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A day at Gold’s Gym

We recently had the opportunity to spend a little quality time in the absolute mecca of bodybuilding Gold’s Gym in Venice, CA.  

So we are not bodybuilders.  We don’t want to become bodybuilders.  But we have spent a lot of time in the last 5 years in a gym that trains bodybuilders.  You don’t have to become what you spend a lot of time around, although you do tend to develop some of their habits.  In this case, we have learned a whole lot about our own bodies and what they are capable of and have a whole new appreciation for the amount of work that is put into pushing weights up and down, in and out, this way and that.

When Doug and I started going to the gym almost 5 years ago, we chose Dean and Leigh because they walked the walk.  We obviously lacked the knowledge to keep ourselves in tip-top shape otherwise we would not have allowed our bodies to become so overweight.  We needed to go to someone who knows what it takes to be in good shape and to teach us what we need to do to our bodies to be in better physical shape.  Nobody will ever have all of the answers for everyone, so you need to, when you are ready, find the person or people that will fit your needs.  Going to the gym and spending time weight training was the farthest thing from what I thought I would end up doing and enjoying.  But, as it turns out, this is one of the things that make up the strategy that we use to keep ourselves in shape.

Now, if you are a gourmet cook, and you have the opportunity to spend time with a gourmet kitchen and chef, you do it.  If you are a mechanic you would spend time in the garage of choice.  You get my point.  We have been in Southern California many times, Santa Monica is one of our favorite places to spend a little time.  This time was the first time that we took the time go to where bodybuilding really became huge.  

The weather is almost golds-gym-shoulders-edit-q4fit-comalways nice there.  The area lends itself to a whole lot of opportunity to spend time outside and that is typically what we do.  Hiking in the hills, running along the beach, bike riding along the ocean, swimming, and walking.  This time, we made a point of going to Gold’s Gym.  Oh my goodness!

Now at first glance, it is ‘just a gym’.  Lots of equipment.  It is actually very big.  Not a big surprise there.  It is divided into a few different sections.  Allowing people to do nearly anything a gym would allow them to do.  There is even an outdoor area if you choose to be in the sun.  

There were a whole lot of people there and yet you didn’t really feel crowded.  Because areas were separated by the type of machines, you could totally be in an area do ‘your thing’ and leave and not see the other people.  The people were the interesting part for me.  I expected to see some really muscly people but OMG some of these guys take ‘huge’ to the next level.  It really was fascinating to watch these guys.  They were moving weights that I couldn’t even think about moving and yet they did multiple sets.  Some of the really big guys came in with quite a crew.  They were really well liked and I actually had seen a couple of them on some of the social media follow.  There were also a lot of phones in the gym.  People were taking selfies and taking pics of their friends everywhere.  More than I have ever seen at other gyms.  That made me giggle a little, trying to stay out of the way while people are working out and others are taking their pics.  Oh well, I guess that is why there are so many mirrors.

The one thing that I hadn’t planned on was the feeling that I actually knew what I was doing.  I was quite concerned that I would feel like the old lady from the burbs and look like I had no clue what to do there.  Well, a guess after all these years at our gym, listening to my trainers, paying attention to my body, using a little common sense, and relaxing my stress level, I managed to get a good workout in and actually enjoyed the process.  Once I got out of my own way, I learned that it wasn’t as intimidating as I thought it was going to be.

Final thought is this, hold your breath, pull up your big girl/boy pants, puff out your chest just a little, and try something new or different.  You may find out that you are capable of doing way more than you thought at first.

Just remember, you can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets. – Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

17 Truths for Every Fit Mom

I had a great post all ready to go and then I opened my inbox.  

Yes, it’s one of those “sometimes” moments where this email spoke to me more than the post that was going to go up today.  No big deal, it will go up in the next few days.

 

Self-talk is just too important.  With kids going back to school, some moms are left staring into empty houses wondering what to do next.  At least in their minds, because we all know that the list of things to do is huge.  Speak the truth to yourself.  Always.  This is really important.

https://www.kimdolanleto.com/2016/04/17-truths-every-fit-mom/

8 Podcasts to Listen to While Walking

Map My Fitness is one of the apps that I use the most.  

