Fear and loathing at the gym

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Contact: Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor
M1 lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

» A novice’s attempts at fitness

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

have never been a gym person.

I have been blessed by a fast
metabolism that allows me to eat
whatever I want without major
physical consequences. I’m also
privileged to be male and by
extension not be ridiculously
judged by the size of me or
any part of my body by society.
I've never been particularly
buff, but I’ve never had the
desire to exercise thoroughly.

Let’s face it; the vast majority

of us don’t like the gym. The
only ones who do are fitness
enthusiasts who have spent lots
of time making it a routine habit,
and even then Id be willing to
bet most of them didn’t enjoy it
for a while. The gym is a scary
and daunting place—it’s full of
machines that seem ready to rip
your organs apart, and muscular
humanoids who could also
perhaps rip your organs apart.
It’s enough to frighten many
people away: the overweight,
skinny, or just awkward and
intimidated—like me.

was a good time to conquer

my fear of the gym. It wasn’t so

: mucha New Year’s resolution

: as I just had four hours to kill

: between classes and decided to

: take advantage of my free campus
: membership. Many Douglas

: students are unaware that the

: gym is free for all students. Both

Like many, I decided January campuses have one, and heaven

: knows we pay enough in fees to
: take advantage of the program.

My designated first gym day

: came. As luck would have it, my
: prof cancelled the morning class.
: [considered going to campus

: before my next class and working :
: out anyway, but decided to

: sleep until noon and watch The

(¥Y Study now, summer later

This issue:

(¥ Becoming a master of your time

(¥Y Beauty on a Budget

And more!

  

: Simpsons reruns all day before
: my evening course. Hey, I’ve been :
: doing it for years—old habits
: die hard. | live by the words

: of Homer Simpson: “Trying is
: the first step towards failure.”

I tried again the next day. I

: walked by the New West campus
: gym—an all-girls fitness course

Image via thinkstock

: was currently in progress inside. I
: walked past the gym and resolved
: to try again in a few hours.

Later that day, I by chance

: ran into a friend and mentioned
? my gym ambitions. As luck would
: have it, he’s a gym regular and

: accompanied me to show me

: the ropes and do his own regular
: workout. I quickly learned

: the fundamental points of the

: gym: barbells, bikes, treadmills,
: and speakers blaring “Hotline

: Bling” and “This Is How We

: Do It.” I only did a quick half-

: hour workout to get my heart

: rate going and find out what

: I’m comfortable with. And at

: the end of it—I felt great. We

: agreed to meet regularly on the

: designated gym day, and it looks
: like P've got a new habit formed.

Gyms are daunting, but it

: turns out they aren't actually
: Hell on Earth. They’re a place

to get healthy and to challenge

: and perhaps even surprise

: yourself. The feeling one gets

: after a workout really is as great

: as what the gym rats will have

: you believe. If you can work up

: the courage, step foot inside one.
: At the very least, you'll learn

: something about yourself.

 

We can rebuild

» Becoming faster, better, stronger

Ayanda K. Gatsha
Contridutor

he infamous resolution of

fitness. It’s a mainstream
cliché to want to get fit, quit
halfway into the year for whatever
reason, then feel so unsatisfied
and swear you'll get it on the
next resolution. The following
is an investigation to help to
stop that cycle and get healthy.
We look at what fitness is, what
goes on behind the scenes,
and from there, it’s up to you
to own this 2016 resolution!

Nutrition

Firstly, nutrition is a critical
component to consider. You
eat, your body breaks the food
apart and extracts the energy
from the food, and then you
can be as active as you want!
What’s important about the
food you eat is what it actually
is, the rate, and the portion.

Dieticians in this day
and age have verified the best
way to eat is a personalized

: balanced diet of all food groups
: in specific proportions. The

: metabolism is understood as the
: burning of calories from food

? consumption which provides

: energy that facilitates bodily

: functions, helping you be more
: active. So with proper nutrition
: and sufficient hydration, your

: body will be ready to work

: towards your fitness goals.

Cardio

Now, cardio training

: requires a good awareness of your
: minimum and maximum target

: heart rates. The best method to

: sort out these details is to go toa

: credible physician, or utilize gym
: machines that have been built

: for those assessment purposes.

The benefits of improving

: your heart rate will be felt when

: your heart pumps more oxygen

: carrying blood to your body

: because it’s been getting stronger
: and more muscular. Cardio

: will initially feel uncomfortable

: because your heart hasn't

: adapted to your regime.

: Strength

Limits are humbling, but like

: muscles, you can challenge them!
: There are at least 650 known

: muscles in the body. While their

: memorization Is not important,

: it is crucial to understand the

: certain parts you will be training.
: It’s very important to consider

: all parts of the body rather than

: just abs, arms, or butts. Joints

: from knees to elbows are very

: critical in playing a foundational

: role for many complex workouts!
: When it comes to muscle, if

: cardio, diet, rest, and sleep are

: taken care of, all your worries

: need to be focused on is tearing

: your muscles apart, then letting

: the body do damage control

: and bring them back together

: bigger, stronger, and better!

In conclusion, take things

: slow and safe when picking a

: variety of active exercises, follow

: guidelines of gym rules, have a

: workout buddy to spot for you

: and help you stay motivated, and
: enjoy letting your body own 2016.

 

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