Tag: gym

Building Strength at the Gym

November 7, 2023 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

I think it’s time for an update on how I’m doing building strength at the gym. In early September, I resumed going to my gym. I wrote a post about deciding to return to my gym and what I was doing. It’s now early November so a two month check in is a good idea, I think.

I’ve been working with a trainer twice a week. I decided that it was worth it to me to spend the money on personal training because it forces me to actually go and do a full workout. I know that when I’m left to my own resources, I tend to think, “oh that’s good enough” and don’t do the extra set or knock off before doing all of the reps.

What are my favorite workouts? I really like deadlifting and bench pressing. I’m trying to improve my upper body strength.

I’ve noticed some definite muscle improvement. For example, I can see some definition in my biceps but I wish I could say the same for my triceps. I really need to work on tightening up that skin and getting some muscle.

The important thing for me is that I’ve taken this process slowly. Rather than going crazy with doing everything, I’ve been doing my strength workouts twice a week. I’ve tried to add in a class each week. Sometimes that focuses on strength. Sometimes it’s a yoga class. I also have gone swimming a few times and I try to get in a run once or twice a week.

I also am focusing on trying to get in plenty of protein on my gym days.

What I’m discovering is something that I already knew but it’s good to get a reminder. Consistency over time is what really helps show results. Doing my workouts every week is giving me more results than flitting from one thing to another. Also, forgetting about working out for a few weeks really sabotages your strength.

I still haven’t restarted attending my bootcamp class because I wasn’t feeling up to it. I finally am thinking that I can resume that class.

It will be the new year in a couple of months so that will be a good time to reassess how I’m doing with building strength at the gym. It will be a good time of focus on setting goals for 2024.

Returning to the Gym

October 2, 2023 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

I’ve returning to the gym that I’ve belong to for years after trying out some new gyms over the summer. It was interesting to see what was available to me and I didn’t get to check out as many as I intended. I may still go to some of the gyms that are further from my house just to see what they have to offer.

I decided that my gym was still a good option for me. It’s close to my house. I can drive there in five minutes. When I returned, it was good to be welcomed by people. Having people know your name has some value. (Of course, if you go to any gym, eventually they know your name.)

I decided to try some different classes once I returned to my gym. I thought it w would be good to see what was being offered in the classes. That has been fun. I’ve taken a few strength classes, a stretching and mobility class, a yoga class, and a Pilates Reformer demo class.

There were a couple of strength training classes I really enjoyed. I used kettlebells and dumbbells for some of the exercises. Body weight exercises were also popular. I ended up with some good workouts.

The yoga class made me realize that I really need to be going to yoga because I’m not nearly as flexible as I could be, and my balance is not great. Yoga would be a great way to get better at both.

A friend in my neighborhood recently joined the same gym and she’s very new to working out. I’ve taken her to some classes with me. It’s enjoyable to have some company. She has taken a liking to the yoga classes so I think that’s where she’s going to spend her time.

I have not been back to my bootcamp class because I felt that I should work my way back to it. It’s a strenuous workout and I liked starting my Saturday with that class so I suspect I’ll return soon.

Tips for Returning to the Gym

Here are some tips for returning to the gym after a long break:

Start slowly. Don’t think you can start where you left off. You don’t want to return to the gym only to end up with an injury. This is true whether you are returning to strength training or endurance sports. Start with lower weights or run for a shorter distance. You’ll soon catch up to where you want to be.
Try something new. You’re back after a break which can be exciting but it’s also a time to reevaluate your routine. Is there something new you can add to the mix? I tried some new classes and found some good options.
Don’t forget to rest. Since it’s been a while, you might not want to return to the gym every day. Maybe take it a bit slower than you were doing before. Your body will need to recover as you adjust to the new fitness regime.
This is a good time to set a goal and then track your progress. You’re starting with a clean slate so give yourself something to aim for. Personally, I’d love to find a bench press competition but haven’t managed to find one.

I’ll keep you posted on how I do with my workouts now that I’ve returned to the gym. Let me know if you have any suggestions on things to do when you’re ready to resume your fitness activities.

Checking Out New Gyms

July 17, 2023 / Jill McCauslin / 2 Comments

I’ve decided to check out new gyms around me and possibly make a change. I’m not sure if this is a good decision or not but wanted to see what’s out there. Maybe this is a “grass is always greener” scenario, I’m not sure.

I put my regular membership at my gym on hold for a couple of months to give me time to check out other places. I’ve gone a cost-cutting phase and thought perhaps I could spend less on my gym. Plus, it seemed like a good idea to check out new places. I’ve belonged to this current gym for a long time so I’ve become very comfortable there.

