5 Reasons Why I Have a Love Hate Relationship With the Gym

I was talking to a friend earlier today about the gym and he mentioned something that I think is worth sharing. He said, "everyone has that one thing they hate about the gym." This statement seems to be true, unless you are me of course, because I have happen to have more than one thing I hate about the gym. It is because of these things that I have developed quite the love hate relationship with it.

It's not that the gym ever did anything to deserve this kind of resentment, it's more about the personal experience I had with it. What I am trying to say is, it's not it, it's me.

Katie's List of Reasons That Contributed to the Love Hate Relationship With the Gym:

1. It is not socially acceptable to drop it low to the beat of the music at the gym.
    Before I go to the gym, I get myself pumped by listening to fast-paced, high-energy music. On occasion, I also partake in the crack-like pre-workout powder as well. The combination of these two energy boosters is highly entertaining. By the time I get to the gym I am often so pumped that I can't help but react to my music in the best way possible. It turns out, this is not a socially acceptable practice at the gym.
    My most recent experience with this was on the ham curl machine. This machine works the hamstrings and gluts (well, if you do it correctly it does) and it does so horizontally. You lay down on the machine, putting the weighted bar just over your ankles and curl up. I put my headphones in, assumed the position and before I could get a fiver in, "I Love It" by Icona Pop came through my headphones and my bottom side started dancing without my permission. It does this often. My head then began to bob from side to side and next thing you know I am ham curling to the beat, and wiggling all over the place. I am telling you from experience, do not try this at home, or at the gym, because apparently it is not socially acceptable.

2. My thigh muscles swell after a few good workouts and all of a sudden the left and right side are inseparable. 
    Leg days are not my favorite for this reason. I really do not like when my muscles swell after just a few good sets and all of a sudden my legs decide to hug when I am walking. They don't normally touch in the middle and I am not a fan of this happening. After all that hard work and exhaustion you'd think they would hate each other and part ways, but nope! Not only do they swell up and touch, they also make me walk funny, which leads me to my next reason.

3. Unless you have mastered the exit walk on leg day, you are screwed, literally. 
    After a good leg day, my muscles are swollen, like I previously stated and it makes me walk funny (or at least I feel like I am walking funny). I always go into the locker room at the end of my workout to  freshen up and check my leg progress. After giving myself a once-over I head for the car. This is where the exit walk comes in handy and unfortunately for me, I have not mastered it. When I take that last walk out of the locker room, after a really good leg day, it looks as though I just did something highly inappropriate in the locker room. It doesn't help that i'm usually sweating, out of breath and my hair is a mess from doing abs on the floor mats. Wonderful. Now, not only are my thighs hugging, I look like I just sinned with someone in the sauna.

4. Protein, protein its magical juice, the more you drink, the more you...?
    Crop dust! That's right. The gym is always so busy when I go that on any given day I can be crop dusted and have no one to pin it on because there are always more than two people behind me. Not that I would ever walk up and accuse someone of doing a drive-by crop dust but, I wish I could. Keep that bottom side plugged up or walk into the bathroom. Seriously. It's gross.

5. In my profession, eye contact is necessary and expected. Be careful where you try it at the gym, though!
    It never fails that every time I am on the inner thigh adduction machine (the sexual ones where you are repeatedly opening and closing your legs) someone always makes eye contact with me in the open position. AWKWARD. While I always wear appropriate gym clothing, it doesn't take away the uncomfortable feeling. Not to mention, when this happens I always look down and double check for holes in the crotch region and then people begin to wonder why I am looking in that area. I can't win.
    I've tried to avoid this a few different ways. Looking up didn't help. Can you imagine someone repeatedly opening and closing their legs with their head thrust back and face toward the ceiling? Not a good look. I think I will just close my eyes on this machine from now on.
    My last gym had it down - they turned the machines toward the wall instead of facing the middle of the gym. Um, duh! This gym needs to figure it out!

I'm Going to Eat My Bread and Have it Too.. So I Can Have More Later!

