 months. The return was a result of breaking that promise, because I had in fact gained the freshman 15. Upon my return to the gym, my exercise of choice was the treadmill and I started by walking for 10 minutes. I was there for a while before I slowly increased both duration and intensity, but because I stayed slow and steady, over the years I achieved great fitness success.
If you’re new to exercise or struggling to fit it in, you might be thinking “there’s no way I can do this.” There is no doubt that the road may be long and challenging. But remember baby steps all the way, slowly build and you’ll be amazed at the results. I certainly was. It took time (years), patience and consistent practice to get myself in running shape (remember my start was 10 minutes walking) for various races including 2 successful marathons. Start where you are and build. I didn’t have anyone to teach me that and now find passion in sharing that learning with others.
Stay tuned later this week for sort of a part II: Why Some Minutes are Better than No Minutes







