I Joined a Gym!

I joined Gold's Gym yesterday. I went and I met with a trainer, and did a 15 minute exercise routine with him. I paid everything up front, so I have a whole year of membership, and 11 training sessions with the guy.

It was expensive for the training, but I got a discounted price for buying them in bulk. When I come up for renewal it's going to be $55 per session. Eh, they have to make a living somehow.

I'm going to stick with it for a couple months and see how it goes. I may not need him after that, or I can take a break and come back to it. It's really nice having someone to show you how to use the machines effectively and to learn some good exercises.

I told him about my bad lower back, and how I pulled it picking up Moses 10 years ago. He had me doing squats against a yoga ball on a wall, and it really worked those muscles around my spine! I had a REALLY hard time going up and down my stairs today to go shopping, but I know the pain will go away in a couple weeks.

Today I bought some workout clothing, and I went in for a 30 minute walk on a treadmill. I like the machines they have, there are silver handles that if you grip them, they tell you your current heart rate. I thought I would have to do a brisk walk, but according to my trainer, I was supposed to keep my heart rate between 117 and 137. I ended up walking at 1.6 miles per hour. I was surprised that it was very slow, I normally walk faster than that, but he knows his job.

The most surprising thing was when he measured my body fat! It was a little machine, you grip it, and hold it face level. The machine said I had 43% body fat! I was wowed, it's like being half fat!

No wonder I felt so doughy! That makes me happy because the fatter you are when you start, the faster it melts off. It feels more like progress than when skinnier people work out and try to lose 5 lbs. I'm going to lose about 1/4 or so off my ass. That's not bad!

I'll keep you posted!