There’s something a lot of people don’t know about me: I used to be a powerlifter* in high school. I was one of those guys who would hit the gym several hours a day to get stronger to compete in being the toughest dude on a few Saturday mornings per school year.
Well, that was more than 12 years ago. Now I’m trying to get back to the gym. This time not to bulk up, but lose the baby weight. Yes, I’m a father of two, but it seems over the past 3 years (OK, maybe more like 12), I’ve cared more about what I ate rather than what it was doing to my body. And as for exercise, well, that word didn’t exist in my vocabulary.
My History with Gyms
Once I graduated high school, I went to Texas Tech where they have an amazing recreation center, with weight rooms, basketball courts and everything else you can dream of. I tried to make it as much as possible, but it was on the other side of campus, and sleeping was more my style.
Then I got my first real job in Phoenix, where a gym was just downstairs in my office building. How convenient! Yep, I used it twice. Same deal when my wife and I moved to Chicago. The gym was less than 50 steps from my desk: I think I made it in there three times. After leaving that job to work remotely, I convinced myself, “If I pay for a membership at a location not so convenient, I will use it.” Haha, that was a laughable thought from the beginning, but I’m good at talking myself into stupid decisions. And after having not lived within 3 hours of that gym for 8 months, I finally remembered to cancel my membership … what a waste!
And now …
So this weekend, my wife and I embarked on a journey to sign up at the local gym, and I had planned my glorious return for today. But let’s just say a few things got in the way.
This leads me to the list of 6 reasons why I suck at working out (or better yet, attempting to work out):
- I left my power cord at home, and my phone was dead. No reason to work out if I don’t have pump-up jams.
- After picking up the kids from daycare, I had already broken out in a sweat.
- By the time I got my clothes gathered up, I realized I didn’t have any clean socks.
- Once I got to the parking lot, it was pretty full, and most of the people walking in were already extremely fit. Jerks.
- I had a meeting beginning two hours after I arrived at the gym. There was no way I could finish working out, catch my breath, stop sweating and be able to talk without passing out.
- On the way home from leaving the gym, I stopped to pick up Taco Bell. The burritos were calling my name. And I figured it was a ‘Last Supper’ type meal before I try again tomorrow.
Tomorrow is another day. I plan on working out, but have to make an actual effort. Or try not to find the tiny reasons for my fat ass not to get in gear.
If you struggle with getting to the gym, feel free to share your reasons with me, so maybe I’ll have some more excuses in the future.
(*Sidenote: my football coach convinced me to powerlift because I was extremely short, meaning he could toss a bunch of weight on my back since I only had to squat like 3 inches, therefore being decent in my weight division. Also, if I find a picture, I’ll post it … promise.)
