A Few Tips for Gym Newbs, from a Gym Newb. Newb.

Today's dinner:

• Turkey sandwich on wheat bread with
• Lettuce
• Mustard
• A little onion
• A teeny-tiny bit of minced garlic for flavor. (I couldn't decide what I wanted to put on it and I put the garlic on before I realized we had an onion in the fridge)
• Strawberries
• Sugar snap peas
• Water

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. For the first time in my life, I am going on a diet. It's not so much because I want to lose weight (although I do), I just want to start eating better, so I've signed up for Glamour.com's Body by Glamour program. They give you helpful tips on what to eat and what to avoid on a week-by-week basis. Of course, this means I'm going to have to request new foods for the refrigerator next trip to the grocer, but they're all food that we'll all eat anyway. Things like tortillas, that we would normally use for tacos, but instead of normal tortillas, they'll be whole-wheat tortillas. I'm sort of excited to get started and keep going. 

I've already gotten a jump start on the plan by cutting out soda and most (and when I say most I mean about 99.9% of) caffeine, of which I am extremely proud and I'm pleased to say that I am two and a half weeks sober today. It wasn't easy, but I've found now that I no longer crave it, or other sugary things, for that matter. Which is a surprise. I'm also finding that I've been better about controlling myself, say if I wanted to pig out on something, I can just tell myself I don't need it, and I stop myself. 

I've also been hitting the gym. A lot. I've gone every day this week. That's a pretty big feat for me. I've never been one to go to the gym once a week, let alone four times. 

Being an amateur gym-goer, I've come up with a list of tips for my fellow gym-beginners. I'm no expert, and these may have no relevance for some or all people, but they're just some things I've noticed about my own experiences and work outs. Perhaps they will help you too!

Tips for my fellow gym beginners:

Don't be afraid to cop ideas.

If you're anything like me, you have no idea what to do when it comes to the gym. Do a couple sit-ups, maybe a few push-ups, but...then what? You can't just do cardio the whole time. Well, you can, but that wouldn't be very effective, now would it? So here's what I've learned.

If there are other people around you who seem to know their way around a gym, non-chalantly check out what they're doing. Don't just immediately start copying them, because...that would be creepy and I'm sure they would catch on by the time you've imitated their every exercise for the last twenty minutes. But note what they're doing, and keep it in mind for your next work out. Or, if they leave before you do, then give their moves a try. It can't hurt, and it'll give you a bunch of new things to do to keep your work out more interesting for you. 

Music. Lots of music.

I don't know about you, but there's nothing like my favorite song or a good steady beat to keep me motivated at the gym. Music can be used as a great advantage to your work out, so here are a few musical hints:

• Find songs that have good tempos for walking on a treadmill. Avoid ballads, obviously. Walk to the beat, and when the song ends and the next comes on, change the speed on your treadmill so that your walking tempo matches the beat of each song. Katy Perry offers some good power walking-tempo tunes like "Firework," "Peacock," and "Last Friday Night (TGIF)." Another great walking song is the electro-pop hit "Bulletproof" by La Roux. Find what works for you, and get walking!
• Listen to songs you like. It will make your work out immensely more enjoyable. You might even smile!
• If you need visual stimulation to make the time pass more quickly, plug your ear buds into the TV jack and watch whatever might be on. Maybe if you're lucky you can catch Jersey Shore. Or you can catch up on the latest news on the Budget Repair Bill...

Music is pretty much the best thing ever. So use it.

Don't be afraid to get a little close to strangers.

Don't skip one of your work out activities because there is only one stair climber left, and it's right in between two people you don't know. 

Don't worry about it. 

They don't care. They're there for the same reason as you are. I'd like to think of the gym as a judge-free zone. The people around you are in their own little work out worlds, they probably won't even notice that you're there.

Speaking of judge-free zones...

Pay no attention to the men's soccer team.

Or the women's for that matter. Yes, they are thinner than you, blistering hot, and they could probably crush a watermelon better than Gallagher with their thighs, but you can't let their strange gym rituals (which usually involve a lot of clapping and grunting and shouting at each other) make you so uncomfortable that it makes you want to stop your routine and leave. Just remember, sweaty boys are smelly. 

Find a routine, and stick with it.

This isn't something you must do, but it works if you aren't very familiar with exercising. Having a plan for each time you go to the gym is probably more productive than...not...having a plan. This can also help you with this tip...

Don't skip over anything you normally do.

Especially because you just don't feel like doing it today. Keep motivating yourself to do what you did last time. Just because you don't feel like it doesn't mean you shouldn't. Word.

Be happy for yourself.

You're exercising! Yay! Good for you! 

Give yourself some credit. You're doing something that is going to help you out in the short- and long-run (Get it? Run...) and you should be proud of yourself for getting off your couch and getting into the gym. That doesn't mean you should reward yourself with a #2 with a shake...

Make some other changes in your lifestyle.

Change some of your normal eating habits to match your new healthy, exercise-y lifestyle. Cut out fast food, or be like me and cut out soda. Eat more vegetables. Eat less crap. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Little things. 

Fin.

So there you have them. A few tips for gym newbs. Like myself. I hope that some of you heed my advice, or that perhaps some of you have been inspired by my new ultra-awesome healthy life changes. 

That's really all I've got for now. Till next time, y'all.

Peace.

Molly

P.S. I did not use the word "fitness" at all (until now) in this entire blog. Damn. Meh, I'm not going back to plop it in somewhere. Fitness fitness fitness. There.