So it took me over 9 months to join a gym.
I’m not going to rattle off my long list of “reasons” (*cough* excuses *cough*) why it took so long. Instead, let me share with you how good it feels to be running again, to be lifting weights. Maybe I’m just imagining my arms firming up, leg muscles becoming more defined. Is it too early to tell? Maybe. But it’s not too early to feel good about making healthy decisions.
There are a few aspects of my life I can’t control.
I can’t control what’s served in the school lunch, but I can control what I choose to eat.
I can’t control the monsoon, but I can join an indoor gym.
I can’t control afterschool/weekend teacher trips, but I can workout at 6am.
I can’t control the hills I encounter every day, but I can work on my leg muscles and do more cardio.
I’ve known all of this for quite some time. But the right thing is not always the easy thing. The first spurt of my year here, I was in vacation mode. Gotta eat/do/try everything. After life here started feeling more like, um, life, I cooked up all sorts of reasons why joining a gym wasn’t for me. I could work out in my apartment. (Yea, right. To the one workout DVD I have saved on my computer?) It would be a waste of money. I wouldn’t go. I should start eating healthy BEFORE I get active again or else it’s a waste. Wrong wrong wrong.
The gym is literally a 3 minute walk from school, so I’ve been going immediately after school, before I have time to change my mind.
You gotta do what you can. Whatever you can. And although I sometimes indulge in sweet and sour chicken or tempuraed sweet potatoes or a double helping of chop jae at lunch, running 5k after work is the least I can do. The afternoon is a key time to work out, as the 4-6pm window is usually when not-so-healthy food decisions occur.
I once read that it takes 16 days of doing something in order to make it a habit. It’s been a week. I have 84 days left in Korea. I’d like to leave this place feeling more energized than when I arrived.
On another note, there are a few contraptions at my gym that I’ve only seen here. Sometimes I feel like I’m competing with the guy next to me as we stare into the mirror, game faces on, lifting weights. I made friends with a few nice ladies this morning in the locker room. “See you tomorrow!” People watching at a gym here is great. There are funny little moments that happen, subtle nuances, and from time to time a totally “I can’t believe he/she did that!” or two.
Right now I’m off to walk into a cave, ride a boat, and sing karaoke on a bus with some teachers until tomorrow night, though. More to come.
fiat lux 