Return of the Prodigal

Today I went to the gym. They've been missing me and sending heartfelt letters for quite some time begging me to return and offering free drinks and discounts. When I swiped my card the computer made a special noise that signaled my return to the fold and earned me a 'welcome back' from the reception guy, whom I've never seen before.

In April this year I began something of a revolution in my health and fitness. I'd been really struggling, was sick of the gym, was under ridiculous stress in my personal life and, worst of all, I'd fallen into a vicious dieting cycle of binging/restricting and it was messing with my head rather alarmingly. I wasn't feeling too good about myself and something had to change. The first thing that I tackled was the binging behaviours and this required taking my finger off the 'must eat less and train harder' button. Anyone whom has overcome an Eating Disorder will be able to relate to the fact that life becomes temporarily overwhelming. Without the 'coping technique' of binging and the distraction of harsh dieting I was kind of fragile for a while. The gym was just depressing - all those mirrors, the scale that I couldn't avoid getting on... just not a good place for me right then. I was also burned out and bored with the heavy training I'd been doing and changed my routine to primarily bodyweight training, using the equipment at home. For cardio I'd been happy with the stat. bike and hill walking.

Today is cardio day. I thought about my options - get on the stat bike (yawn) or go for a run (mmm... ). Then I thought about the gym - treadmill with adjustable inclines, x-trainer, stepper, rower, high-pressure showers, nice area for stretching. I found myself saying 'I think I'll go to the gym' and then stood there wondering if I'd actually do it. There were obstacles.. I had to download 63 new songs onto my ipod in order to feel sufficiently prepared and mount a search party for my good, gym-worthy trackpants. I then had to clean the cow poo off my trainers.

I did 20 mins HIIT on the treadmill followed by 10 mins on the stepper and 10 mins on the x-trainer. Fun! Here's a tip. Say it's a hot day and they have big fans set up at the front to blow cool air at the cardio bunnies. If you choose the treadmill right behind a really sweaty guy with dubious personal hygiene then you just might regret it. And, don't forget your towel.