Kind of a Club...

Two posts in one WEEK!? I can hardly believe it myself. My mother-in-law has my son today, though, so my thoughts aren't being constantly interrupted by The Aristocats (the only thing my son will watch on the television... So, I'll admit it, it's on our TV frequently...), Legos being banged on any given piece of wooden furniture, or my dog being harassed and eventually whining to go into the bedroom with the door closed so she can be free from the terror for a few moments.

So anyway. I thought of something else that I wanted (but forgot) to include in yesterday's post. And of course, I encourage you to read yesterday's post if you didn't already. Some shameless self-promotion never hurt, right?

Here's what I left out. I think one of the hardest things for me when I started exercising was the intimidation factor. I'm not a gym person. Maybe I will be someday, but I don't know what 87% of the machines and other pieces of equipment do, so I don't want to look totally foolish. And I'm very frugal (call me cheap if you want, it's true), so I don't like the idea of spending $30+ a month on a membership to a place that I'm scared to go into in the first place. Why am I scared of it? Truthfully? I'm afraid people are going to judge me for not running fast enough on the treadmill, for not wearing the proper workout clothes, for not utilizing the machines (because, like I said, I DON'T KNOW HOW), for not being perfectly muscled and toned in all the right places...

I'm afraid people are going to judge me for everything. Even though, realistically, I know that they're not. And also, realistically, I don't really care if they do because it'll probably be in the form of silent judgement that I'll never even be aware of anyway. But that paralyzing, unrealistic fear is what has always stopped me from doing almost anything athletic. It stopped me from sports in high school, it stopped me from taking up running earlier, it stopped me from ever joining a gym... It actually stopped me seven weeks into an expensive ten-week boot camp a few years ago.

What I have recently learned (and the point of this entire, rambling-on-forever post) is that most of your peers in the athletic world are cheering you on. They love to see new faces enjoying their exercise or sport of choice. At my 5k on Saturday, I can't tell you how many other runners encouraged, congratulated, and cheered me and other runners on. It's just what they do. Every time I'm on my bike and see someone else on their bike, there's a smile shared and usually a hello. My friends who have been faithful in exercising and eating well are so happy to see that I've joined them. And I'm thrilled when one of my friends decides to start exercising. And honestly, anyone who you know who lives the exercise/eat well lifestyle will be over the moon to talk to you about it.

Yes. It is kind of a camaraderie, kind of a club. But it's open to anyone who wants to start and we're all here for you when you're ready. There's so much joy for you when you join that there there won't be any room for judgement.

Update: I'm chatting with my good friend and she said, "I totally get the intimidation factor of the gym. Especially when these meathead type guys walk in and they can see right into the Zumba studio. But here is my thought on that: 'Judge me when I'm at the mall stuffing my face with a pretzel, you wanna judge me actually DOING something about it - that's your problem.'" YES!


(Picture credit here.)