I love exercising.
Well, okay, I don’t love it. I like it. Except for the times when I’ve hated it.
While I was on the treadmill this morning I was thinking about the complexities of my relationship with exercise. Informal surveys make me think I’m definitely not the only one, so I thought I’d say what it’s been like for me, and throw it out to the Shameless folk.
I was not an athletic kid. Not that I didn’t like being physical, but I was definitely in the group that didn’t play sports on the side, and so was pretty fux0red when it came to gym class (why, why call it a class if there’s no instruction?).
I will forever remember my grade 4 teacher fondly for coming over in volleyball (one of my most feared activities), and showing me how to serve. It took 2 minutes, and it changed every volleyball class that followed. Because it wasn’t that I couldn’t. It was that I didn’t have the first clue how. It turned out that I actually had a pretty decent serve now that I knew what I was doing. I was still ass at every other position, but it was the first taste of enjoyment in a long dry spell of suck.
Fast forward past the rest of the not-so-sweet torment that was elementary school gym, through high school where I injured my back (permanently) doing some sort of flip over a pommel horse during our gymnastics component(?!). Again with no instruction. Who thought it was a good idea to make gymnastics part of a general amateur curriculum? “Okay, uneven bars, aaaaand… go!” ACK!
So I was 18 before I realized that I actually like exercise.
I was living in Indonesia and a friend of mine joined a gym. I joined with him because, well, why not (same attitude that got me down there, and it was working out pretty awesome for me). Only to find out to my shock - shock - that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’d always assumed I didn’t like running, but I didn’t know that running on a treadmill is a completely different experience. Especially with MTV Asia on in the background.
I came home again a bunch of pounds lighter, a lot more fit, and feeling like a whole world was opened up to me. I thought I was academic not athletic, and I didn’t know you could be both. Well, I knew, but I didn’t know I could be both.
I also learned what sort of “sports” I liked. And how totally different different kinds of physical activity can be. Somehow “sports” got transposed with “exercise” in my brain. Such that if I wasn’t good at one, I couldn’t enjoy the other. Wrong-tastic.
I might still not like the team sports that were thrust upon us while in school, but that didn’t rule out all the solo activities, structured and freestyle.
Not that into tennis? Maybe you’d like lifting weights. Or squash (like tennis, but the little ball is trapped in the room with you, so I spend less time running off the court and back). Or boxing. Riding a bike. Fencing. Rock climbing.
Or jogging, but only on the treadmill, and only with your music on. For some people (read: me) it can be that precise, and that’s no big deal. Even now, jogging somewhat regularly, I know that I’m not going to relax into it until minute 7. That’s right. 7 minutes of not especially having fun, and then I can coast. Like clockwork, the timer goes to minute 7 and everything loosens up and I can start enjoying it.
The memory of how I feel when I’ve had a good jog is what pulls me back. I do it for the high and for the stress relief. I know that running’s not fantastic for my knees so I don’t go too fast. I don’t do it to tone up either. For me it’s right up there with a Saturday morning lie-in or a bubble bath for stress-relief. When I don’t get exercise I feel depressed and logey. Often I don’t even realize that’s the reason why. But. if. I. can. just. push. through. and. get. my. sneakers. on…
It’s one of the best tools in my having-a-good-life toolbox. When life really winds me up, I know that Clicky (my iPod) and I can head to the gym, and I can run it out. Or bring my gloves and wail on the heavy bag for a while. And come home a lot more sweaty and a little more sane.
So that’s me. How about you?
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nine comments
...why, why call it a class if there’s no instruction?...
Yes! Exactly. To this day I still don't fully understand the rules of basketball; bane of my grade school and high school gym class existence. I swear, never once were the rules actually explained.
I've never been one for team sports and was almost always the last kid picked for anything in school. Kick ball? Evil, evil game.
However, my mother had the insight to sigh me up for swim lessons after a traumatic experience in ski class. Hurling down a snowy, icy hill on plastic boards? No freakin' thanks.
I took to swimming like, well, a fish to water. Swim lessons soon became swim team and by high school I was teaching.
It wasn't until I hit the pool that I realized sports could be fun. And didn't have to involve trying to hit, avoid being hit by, catch, or throw various objects.
Posted by Tara K.
August 8, 2008, 4:50 PM
I'm not personally a fan of the gym, the treadmill, or really anything that makes physical exercise more institutionalized (and clinicized really, in my opinion.
But that's just me.
I can't help but feel this elitist air of upper-classness when people refer to "going to the gym" with their Ipods. What if you can't afford any of that? Are you excluded from yet another "club" you won't be able to join?
Cause I can't relate to any of that. And I don't want to either.
Posted by Jessica
August 8, 2008, 5:34 PM
It's true that exercising at a gym can have a taint of bougieness to it, but it doesn't have to. The YMCA offers a sliding-scale membership fee for low-income people, and you see all sorts of folks there, not just Lulu Lemon yuppies checking out each others' bods and hoping to pick up on the elliptical.
Posted by Anna
August 8, 2008, 6:02 PM
I have to disagree with the "upper-classness" of going to the gym. Like anything, gyms are all different, and while they can certainly be exclusionary, its not hard to find one that is inclusive and community-oriented. They can also cost very little or even nothing, depending on where you go.
