Alex Martinez
Gym Diaries Part 1: Ouch!
After 1.5 or 2 years of not being physically active because of COVID, I decided to go back to the gym. Not only that, I decided to log and publish my journey in an attempt to feel motivated enough to continue going. Let’s see if it works!
This is scary for me for two reasons:
I’ll have to put myself, my thoughts, and my feelings out there for people to consume.
I won’t be using an editor for these posts because I want them to be as raw as possible (I apologize for any grammatical errors in advance).
Let me start with some background about my previous exercises or stuff that I did to be physically active.
I used to dance between 12 and 16 years old. I tried different styles: contemporary jazz, hip hop, salsa. I had to stop because of high school/university. I didn't have time to go to the classes anymore.
I did around 6 months of Hapkido (martial art) in my early 20s. I really liked this one. It made me feel powerful because it teaches you how to use the enemy's strength to your advantage. I stopped because I moved to a different place.
I went to the gym 3 days/week a few months before the pandemic started. I stopped because of COVID.
As you can see, I did try to do some exercise a few times in my life but there's always a reason to stop that's outside of my control. I'm not sure how many days/weeks/months I'll continue going to the gym, but I at least hope that it can get me started (again) into some workout. At least I can try to get in shape to start some other thing later.
There are a few things I want to try that are more amusing than just going to the gym, like a new dance style or a new martial art, or something random like ax throwing. But as we continue to live in a COVID-world, I think this is a good first step to get me back into the world and outside of my comfort zone (also called "living room").
Once I get my cardio up, I hope I can start trying to survive a cycling class or a Zumba session. Last time I tried Zumba, I died in 10 minutes. It was incredibly fun and energizing! But incredibly tiring. My cardio is the worst.
Anyway...this was my first day at the gym after 1.5-2 years of being a couch potato. I worked out for around 1 hour and I did some cardio, arms, legs, and core. Needless to say: everything hurts and I feel SO tired! But it was a good session. I love doing core exercises. Makes me feel strong, I guess :D
Talk to you next week, I hope!
