De-Flab Me

Today was my first day at the gym. The first thing I needed to do was sign my contract (goodbye, firstborn…), and they wanted to swipe my credit card…. which I discovered to my horror was not in my wallet! (Don’t worry, I found it when I got home.)

In any case, my first priority right now, other than just building the gym habit, is rehabbing my left knee, which you may recall I injured trying to take up running. Since I’ve hurt this knee before (dislocated the kneecap, and it’s never been quite the same since), I know what to do for it.

I started with 20 min on a bike using a “strength” sequence. (They have reclining bikes — hurrah! Until I strengthen my core, upright bikes will probably mean back pain.) It was a challenge (the distraction of a news report on the TV was helpful), but didn’t leave me with any discomfort in the knee, which was a good sign. I also realized two thirds of the way through that bikes now have an indicator that flashes to tell you when you’re not pedaling fast enough, and that I’d apparently been slacking the whole time! Cool, it’ll be like a game, which will make it more fun.

I then moved on to the weight machines. Leg extensions, curls, and presses, and hip inductions and adductions, and that’s it. THe only problem I ran into is that the back support on the leg extension machine doesn’t adjust far enough forward for someone my size.. In any case, next time I”m going to start keeping track of my weight and reps.

Tomorrow I’m going again. I think the plan will be legs and cardio Mon/Wed/Fri, and core and arms Tues/Thurs/Sat, to allow for resting everything properly. I’m also thinking about joining one of the classes (mostly yoga) they hold most mornings as an extra push to get me out of bed. Does that sound like a good idea, or should I just stick with the straight workout?