A few feet away, a man is off tune, singing something intelligible loudly. Another is slamming the weights down with a thump. Someone in the distance is grunting with every pull or push.
I stare at my Garmin trying in vain to drown out the sounds of the gym. I look up to see no one is bothered about the din. It’s because everyone is plugged into a device despite the blaring Top 40 coming from the gym speakers.
Some days I can easily ignore the circus. That’s when I am laser focused and ready to kill that day’s training. Other days I can’t help but be distracted by the sideshow.
For the most part, I am quite pleased with my dedication and commitment to the gym this past year. It helps greatly that I can train during my lunch hours because my office is close to the gym. And there’s half a dozen others I can go to when I am out doing errands. So many options but I typically stick to the Deerfoot (lunch time) and Eau Claire (weekends) locations.
Even though the Eau Claire location is a bit of a dump, I can walk there and back because it’s only three kilometres one way along the Bow River. That takes care of my warm up and cool down.
My consistency has been spot on all year and I feel good. Mind you I am not winning any weight lifting or bikini contests. I am just putting in the time to keep my body strong and improve my running. Just like with anything I have my bad days and my good days.
At lunch I see the same people again and again. We nod or sometimes make small talk about how busy the gym is or the weather. It’s good to see familiar faces, and it gives my mood a lift especially on those days I do not want to be there.
I like an empty gym because I don’t have to wait for benches or machines. Rarely that happens but at this time of the year it’s great because most people are out shopping or whatever. I’ve been lucky this past weekend because both gyms have been relatively quiet.
While I consider myself a trail runner posing as a weight lifter (chasing after vegan gains), I am enjoying my time at the gym for the most part. I’ve been changing up my program regularly so I am not completely bored. Although I need to throw in more lower body training.
One day I would love to have some visible muscle in my arms without the aid of a microscope.
My weird YouTube obsession
I’ve been checking into some lifting Facebook groups and watching videos on YouTube. In fact, I am obsessed with watching Muscle & Strength videos particularly videos in the line of “what bodybuilders eat for breakfast” or “grocery shopping with professional bodybuilders.”
Yup. I know it’s weird. These guys (and gals) can really put it away. Now I have no desire to eat like these athletes (especially because they eat meat and meat products) but I am just fascinated with it.
Do you lift weights to improve your running or to stay strong? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.