Did I really just join a gym??!

I joined a gym yesterday. For those that know me, you will appreciate what a absolutely HUGE deal this was. Its not that I’m allergic to gyms, its just I always think ‘why pay, when you can run for free?’. I have never been running though. In fact, January 2015 I brought myself some running trainers with the full intention of getting fit bouncing along the pavements, all smug in how I had managed to avoid the scams that are gyms. Aside from the odd use to go into the garden in the rain to put the lid on the sandpit, my trainers sat in the hall until August 2016. That’s 19 months. So much for outsmarting the gym industry; I had forked out of trainers, and got fatter. Last week I had a ‘welcome’ appointment at the gym so I dug around for something looking remotely sporty from the depths of my wardrobe, and proudly put on my trainers. I jumped on my bike and took myself off the gym, all ready to take the bull by the horn. Turns out however, that it was a paperwork meeting. So I basically had my trainers on (hardly touched floor, remember the bike?) to go to the gym and have a cappuccino. Great.

Yesterday however, it was the real deal. I was psyched. It was the second time in a week I had tried to look sporty and I was beginning to think this might suit me. Until I had to do something. Hard work! Not made easier by the fact that with my short legs I often could reach the handles on the equipment and spent almost as much time adjusting seats as I did counting repetitions to 15 over and over again. Why 15? I was asking myself. Why not 13? Or 17? These numbers are so often sidelined for the neat 5, 10, 15, 20. Lets hear it for the alternatives! Yes, this is the kind of crazy talk that goes on in my head when I am left on my own. Best part though, was the running machine (I walked) and the cross-trainer (I wobbled). Both were parked in-front of the TV. Basically, I went to the gym and learnt about the value of Pyramids, how they make feta cheese, and watched a cow giving birth. Thanks Discovery channel. I also did a little bit of sporting in-between. The question I hesitate to ask is…have I peaked already?