I. Am. So. Sore.
Yesterday was day two of my 30 day free Anytime Fitness gym membership, and was also my free consultation with a personal trainer. I walked to the gym at 10:30, and it was really hot out. I only live one block away from the gym, if that, and I was sweating profusely before I even walked through the door.
I was early, and the trainer was in a session with someone, so I stopped by the manager’s office to chat, but he wasn’t in. I stood around for a few minutes, debating whether or not I wanted to get a quick workout in before my consultation, but then the manager walked in, and we started talking. He’s so cool, you guys. I mentioned it in my last post, but the guy can TALK. My first day at the gym, I was only supposed to be there for 30 minutes, just to fill out paperwork. I ended up being there for an hour and a half, just talking and goofing off with the guy. He’s the type of person who greets everyone by name when they walk in the door, and will ask you about your day. He also loves to swear, and has a lot of strong opinions, which all align with mine perfectly, so he’s pretty awesome to talk to.
After a little bit, the personal trainer came over with his client, and the four of us chatted for a bit, before I went into the office for my consultation. It ended up running long because, once again, we just got to talking, and joking around, and before I knew it, he was late for his next appointment, and I hadn’t even finished my questionnaire. Oops. So, the manager came back in to finish it off. Mostly, it was just asking about fitness goals, things I have tried in the past, supplements, medical stuff, injuries, etc. Nothing too crazy.
Lunch time was creeping up, and I was hungry, so I decided to walk home to feed myself, and my kiddo, who was at home with his dad. I also didn’t want to miss his nap time. While I was making lunch, Kyle decided to go to the gym for a bit, so I sat down to relax, hydrate, and massage my very sore muscles, before I used them again.
When Kyle came back, it was my turn. I walked back in the blazing sun, got gross and sweaty, and walked back into the gym. No distractions this time! I stretched and loosened up for a bit, before hopping on the same elliptical that I had used the day before, and started watching some stuff on YouTube. Immediately, my quads were on fire, still sore as hell from the day before. I wanted to push myself to do a full 10 minutes on the elliptical, but by 6 minutes or so, my legs were starting to shake. I ended up doing 8 minutes, before my legs felt like they were about to give out beneath me, and hopped off.
Next up, I went over to the row machine, which I really enjoy doing. I decided that since it doesn’t wreak havoc on my already sore muscles, I would try to do 20 minutes, instead of the 15 minutes I did the day before. Piece of cake. I probably could have stayed on for another 15 minutes, but there was a guy kind of lurking around me, and I had the feeling that he wanted to use the machine, too, so I decided to get off and do something else.
Unfortunately, since I still have no idea how to use any other machines, I started to feel that confused, overwhelmed feeling again as I got off the row machine. I decided that since my shoulders were still really sore from the weights the day before, I would skip them, and go home.
As I passed the manager’s office, he stopped me, and we started chatting. The gym was empty, and he and the personal trainer were eating lunch, and the three of us just sat around talking. They encouraged me to try to do the weights again, just to see how much I could do, and after one rep of 10/10/10, I couldn’t continue. It HURT! I figured it would (and boy, am I feeling it today). So, I went back to the office.
You guys, I sat in that office for HOURS. We started talking about the differences between the various types of martial arts in the world, which moved on to spirituality, which moved onto religion and politics, which moved onto just talking about how much society sucks, and how so many people have been dealt shitty hands. Eventually, we got on the topic of social media, which turned into talking about podcasts. The manager all of a sudden got a crazy idea that he wanted to run a podcast, right out of the gym office, with me as a co-host. I thought he was joking, but then he started asking me how much it would cost to get started, and what types of equipment he would need to get, and what we could talk about, etc.
He asked because, for those who don’t know, I had my own podcast years ago, and really enjoyed doing it. I mentioned how these days I work a lot on the internet, and am familiar with social media and marketing, and he said he wished he could hire me to handle the social media side of the gym, but his bosses probably wouldn’t allow it. But if they did, I’d get a free membership, and free personal training sessions. A lot of these gyms have people who sit at a front desk, or an office, and handle sales, answer phones, greet people, etc., but since this gym is so small, they can’t really do that. In fact, there’s only two employees, and a lot of the time, there is no one manning the gym. Honestly, they actually need me, haha!
I fucking WISH that could happen, you guys!
It was crazy!
As people walked past his door, he would call out to them, and ask them what they thought about having a podcast out of the office. We threw around ideas, and every time we would stray away, and start talking about other stuff, he would blurt out, “SEE?! This would be great to talk about on our podcast!”
He even told me I was funny, you guys. He told me we had a great back and forth, and that he really thought people would listen in, and contribute, and have fun with it. I got really excited thinking about it, even if it was a crazy idea.
At one point, I mentioned that the vast majority of my friends are on the internet, and always have been. I mentioned that I really don’t have a single friend who lives within 100 miles of here, and the manager and personal trainer exchanged looks, and said, “Well, now we’re just offended!”
It feels really, really nice. I’ve only known these guys for TWO days, and I already feel like I belong here.
Too bad my free membership expires in 27 days…
Be sure to check out more of my #gymblogs!
Jan
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** I haven’t mentioned names, because this is a corporate run location, and I don’t want to potentially get anyone in trouble.
My Life as Jan 