With the new fad in Reno being healthy eating and gym membership - yes, I said fad - it's hard to avoid the stereotypical topics of conversations that go along with that. 

Every day on social media you see people checking in at the gym, posting photos of their workouts, before and after progress, healthy dinner photos and more. Unlike many others, I don't think this is a bad thing nor do I find it annoying. In some ways, I actually find it to be inspirational and motivational.

What I do find annoying, however, is when people decide that telling others what food is healthy and unhealthy to consume is OK. I understand offering advice or sharing knowledge of some delicious, intriguing recipes, but judging what people consume based on their current shape, size, or overall health is simply preposterous. 

I have been told many times - by people who frequent the gym - to avoid eating pasta as much as I do, to eat a healthy breakfast and make sure I don't skip it and to substitute unhealthy foods with healthy foods. The thing that annoys me the most is when I'm in the middle of eating something and someone says, "That is so bad for you." 

Oh, is it? I had no idea Mac 'n Cheese was bad for me. Let me put this down and eat something with less sodium, less carbs, less fat and less sugar. I'll eat a celery stick. Yes - that is what I will do. 

It's like, listen, I am a healthy person overall. One freaking bowl of Mac 'n Cheese isn't going to kill me. Nor is it going to make my thighs grow three sizes bigger by the time I get to the bottom of the bowl. Eating pasta is actually OK believe it or not. Should I eat it every day? No. Do I? No. Thank you. 

That brings me to my next point - people who tell you the nutrition facts about food you are either eating or thinking about eating, as if you can't read the package yourself. Thanks for the vocabulary lesson, but could you save it for after dinner? Based on what you are telling me, i'm trying to eat my way to death over here and I might not have to listen to you anymore. 

Unwanted nutrition facts aren't cool. Period.

Furthermore, just because I didn't go to the gym this week does not mean I am lazy. It means I am enjoying my time at home and don't feel like going. Or maybe I am blogging.. which is more important anyway. 

Lastly, if I want to eat some candy. I'm going to eat some damn candy. I am a grown woman and last I checked it wasn't a crime to to eat a spoonful of sugar - just ask Mary Poppins! So jump down off your high, organic-fed horse and get with reality. Not everyone shops at Whole Foods and has designated leg, arm, back, neck, nose, and toes days at the gym.

Now, before everyone jumps on me for this I will say, I have talked about the fact that I shouldn't eat the donuts at work on donut-Fridays but that is different. First of all, it is MY body so I can decide whether I should or should not eat the glazed goodness. Second, donut-Fridays happen every week so I am bound to tell myself to refrain at some point. Bottom line? You should only be telling yourself what to eat and not eat. 

There is another side to this issue though. 

I am a relatively in-shape female who would like to continue being relatively in-shape. That being said, sometimes I actually do leave my blog to go to the gym or other times I will trade out the sugary cereal for egg whites in the morning. When this happens I don't need people asking me why I am working out or why I am eating healthy. Did it ever occur to you that I might like the taste of salad when I am eating it? I don't ask you why you are eating pie when you already have an ass, so don't ask me why I am eating egg whites when I don't need to lose weight. To my knowledge, simply eating egg whites won't make me drop ten pounds. If it did, I wouldn't need a gym membership - or my job, because I would have a chicken farm and be rich. 

Just because I choose to be healthy 68% of the time doesn't mean I think I am fat or need to lose weight. It's called prevention. I am preventing myself from becoming unhealthy and living an unhealthy lifestyle. I don't want to gain weight and have to work to lose it. I want to maintain my current lifestyle so that doesn't happen. I mean, I don't know about you all but I am trying to work smarter not harder. 

Not to mention, I happen to like being semi-healthy. Sometimes. 

The overall idea here is this: you shouldn't concern yourself with what other people are doing. If they want to eat pasta, let them eat pasta. If they want to eat a salad, let them eat a salad. Because I can tell you that no matter how many times someone tells me not to eat the extra piece of bread at the Italian restaurant before dinner - I'm going to eat it.