I’ve been to a couple of gyms so far. Here’s what I’ve discovered.

The first gym I went to has lots of classes and plenty of machines. I’m finding it a bit intimidating to go to new classes but I suppose that I just need to do it. I think it would be a good way to figure out if I like this gym or not.

I wandered in to use the strength equipment. The benches were all taken and there weren’t any dumbbells between 5 and 30 pounds available. Since that’s what I needed, it crossed off any free weights for the day. So I wandered over to the machines and checked them out. I was a bit overwhelmed by trying to figure out which machines I wanted to use and what the settings should be. It really shouldn’t have been that difficult but I think I was just being a bit anxious about the whole thing.

I should remember what I wrote about a few years ago about starting at a gym. One thing I said was be sure to check out the classes.

I then went to a small chain gym near me. It was very small. It had some cardio equipment and some strength equipment but there were two people working out in there and it did not seem to have room for a third. Also, the manager met with me and was really pushing me to sign up for a weight loss program which isn’t why I wanted to be there. Everything “extra” that they offered was going to cost more. I’ve taken that gym off the list.

There are a few more places I want to check out. There are a few Planet Fitness locations in the area but none of them are convenient to get there. There’s a YMCA and a couple of community rec centers but again, none are particularly close to me. I may also check out a women’s only gym that offers personal training as part of the price.

I like the idea of having my gym close to me. It makes it more likely that I’ll go.

We’ll see how these new gyms work out. I may be glad I froze my gym membership because I may end up just going back to the place.

Dressing for the Gym

June 16, 2022 / Jill McCauslin / 1 Comment

The topic of dressing for the gym comes up occasionally. I went into the locker room at my gym yesterday and a woman I know from the locker room was there. She was wearing a cute outfit for working out. She had on a black skort, you know, the short skirt that has shorts underneath. Her top was a cute short sleeved black and white striped jersey. A very attractive outfit.

I commented on it. I told her how nice she looked. She said, “I’m worried that I’m showing too much skin.” I told her I thought she was fine.

She said a friend of hers who always looks polished told her that the key to looking good as you age is to cover up as much as possible.

I said that might be but she looked fine in the outfit. I said you should wear what you want to wear and it doesn’t matter what others think. Also, most people won’t be paying attention to how she looks anyway. And if anyone does pay attention and they don’t like how she looks, that’s their problem.

I get it though. I look at myself in the mirror when I’m getting ready to go to the gym. Is this T-shirt tight enough for me to work out without the shirt billowing out? Is it also loose enough that it disguises my belly? Or at least does it make me think it serves as a disguise?

I talked about what actually to wear to the gym in an earlier post. Gym clothes really aren’t difficult. We should dress for comfort and ease. It’s great if we also find something that we enjoy wearing.

Of course, we want to look good. We’re so aware of how our skin wrinkles and how the blotches from the sun are unattractive. We’re never thin enough or strong enough.

Anyway, Patty wore her outfit and I saw her working out. She looked great to me. She’s a 70-something year old woman who is in the gym doing push ups and biceps curls and whatever else is in her workout. That’s a great look in my opinion.

My Return to Boot Camp Class

November 4, 2021 / Jill McCauslin / 0 Comments

I’d like to say that my return to boot camp class at my gym was a great success and that I left the class in a moment of triumph. It wasn’t quite that exciting, I confess. In fact, I felt glad that I managed to scrape through the session.

I realized that I had not been to boot camp class in almost two years. How is that possible? I went to this class every Saturday morning for several years. Well, I was dealing with some family issues out of town in the beginning of 2020 and then of course the gyms as well as the world just shut down.

I returned to the gym over a year ago but at first the classes at the gym had not resumed. Then, when they did, I just couldn’t get the motivation to show up at the class.

A couple of weeks ago, I was heading into the gym locker room on Saturday morning and ran into one of my fellow boot camp attendees. She said, “are you going to boot camp?”

I answered, “No, I’m going swimming today. I don’t feel like I’m boot camp worthy right now.”

She said, “Oh sure you are. You should come.”

Return to Boot Camp Class

That actually motivated me so I returned to class last Saturday.

The class was a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) session. We just discussed on the podcast episode with Pam Semanik about the benefits of doing HIIT so I was pleased. The class was basically 30 seconds of exercise broken with 15 seconds of rest. We did strength exercises with kettlebells (squats, skull crushers, biceps curls, etc.) and more cardio based exercises (burpees, jumping jacks, ice skaters, etc.)