I also feel that there is something really valuable about having the time and space to focus on your body and yourself without anyone interfering, and that time and space is different for everyone. Some people go to the gym because it helps them significantly with feelings of anxiety and depression, and the gym environment is a safe, predictable space for them to work on combating those issues.
There's also the useful advantage of having an indoor place to exercise in a place where winters can make it difficult to go outside and do so.
While I certainly agree that some gyms make exercise an elitist activity via their marketing, I don't think there's anything elitist about going to the gym, investing in yourself, and doing something positive for your health that you enjoy.
Posted by Stacey May
August 8, 2008, 6:04 PM
Jessica -- to me your comment implies by association that I'm upper-class and elitist. Which I find pretty out of line.
I guess I could have said in my post some of the reasons I choose going to my (very inexpensive and open membership) gym.
Running on a treadmill was a life-saver for me. Because of an injury I can't run on uneven ground without serious knee problems, whereas on a treadmill I can exercise on a consistently flat surface. There's nothing wrong with treadmills.
As for my iPod, it's now a few years old, and is my first personal music player since I was 10 and had a walkman. I don't think it's fair to use owning an iPod as a red flag of elitism. I plan on refurbishing it as long as I possibly can. I love it.
So, yeah. It's a shame to me that the spirit of the post - about being healthy and overcoming a bad start with exercise - is overlooked in that criticism.
Posted by Catherine
August 8, 2008, 6:43 PM
Catherine - What gym do you go to? I had a cheap gym membership when I was a student and I miss it.
Posted by Cate
August 8, 2008, 10:47 PM
Hi Catherine
I was not meaning to offend you. I do think it's important to be as inclusionary as possible and I was just expressing my initial reaction, which many of us all do to the posts.
I think sometimes we are really urban centred focussed and forget about the places and people who don't have gyms and I'm often in those communities in my work, so that's always front of mind for me.Remembering also that that is the reality for many communities across the country.
I am absolutely not opposed to physical activity and if going to the gym is your bag, that's totally cool. I was coming more at it from the corporate marketing perspective since I so often hear people say "I'm going to the gym with my ipod" and its unrealistic not to acknowledge some of the classist language that does exist there.
However I'm all for supporting people's choices with what they want to do with their bodies and its good that you found something that works for you with what's happened. I think its absolutely paramount to take care of yourself the best way you know how.
I think we can all become more aware of how we present things and how people from different perspectives take them. I'm always glad to be able to do that.
Posted by Jessica
August 9, 2008, 1 AM
Wow that's a post I wish I had written !
I have a very similar love affair with the treadmill, although this summer I decided to mix it up and go for an elliptical/weird skating machine/weight training routine. Mostly because I must have graduated from " I just do it to feel good" to " I am going to have pecs like Linda Hamilton from Terminator 3 by my next birthday" for some reason.
I wanted to add, that while our stories are very similar Catherine, re: hating gym. I also had the experience of using the gym to help me deal with and eventually over come an eating disorder.
When I was 16 I had this pretty vicious Bulemia thing going on, and I still managed to hit the gym almost every day. I don't exactly know what the damage was, but I certainly did a number on my metabolism.
Once I finally got the courage to stop throwing up I started to gain weight quite rapidly, which did nothing to help me maintain a sense of confidence in my recovery process.
Luckily, I had the gym still. I got into running whenever the thought of my body's changes got me really down. It was while I was recovering that I realized the difference between exercising because I have to ( because I am fat ugly, not good etc) and exercising because I want to. It was neat to feel my own perceptions shift as I ran, one day I remember realizing I was actually having fun, and not worrying about how many calories I was burning as I ran. That was a huge landmark in my recovery process.
I am not a fan of the diet industry or the way that women are consistently told " you are not good enough not thin enough not hot enough" but I do like that more then anything else,(certainly more then denial and dieting) a steady gym habit is in my humble opinion one of the few ways a girl who wants to let's say, adjust her externals can do so in a safe, healthy way and as we both know, enjoy herself at the same time.
Just a tip to the girls who are reading this and may want to adjust - do not drop your calorie intake while you start exercising. Okay seriously just do not adjust your calorie intake ever, unless there is a legitimate medical reason to do so. #1/ Always eat something (not too big though you don't want a cramp) high in protein and carbs either 45 minutes before or immediately after you leave the gym. Don't try to wreck you metabolism, metabolism is your friend !
Posted by mir
August 9, 2008, 9:07 AM
I've also been deligthed to find out that I didn't have to be into sports to be in shape, thanks to the gym.
7 months in and I almost have a six-pack and soon I will be offering people tickets to the gun show. I am also now seeing muscles on my legs that I didn't even know existed. It's a pretty awesome feeling.
I agree with Jessica that the gym is not accessible to everybody. My YMCA membership is 40$ per month and didn't offer a sliding scale or cheaper rate to people on wellfare (which is my situation), but I know of some gyms in Montreal that do.
I will soon go back to school and the 40$ gym membership for the session is included in my scholarity fees.
Thus, there are some cheaper options for students and people of lesser means. However, if you're a single working mom, you probably don't even have the time to go to the gym in the first place. They are exercises that can be done at home.
Posted by Eli
August 12, 2008, 5:31 PM
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