I track each workout with it and it helps me to look back at my progress as well as allowing my trainer to see what I have been up to on my days away from the gym.  The blog site on their website is full of great info.  This post is super great.  I try to combine tasks if I can.  I can’t walk and text, ask my kids, but multi-tasking is important in getting things done.  

We walk, a lot. We have some super trails right out our front door or a short car ride away.  If I am walking alone, I try to make lists, solve the world’s problems, or at least write blog posts in my mind.  However, learning while walking is so great.  I look forward to logging in to some of the podcasts that I haven't’ experienced yet.  
http://www.mapmyfitness.com/blog/8-podcasts-to-listen-to-while-walking-6041/

Is Your Routine Too Rigid?

Sometimes I have really deep thoughts.  Sometimes I think about nothing.  

  • Sometimes I stress about things to the point where I am in a full out sweat.  
  • Sometimes I think about why the word ‘was' sounds so funny.  
  • Sometimes I am so busy doing so many things and
  • sometimes I have trouble getting the energy to get out a chair.  

As I sit having one of those random thoughts, I think of the actual word sometimes.  What does it mean?  Do I use it too much?  Should I use it at all?  Is it overused? By me and in general?  Sometimes…

Some people are so firm in their opinions that the word sometimes is rarely used.  Those people choose to use always, or never.  Some people never make a firm decision and so they live in a sometimes world.   Both extremes are just that, extreme, so ‘sometimes’ is the better place to land.  

I know that this seems like a random thought and it kind of is, but,  I started thinking about how often I use the word sometimes.  I even did a search on other blog posts that I have put on Q4fit.com that I used the word ‘sometimes’ and there were too many posts to list.  Apparently, I use the word sometimes a lot.  Ugh.  But why?

I am a person with some really firm beliefs, sometimes.  Haha.  The rest of the time, I like to consider myself open to new ideas and thoughts.  Which is where the ‘sometimes’ comes to play.  To put this into terms that make more sense.  I know that I need to exercise.  I know that my body will reject too much time sitting around.  Not my plan, I am just learning to  listen to my body.  So, I am firm that I will get into the gym at least 3 days a week.  I have been doing it for nearly 5 years now, too much habit to change.  The sometimes, is that on the other days, I like to keep my options open to what I do to be physical.  Sometimes I like to go for a run.  Sometimes I will go for a hike.  Sometimes I will go into the basement and push some weights around.  Sometimes I will do a weightless workout.  Sometimes I will do something completely different.  

There are times when my diet needs to be absolutely rigid.  If I stray too far from my eating plan, I feel bloated, and I know that I will put on some weight.  Sometimes that is ok.  We just came back from a little time away.  I really try to relax my stress levels with eating because I know that if I stress too much about the wrong food, I will absolutely gain weight from the stress alone.  So when away or on a reward meal, I don't stress about the food.  But get right back on track when the ‘food vacay’ is over.  Christmas time is like that for me.  In general, I just keep to my program, but if I do eat some goodies, I have to just allow myself to enjoy it.  Then get back on track.

  • Sometimes we just have to give ourselves permission to do…
  • Sometimes we need to lighten up…
  • Sometimes we need to buckle down and get serious..
  • Sometimes we need to stand up for ourselves…
  • Sometimes quitting is ok…
  • Sometimes we need to just hang in there…
  • Sometimes …
    Whatever your ‘sometimes’ is, accept it.  Stressing over the fact that you have strayed from the straight and narrow is really not helpful at all.  It is all perspective.  As long as you don’t live in a never ending time of sometimes and never actually getting anything finished, it’s all ok.  In the grand scheme  of things, it is impossible to stay exactly the same and it’s not healthy anyway.  If we didn’t learn to adjust and didn’t think in terms of sometimes, we would never have new ideas, new foods, new hairstyles, new jobs, new friends, new experiences, new…

Sometimes it's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination. – Drake