Those cardio exercises were tough for me. I guess I hadn’t done them in those two years so I was struggling. I’ve been keeping up on strength workouts so I didn’t have as much difficulty with them.

After we finished the HIIT portion of class, we did a number of abs workouts followed by a stretching cool down.

It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces and hear people say how good it was to see me. It made me happy to return to boot camp class.

I guess I need to return to my routine and keep going to boot camp. I suspect I can get back into shape fairly quickly.

What have you struggled to get back to after the break in our normal activities? Let me know!

Gym Etiquette

February 28, 2019 / Jill McCauslin / 1 Comment

I notice more questions about gym etiquette from people new to gyms than I do about working out. I think many of us are nervous about fitting in to the gym world. Many women over 50 did not grow up using the gym so we’re a bit more shy about it. I know I didn’t do much exercise of any kind until I was in my 40s or 50s.

Here are the most common questions about gym etiquette that I see and my answers. I’ve spent many years going to different gyms but I think there’s some common courtesies that hold true regardless of which gym you’re at. There’s no book of gym etiquette that I know of but I think these rules work.

Gym Etiquette

Sharing Equipment

If people are sitting on a machine or standing in front of it and talking, you can ask them to move. If someone is sitting on a machine and clearly not just resting between sets, certainly you can ask if you can use the machine. They’ll either say, “oh, I’m almost finished” and wrap it up and let you use it or they’ll just say “no problem” and let you have it.

Usually if people are standing by a machine and talking, they’ll simply move aside if you ask to use the equipment.Conversely, if you’re sitting on a machine and someone asks if you’re finished, either wrap it up or let them use it.Sharing equipment at the gym shouldn’t be a stressful thing.

Working In

What is working in? Sometimes you want to use a machine while someone is using it too. Typically people rest between sets so you can ask if you can work in which means use the machine for a set while the other person is resting. You basically end up alternating using the equipment. If a gym is busy, this is more common. If the gym is not busy, I find it’s better just to go use a different piece of equipment and then come back to this when the person finishes with it. There is nothing wrong with someone asking to work in. You can ask and don’t be offended if someone asks you. The best answer is “sure” or “I have one more set and then this is all yours.”

Clean Up

Put away your equipment. If you’re using free weights, it’s frustrating not to have the weight you want because somebody has stockpiled every dumbbell in the joint. Use the dumbbells and then put them back on the rack, even if you’re going to use them again. Obviously, if there are five sets of 12 pound dumbbells, this isn’t such a big issue, but if all of the 20 pound dumbbells are being used, don’t leave a set lying on the ground while you use something else.

If you’re looking for a set of dumbbells and someone has a set lying on the ground, it’s ok to ask to use them. The person may say sure or they may say they’re almost finished but at least you’ve let them know that you need those dumbbells.

Similarly, if you put plates on a bar, put the plates away when you’ve finished. Be considerate of the next person.

If you want to use a bar and someone has left the plates on, you may have to just put the plates away. It’s frustrating but that’s the only way you’re going to use the bar. I’ve seen young guys leave 100-pound plates on a bar which is probably more than I can easily remove. If that happens to you, you may have to ask someone for help. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that. The people who work at the gym will help you if nobody else is around.

Wipe the Equipment

Wipe off the equipment when you finish. If you’re using a machine or a mat or a bench, wipe it off when you are finished. Most gyms have some kind of anti-bacterial spray and towels or paper towels available. Be considerate of others and clean the equipment before leaving it.

Talking to People

It’s ok to talk to people and to ask for help if you need it. If someone is wearing headphones, don’t try to strike up a conversation. It’s still ok to ask if you can work in but it’s not the time to ask someone detailed questions.The flip side of that is not to tell people they’re doing something wrong. We all get irritated when a stranger starts to correct our form. If you need help or advice, consider asking someone who works at the gym.

Spotting

A basic tenet of gym etiquette is that people spot each other. If you need someone to spot you, ask someone for help, but try to choose someone who is not intently focusing on their own workout. I notice that few people ask me to spot because I’m an older woman and I think they assume I’m not going to be a good spotter. That is probably true, especially for the guys lifting heavy weight. Sometimes when I’m doing a chest press with dumb bells, I’ll ask someone to hand me a weight. Once the dumb bell is in my raised hand, I can do the exercise but getting started is sometimes a challenge.

Safety Concern

One additional point. If someone is rude to you or threatening or super critical, let a gym staff person know. They’ll deal with it. Don’t get into an altercation.

Basically, life in a gym is like life anywhere. Treat others in the way you want to be treated. Clean up after yourself, don’t hassle others, and be willing to share.