Well, after reading comments from my previous post I feel a bit relieved by the fact that I'm not the only person who has social anxieties.
Anyways, as I'm sure you all have gathered, I've been training for Basic (which I don't have a date for yet) and I'm literally starting at zero.
Throughout my entire life I've avoided all shapes and forms of athletics, resigning myself to being a bookish artist. That decision has obviously come back to kick my ass.
My dad and I recently got a gym membership so that I can build my upper body strength at this meat-head place. No seriously, 95% of the guys in there are extreme meat-heads, and the owner has body building trophies everywhere. My dad asked the guy where I needed to start in order to build my upper body and he directed us to this chart he had on the wall that has a run-down of exercises I needed to do, separated by days.
Oh man. I was mortified. There I was, surrounded by bulging, beefy dudes, who were lifting 150lbs without a sweat, and I couldn't even do 20lbs on most of the equipment. Not to mention, I had no idea what ANY of the equipment was called.
The owner was sympathetic, and told me that with time I'd get better :P
Also, most of the guys in there are pretty nice, and they usually just mind their own business and yell encouraging things to each other like, "GET IT, SON" "DO IT FOR YOU" "YA CAN'T GET ***** WITH THAT" while hard rock blares from the speakers.
Why my dad didn't get a membership somewhere more... I don't know, relaxed (?) I have no idea.
Also, I've added to my running. I now run 1.5 miles in the morning as well as in the evening. That is also kicking my ass. But I suck it up and do it, because what else can I do?
Gah, that's how I felt when I first started working out. My best friend decided to get in shape last summer and could barely run a mile straight. Now she runs 15 a day and is training for the LA marathon! Unfortunately, my super intense work and school schedule doesn't allow me to train with her (or even like her), but I still get in my twenty or so miles a week.
ReplyDeleteKeep at it! And those machines get easier. I started with 20 on most of them, too, and can do five or six times that at least on every machine, so it gets better! I still don't know what they're called, but does it really matter?
I hope that you start to love the friendly banter and add in some of your own, too! Gym pals are real pals.
Also, yes, I do own a time-turner. And I sleep four hours a night, so that helps.
Well that doesn't sound all that bad really. Good luck with it. It's potentially going to be a long journey, but you can make it.
ReplyDeleteI have an inside tip on the running. Once you begin to get more comfortable with the distance, start running with a back pack on, because you're going to have to that a lot during basic. Also, and this is going to sound weird, you should also try running while singing/yelling really loudly (late a night is a good time so that you can avoid people giving you weird looks). You're going to have to run while singing chants called "jodies" when you hit basic. You should train your diaphragm now to be able to handle that kind of breath support :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting beefed up!