Going to the gym is one of my many New Year's resolutions that has already fallen through in 2018. This goes along with trying to cut sugar from my diet, keep my room clean, and go to bed at a decent time.
Like many non-gym-goers, we want to be active and healthy but we don't actually follow through for many reasons.
1. It's painful
Especially when you haven't been on a run in a while. You experience shortness of breath, sharp pains, excessive sweat, and more. You can actually feel the lactic acid build up in your muscles, which inevitably leads to another pain...soreness. No sane person wants any of this.
Then you try walking up a flight of stairs after running for the first time in six months and it's almost impossible. I tend to walk like a penguin because my legs feel like Jell-O, and sometimes they give out. It should be a top trending GIF because it's a real sight to see.
2. The feeling of judgement
Let's be honest, half of the people that don't workout in a gym don't like to go simply because they don't know what the hell they're doing. I took the mandatory gym class in high school and then again in college, but I only did it because I had to. The people you see in the gym don't even look like they need to be there because they are already fit! They already look how you want to look and already know what they're doing, and that can be really intimidating.
Last summer, in July, I decided to get a Planet Fitness gym membership. It was really close to where I work and seemed to be a really good idea to help me get a start working out. I thought if I was going to make myself pay $10 a month for this membership I would actually make the effort to go once in a while. I managed to go...once. I also did this with a friend so there may have been some peer pressure involved. It wasn't until last week that I cancelled it. Oops!
3. Running gets in the way of my not-so-healthy diet.
I can't eat pizza or McDonalds McNuggets before a run, that wouldn't be pretty. If you want to be active you have to eat right in order for it to be effective and less painful. Trading in the cookies and potato chips for salads and carrot sticks is a change we all fear. It is so frustrating when my mind says "Yes! Time to go workout and get fit," but then my body screams, "Oh no! Please don't make me!"
On the other hand, the idea of going to the gym and finally making the effort towards having a "hot summer-ready bod" is incredibly motivating. When you work out regularly and see results, it makes you want to keep up with working out. Maybe I will take my own advice one day.
