YAY Me!

So, I joined the YMCA on Saturday...YAY Me! Uh, huh. I have gone twice so far...and plan on going again tonight. (is it sad that this is the best I have to write about?) although I have yet to discover eye candy to amuse me during my workouts, I have discovered that the old people are super nice and chatty. Yesterday I was doing some presses to work out my upper arms and I had to adjust the weight in order to finish my sets, this friendly old man chuckled and said the same thing happens to him. It made my heart bigger. This same old man had earlier rode the upright bike next to me and barely broke a sweat - as I felt the burn and considered stopping short. (that made me a little sad, but inspired me to trudge on - I mean I've got like 50 years on this guy, if he can do it, so can I). I used to occasionally run outside and during the cold winter months I would hop on my treadmill every now-and-then, until I hurt my foot...that's when I decided to give up running - two weeks of hobbling around and only wearing flats was enough to convince me. I know that the lustre and shine of a gym membership has not yet worn off and the newness of it all still has me inspired and excited about my workout regimine, but I have come to a few conclusions already:
1. working out with a bunch of strangers helps me not to slack off and to keep going, after all I don't want to look like a wuss to anyone. (the addition of cute boys would really push me)
2. getting there is all of the battle. Once I'm parked at the Y, that's it - it's time to work out. I can't stop to answer the phone or throw in a load of laundry quick, the distractions of home are out of sight and out of mind.
3. setting the bike/treadmill/eliptical machine to some training program and having a timer that counts down makes a HUGE difference. My treadmill at home is pretty low-tech, I get on, adjust the speed and go, and the timer counts up. It's really disheartening to be tired out and look at the clock to see I have only been running for six minutes. At least when I'm on a machine at the Y that same clock might say I only have 14 minutes left. And the little bar chart that shows me when a hill is coming up or when I get a "slow down" section really helps me to feel like I'm getting somewhere, accomplishing something. I know these things are purely mental, but in reality I need all the mental help I can get when it comes to a workout regimine. I'm hoping these little "brain tricks" will help me to get on a schedule and make this a lasting exercise plan.
Bathing suite season is just around the corner, which means it's training season...
groove your body 10 minutes + a day.