I Dropped My Gym Membership Without the Guilt

I used to be a gym rat. I’d do cardio, free weights, hop on various machines to get my muscles burning and take all sort of classes, 4-5 times a week. My then boyfriend (now husband) and I had a workout schedule and we’d stick to it. The results were there all right – I was fit, six pack and all.

Marriage, first pregnancy… there was no stopping me…

After having my first child things got a bit hectic (can you imagine that?) and I found myself in gym less often. Then I had a second, and- what seems like immediately afterwards-a third child.

And, as if this wasn’t enough of my free-time bust, I started freelancing. Something had to give. Giving up gym was easy – I had no energy to WORK out anyway.

But I missed it. Soon enough, I started day-dreaming about sneaking away to gym to rejuvenate, re-energize, find my sanity. And guess what? A brand new gym opened up in our division and I signed up. I committed to three years!

Crazy schedules, 3 young children, diapers, homework, swimming & hockey lessons all on top of work and what seems like endless laundry hell.. As much as I tried, regular gym sessions became too much, they wore me down, they felt like yet another thing on my list, another task to “take care of” that day. I started resenting it all because of the pressure, the anxiety it gave me. Working out was no longer fun, no longer something I did FOR myself. It just became something I did, something I had to do.

So then one day I just stopped.

No more should haves, no more forcing myself to do something that was just beyond me at this stage of my life. And I refused to feel guilty about it.

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Unfortunately, not working out was not an option. Because after 3 children you’re left with a different body, and mine included about 20 pounds of extra weight I just couldn’t drop. THIS was unacceptable and frustrating. My youngest was 3 by then. What the hell?

It was time to get my shit together!

So, I bought a set of free weights and an exercise bar to go with them plus an exercise band. I scored a free treadmill my neighbor was getting rid of and an exercise step I found in a garage sale for $5. I also got an mp3 player, loaded it with music and I was good to go.

One year later, 20 pounds lighter, toned and with a fatter wallet I’m still excising at home, usually when my youngest naps and his brothers are at school.

This was a journey of ups and downs (and I’m still working on that six pack!), but mostly trying to find that sweet spot when working out wasn’t a huge chore but more like meditation. In the end I learned that determination plus a basic home gym is all you need. Owning a bike helps too. No fancy gym membership required!

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I leave you with the latest addition to my workout list, a a new favorite, David Guetta – Titanium ft. Sia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1amH6I68m4w