Going it alone

I’ve noticed recently that I have people in my life that continuously bring me down and/or hold me (or themselves) back about staying healthy or being fit.  I’m really getting sick of this crap!  For their sakes I won’t be posting names or relationships to me so all of them will be known as Friend A/B/C…but if you fit underneath the category, odds are you have a friend like me who’s sick of your shit.  Fix it! Note this post is not for everyone, I just need to rant.

Friend A: This is the person who has a million excuses.  No matter what day/time you want to go to the gym they’re never available because their dog needs a massage or their family member needs them to drive them somewhere or some other useless task that wouldn’t take up the entire fuckin’ day.  Those of you with kids, this is different; except for those of you who use your kids as  an excuse.  They’re kids!  I go train at the park, why not play with them or let them play while you train?!  Or take a class and put them into daycare (if offered by your fitness facility).

Friend B:This is the friend who never feels quite right.  The one who “works too much” and is “always tired” or “wants some time to themself”.  Ummmmm, excuse me?!  WTF do you think the gym is for?!  I call it “ME TIME”.  It’s an hour or so devoted specifically to me and all about me.  I don’t care who else is around, what they’re doing or how my day was…this time is all about me!  There is no excuse!  If you want to watch TV, odds are there’s a treadmill with a TV in front of it or ATT offers U-verse everywhere and there’s Netflix!  Bring a book to the treadmill, walk so you can read if you need to.  It’s not about being the most hyperactive person in the place, it’s about moving.

Friend C:This one’s going to offend someone and I know it…so before I start with this one let me say, I’m not sorry.  If this is you, stop the habit and break that cycle. now. just do it.  This being said, this is the friend who is overweight, fat, fluffy, hefty, husky…whatever you wanna call them.  They’ve probly never seen the inside of a gym or the track at the park when they take their kids, they don’t want to be fit and want others to suffer because they aren’t happy with themselves.  These are the people that say,” Well I have <insert random reason here>, and I’m fat and people would look at me.”  Ummmm…..newsflash, I respect overweight people at the gyms and tracks more than I respect the smaller people or the damn gym rats (I hate them too).  If you’re overweight don’t come up w excuses, get off your ass, put down the damned Cheewees and MOVE!  Change your diet, but not so drastically that you can’t get through a day.  Set realistic goals so you can meet them and stick to it!  Find that fit workout buddy that you can train with (at a lower level of course, don’t overdo it) and talk with your doctor about safe ways for you to exercise if health issues are the problem.

Friend D:This is the friend who thinks no matter what you happen to be doing in the gym, they can do it better and discount what you’re doing and have trained up towards.  For example, I had been working on endurance and I wanted to see how many squats I could do after a run with 20lbs on my back (start small and work up).  When I broke my record I was excited and told my friends,” Hey guys, last week I could only do <x> amount of squats after my run with the bar, this week I’ve upped it by <x>!”  This one guy was like,” That ain’t shit, but you’re a girl so I guess that’s good for you…”  (^*&%(&%(*&^)*&  I wanted to slam his face into a wall.  I had been working really hard for that new record!  These are also the types of people who think that nothing can challenge them, like the friend who does some races with me.  He never wants to train and constantly turns me down for a training session because “it’s not like these races are challenging” and he “can get through them without any real effort”  I hope the upcoming race he’s doing KICKS. HIS. ASS. These guys are your typical meathead macho-man motha fuckas who think they’re God’s gift to women and the world revolves around their biceps and “gains”.

If you’re one of these people, seriously you can change it.  Get off your ass and let this be motivational!

But I am absolutely sick of feeling like I’m going at this alone!  I don’t mind the going alone so much when I’m not being put down or held back every step of the God damned way!

Gym Appropriate Apparel

I’ve been hitting the gym frequently for the past six or seven months, I usually train by myself, privately, at the park down the street where there is a track and a jungle gym because I don’t really like people watching me exercise and I want to be “in the zone”.

However, I work at several gyms teaching their Zumba Fitness classes and I finally started training at one of them where I get a free membership.  I tried not to look at anyone first of all when I walked in, let alone pick up on what they were wearing.  I am very comfortable in my skin, I am not ashamed of my body or how I look as I work very frickin’ hard to make sure I stay fit and healthy to be an inspiration to the clients I teach at my gyms.  Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the topic at hand.

I’ve been running at the track in the park for a long time, when I go I expect to sweat and get really hot so I wear a regular bra and a sports bra (for me if I don’t wear a regular bra, my breasts feel like they weigh 100lb’s and they’re by no means large).  I am always alone when I run, except for the maybe one or two other people at the track, so I never really thought about what I was wearing other than it made me stay cooler so I could run longer.  I also do push-ups/sit-ups/crunches/dragon crawls/mountain climbers…etc. and run on the hill there to shock my muscles a bit and prepare them for the obstacles and uneven terrain I run on when I race.

So, when I went to the gym I felt this awkward sense of being “naked” if I would have worn a top that showed my stomach even a little bit.  For the sake of not being embarrassed, I bought shirts that are uncomfortable (except my Zumba wear) that cover my body completely.  No cleavage, no tummy.  I feel so strange when I go run on the treadmill like this because I still wear my bra and sports bra (again women everywhere know the importance of a sports bra to hold the “girls” in place).  The shirts are soft but they feel like they’re itchy because of the excess fabric and sweat.

What do you all think about appropriate gym attire?  Is it socially acceptable for a woman to wear a shirt to the gym that is cropped as long as her cleavage is tucked away nicely?  I don’t want the label of being trashy, but should I sacrifice comfort for the sake of others?

Men wear shirts that have the arms and sides cut completely out and show their stomach and chest, I was wondering if that’s somehow more appropriate.  Let me know your opinions. 🙂 I’ve attached photos of the top(s) I am talking about, the shorts are racing shorts and I’m at a race in the pics.