My Trip To The Gym!

I finally made it to the gym today!  This is not my first trip to the gym since arriving in Afghanistan, but I did allow a significant amount of time to pass between visits.  I have never liked the gym environment; it stems from an ongoing battle with social anxiety.  Working nights, all I want to do after work is curl up in bed and stay there as long as possible.  Waking up to go to the gym is not an easy task and does not allow for maximum sleep between shifts.  Therefore, I decided it was best to workout after work.

My schedule prior to this change consisted of leaving work around 7am, walking back to my room, and catching up with my roommates.  Out of respect for my roommates and their schedule, I don’t lay down until they leave for work around 845am.  Today, I left work around 7am, walked back to my room, changed into my physical training uniform (PTs) while catching up with my roommates, and went to the gym. 

The closest gym is about two city blocks away from where I reside.  Two very dusty city blocks away, crossing four roads and walking along a concrete side walk to reach the entrance of what my roommate calls Jail Gym.  I have yet to figure out why it has this nickname, but I think it’s because it’s not as nice as the NATO funded gym.  I would compare and contrast the two gyms for you, but I haven’t made it to the NATO gym yet.  All I know is that you have to change your shoes upon entry. 

The Jail Gym is run by the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) organization which is Army funded.  It has all the basics of a gym in multiples.  You walk in the door, flash your military ID, sign in on the roster and you are good to workout!  To the immediate left there is a help desk to sign out lifting equipment or to just grab a small pink sweat towel.  Once you pass the desk, there is a door that leads to a padded workout room on your right complete with inflated rubber balls for abdominal workouts.  Continuing past this room, on the left is free weights, benches, pull up stations, and various machines with a mirror lined wall.  On the right are three rows of cardiovascular equipment.  The back row is made up of 17 treadmills, in front of that row the elliptical machines take up residence, and the front row contains stair climbers of every variety.  This equipment faces the mirror lined wall and all sorts of weight lifting equipment.  At the very end of the building is a little table.  This table caused me quite a fuss my first day in the gym.

I did not know this table was where you signed for a treadmill.  The treadmills are the only piece of equipment you have to sign a clipboard to use.  My first visit to the gym, I signed in, took a quick gander around the gym, and walked straight to the treadmills.  I strategically chose one, turned on my iPod, and quickly became confused as to why this machine was not working.  The guy on the treadmill next to me was nice enough to tell me I had to sign for an emergency stop button that magnetically connected to the machine.  I thanked him and walked along the behind the treadmills in the direction he pointed until I ran into someone I thought worked at this gym.  I was wrong, but he walked me to this little table. 

Knowing this valuable information, I walked into the gym, grabbed a little pink towel and walked straight to the treadmill table.  The guy sitting at the table handing out the magnetic buttons was reading a newspaper.  I asked him if there was anything good in it today.  I think our language barrier interfered because he pointed to the hanging magnets on the wall behind him and said, “Which one is the good one?”  I replied with a smile and simply said, “Yes” leaving him in just as much confusion as I felt appropriate for such a misinterpretation.  He handed me button number 11 and I was on my way. 

Treadmills and I don’t exactly get along.  Some days are better than others, though I prefer to run outdoors.  Today was not a good day for me and the treadmill.  I started off feeling great, so I gradually increased the speed until I was comfortable.  My workout music blasting in my ears, I was off to a great workout.  I started running into the bar that guards you from running into the computer board, so I increased my speed some more, smiling that I was doing so well.  Then I thought I was going to fall off the back of the treadmill, so I slowed the speed a little.  Again, I was running into the bar, so I increased the speed.  I started feeling the effects of not working out in a while, so I made a small goal to make it to a certain time.  I made it to that time and decided to pause the workout for a quick gulp of water.  I pressed the pause button and the machine slowed to a stop.

I grabbed my water bottle, took a sip and searched the machine for the “enter” button to get right back to where I was in my work out.  I guess I took too long because the machine shut off.  Disgruntled, I restarted my workout.  I decided to add some incline and work at the slower speed thinking this would give me a good workout without running into the bar.  My thinking was successful; however, increasing the incline adds more of a workout for different muscles.  I decided to power through and gave myself a new time oriented goal. 

With my best angry face, I focused on the TV along the mirrored wall and zoned out.  In my peripheral vision, I noticed a shiny bald head walking the path between the workout equipment and the cardiovascular machines.  I looked over to see that my COL was this shiny bald head.  All of a sudden my angry face turned into a clown face.  Eyebrows raised high with a big goofy grin on my face and finalized with a big wave, I grabbed the attention of my COL.  He politely smiled, gave me a small wave and continued on his tour of the gym.  He was most likely looking for a workout partner, and thankfully, I was not this person.  But my initial thought after this performance was, “What the hell was that?”  I had to look pretty goofy going from an angry face to a clown face, and for what?  I don’t even know the answer.

I got back from the gym in time for my roommates to leave, caught a shower and was curled up sleeping by 9am, turning wasted time into productivity.  Perfect.