I Pick Things Up and Put Them Down...

Yea, as in Planet Fitness.  Since I started working out, that is the gym I have gone to 1.) because they are cheap, 2.) because it was the least intimidating gym when you haven't stepped on a treadmill in years.  I know lots of people have their opinions about a gym like that - it's a joke, not serious, a place to go for free pizza and tootsie rolls, the weights don't go up high enough - I know, I've heard them all.  But in all honesty, for the past year and a half, they have had everything that I needed to get me where I wanted to be.  They have plenty of cardio machines, dumbbells, weight machines, cables - most of the basics you'd find at any gym.  I would recommend them to anyone who is on a budget and wants access to this equipment, or someone who might not feel comfortable walking into one of the bigger "fancier" gyms.  

So, then why, you ask, would I go in there yesterday to inquire about cancelling my membership?  Well, the same reason I like it there is the reason I felt the need to leave - my comfort level there is just a little...shall we say, TOO comfortable?  I walk in and don't even need to sign in anymore because almost the entire staff knows my member number by heart.  I know all the regulars and they know me (if not by name, at least by face), and the equipment has become familiar and easy to maneuver...aaaannnddd therein lies the problem.  I've made little progress in the last few months because my routine has become soooo...routine.  I noticed a while back that I was literally just going through the motions.  And while increasing the weights, reps, intensity, etc. were obviously the first things I thought of, I found that my heart just wasn't in it anymore.  I needed variety to be challenged.  There's only so many times you can do the same leg press machine before you get bored.  

I truly believe this saying that "If it isn't challenging you, it isn't changing you."  This goes for anything, not just fitness.  My whole life, I have always had a nasty habit of staying right smack dab in the middle of my comfort zone - school, career, friends, and now my workouts.  I think it's something a lot of people struggle with and don't even realize it.  Many people will never know what they are truly capable of because they are afraid to push the limits.  WELL...I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF.  I'm pretty dang sure it's more than what I've been doing.  Yes, at one point my, now, regular routine was certainly a challenge for me, but the whole idea is to continue to grow and evolve, and that just hasn't been happening for me.  So instead of sitting around and wallowing about hitting a wall, I decided to do something about it.  So I went and signed up for the new LA Fitness that just opened across the street (sorry my Planet Fitness buddies, I know that's kind of a slap in the face!) - a much bigger gym with more machines, weights, classes (which I've never taken before and am super nervous about - but I'm doin' it!), and variety to challenge me.    

While I know some of you are saying "Big deal, you switched gyms, why are you blogging about this???", on a certain level, it IS a big deal.  It represents my realization that to continue to grow, we must do things that are sometimes outside of our comfort zone, and that's not an easy thing to do for most people - regardless of how trivial it may seem to someone else.  But the important thing is that we acknowledge it, so that we can move past whatever it is that is standing in the way of reaching our full potential.  I think that AMAZING things can happen when we strive for this.  

My point, here, is that if there is something in your life that you have been putting off doing, fitness/nutrition-related or not, just because you're either scared or don't want to put in the extra effort, realize that it's only going to hold you back from so much of what life has to offer.  My boss, Kat (who is an extremely smart lady, but has STILL yet to read my blog, so maybe this will get her! he he he) has always told me "You could be so much better than just mediocre - you just have to learn to get out of your own damn way!"  

Whether it is just getting up the guts to walk into the gym, or going for that big promotion that you never thought you could get, get out of your own damn way, and tell that little voice in your head that's keeping you in your comfort zone to shut the hell up!  :)

"You will either step forward into growth, or you will step back into safety."  -Abraham Maslow