The Dos and Don’ts of Gym Going

Here we go again, you tell yourself as you climb atop the dreaded gray exercise mammoth, just barely stretching your muscles the five seconds before mounting it. I’d better do some more of these, you think as you recall the week and half of stabbing pain you withstood when you forgot to roll your ankles before a run that one time. After all, you don’t have health insurance anymore, again. You proceed to stretch a little more; you’re no aerobics instructor, but you did your fair share of Insanity episodes so you basically know what you’re doing. Okay, let’s do this. You take your iPod out and carefully select the best track to catapult your workout—you finally decide on Kanye West’s Stronger. Headphones in the ears, shoelaces tied, let’s go.

After entering your speed and incline into the treadmill’s robot mind, you start running. This is good! Your pace matches with Kanye’s inspirational lyricism; the sun invites itself through the window as your sweat lets itself out of your temples. You visualize your future glistening body running in slow motion on a Brazilian beach. Working out is easy, right? Not always. As many of us gym-goers know, going to sculpt our bodies in a public place can be motivating, terrifying, and can sometimes even be a complete bore. It took several months of accompanying my older brothers to the gym before I felt comfortable going by myself. I didn’t know which machines to use for what, I didn’t have a goal, and I was scared of being judged by the pros that were deep into their routines. To alleviate the stresses you may experience on your walk to the nearest gym, here are some of the dos and don’ts of gym going that I’ve learned firsthand.

DO have a goal. If you go to the gym without knowing what you want to get out of it, you’ll end up going through a slew of machines and disjointed exercises that ultimately will not do anything for you. If you have a goal, you’ll figure out which areas of your body need the most work, where you need to focus your energy, and what you need to do to get there.

DON’T compare yourself to the people around you. This is more of a rule of life, but in the gym you must center your mind on your own strengths and weaknesses so you know where and how to improve in order to get to where YOU need to be. You also have no idea how long it may have taken someone to get to the body you’re currently drooling and shaming yourself over, so stick to your own plan.

DO learn how to work the machines before stepping onto them. The gym can turn into a scene from Final Destination very quickly if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’ll take you no more than two minutes to read and understand how to operate a machine.

DON’T hesitate to ask for help! Yes, the guy using the benchpress is pretty intimidating, but I bet he knows things that you don’t. Safety should be your number one priority at the gym, especially when you first start out, and you should do your best to avoid hurting yourself because your posture is off or you have no idea how to hold the equipment.

DO bring essentials. And by essentials I mean a bottle of water, a music playing device, a towel, and anything else you need to feel comfortable and stay hydrated. Many people (myself included) find that music helps them concentrate at the gym. You also don’t have to worry about feeling awkward around strangers when you’re tuned into your workout playlist. As for water, it’s easy to forget it in the fridge, so make sure you have it before you leave your house so that you don’t pass out later.

DON’T wear makeup. Just don’t. This is my number one gym pet peeve, and I cannot stress enough how impractical it is to wear makeup to the gym. It sounds like common sense, but there’s always that one girl who shows up with a full face only to have it drip down to her shirt by the end of her work out. Does she think she isn’t going to sweat?

The most important thing to remember about starting an exercise routine is that consistency really is the key to achieving your body goals no matter what they are. Much like starting a paper or washing the dishes, actually starting is the hardest part. Once you get into a groove, your body will crave the exercise, though I can’t say the same about doing the dishes!