My 2018 - This is my Hobby: Exercising At The Gym
This is an entry post to a contest held by @anomadsoul, for more information check the link: CONTEST: My 2018 - This is my Hobby
My hobby, my passion. You wanna know my passion? You need to do some quick psychoanalysis first. Let's travel back in time, some 20 years ago.
There I am, @ruth-girl, a fat kid that abstains from intense physical activities like running, cycling, playing hide and seek (needs running, I sucked at it) and so on. @ruth-girl would not leave the house very often because she could not ride a bike to meet with the other children that rode across the village. She could not play most of the games they played, because she sucked (or at least that's what she thought). In summers, instead of wandering around with her friends she turned into a couch potato spending her hours watching TV series on replay.
Years go by, @ruth-girl goes to high school, an overweight teenager, a cool geek that has a sense of humour but an excessive 20 kilo burden on her body as well. High school ends and university life begins. The first year of dependent independence is not filled with parties, but devouring unhealthy snacks from her local supermarket (Gosh! what a variety supermarkets in the big city have!).
On her second year, @ruth-girl meets a boy and suddenly realises that, hey! a guy actually noticed us (because I occupied space for two girls at the time). Perhaps you should try and loose some weight just to feel better with yourself. And @ruth-girl tried by going on a diet. On her third year, @ruth-girl had managed to shed off 15 kilos, but then her scales got stuck. The solution was one and only... she had to exercise. Oh, boy! She hated it. She got so bored. She joined a gym, but didn't stick around for more than 2 months.
She then had to do something else, so she started home training. And for almost 2 years @ruth-girl would transform her bedroom into a gym for an hour and a half on a daily basis. Those 2 years pass and Ruthie decides to join a gym and give this place a second chance. After all, she was getting bored with home training as she didn't have the equipment she needed.
And there she was, autumn of 2014 joining a gym in her hometown. Sticking to a programme. Meeting new people. Learning new things, training techniques and how to keep a right posture. And she liked it.
For once in her miserably inactive life, she was doing something she actually enjoyed! With her earphones on and loud music playing on her mp3 she was dancing around the gym in between sets, singing along and cheering her new friends. She even got in aerobic classes, which turned out to energise her more than tire her. Steppers, rubber bands, TRX straps were her new toys and her mood boost after every training session was kind of addictive.
After all this you can understand what my hobby is... exercising. I find it exhilarating! Cheering! And the cheapest form of psychotherapy one could ask for (Don't you think spending 20-30 eurs a month on a gym membership is less than four psychoanalyst sessions?). I rarely skip gym days. I fact, it's the only appointment I never miss. Even on days that my time is limited, I try to go there just for those 40 minutes of an escape from reality to make weekdays better! For a few months I had managed to get a friend of mine join the same gym and we would practise together, sadly she moved to London where she found a new job and lost my gym-partner. But life goes on...
I even tried to "recruit" people I met there on Steemit, but without much success. Most seemed suspicious of what I was I talking about and couldn't believe that Steemit was not a scam. So, I just kept smiling and lifting my dumbells :P
Why I am so passionate about it? Because in combination with the music I get to channel all the energy I have and have fun at the same time. Because I feel like I'm doing something beneficial for myself (I have been trough times when I overdid it, but I believe I keep a healthy balance now). Because no matter how stressed, sad or angry I am sometimes I can go there and forget everything. Because... because I have finally found something to be passionate about and it is not another person (friend, family or lover), it's just myself.
The truth is, I've also had some problems, probably owing to the hard trainings I had back in 2015 in combination with the years of obesity that put some extra strain on my skeleton. Some knee and back issues that forced me to slow down and not be able to keep up with a pace I enjoy and helps me let off steam. But I 've learnt to adjust my training according to my body's abilities and restrictions. I am not like those muscular hot chicks you see on instagram videos. I still let myself have that ball of ice cream and those chips with my beer. I am a woman that exercises not because she wants to wear that killer bikini on the beach this summer, but I simply, f*cking LOVE IT!
TL;DR
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BPPzKgMEFXA/WrYrb8XGxzI/AAAAAAAABlw/EFuRksyGZFcWotqOwLnbsQ-kgjc6x54MQCLcBGAs/s200/IMG_20171024_144635.jpg)
I love hitting the gym because it gives me so much positive energy and helps me release stress. I go there every day, even if it is for a very quick training. Membership doesn't cost me more than 30 euros a month. I go there alone, but have met a lot of people during those four years I am a regular member, so I always have someone to talk to. For some this might sound like a beautified torture-session, but for me training has become almost an obsession ;)
Some of my favorite tracks for warm-up
And then something more smooth for relaxation and stretching
I hope I got to give you some of my enthusiasm. If we were at the gym together I'm sure it would be a lot easier, but a girl's gotta try anyway that she can!
Thanks for reading through, guys! :)
*All images by @ruth-girl
This is an incredibly important insight beautiful Ruth 😊
Lots of love to you! 😘
Yes but:
Ruth is clearly trying to bankrupt your profession.
Do you still feel all that love toward her, eh?
I'm not trying to sabotage her profession, I'm just presenting an alternative that lots of professionals suggest :P
And who are these professionals? Are you saying Abigail is sabotaging herself?
Hmm. I think Abigail needs to see a shrink.
😂😅
Thank you sweet Abi!! :)
I owe a lot to exercise, it has given me so much confidence and helped me become more sociable and outgoing. It's true that I worked out (see the pun?) personal issues along with my biceps and thighs :P
I just wish I could pass it on to others that faced similar issues with extra weight.
Hugs and kisses back to you!! 😘😘😘
One of the best hobbies, if you ask me. You get to improve your health, have fun, learn new skills and enhance your aesthetics. I'm unaware of too many hobbies which gives so many benefits.
I hope you stay healthy enough to continue your hobby forever.
Every hobby involving physical activity has double effects, in my opinion. They work as antistressants and help you maintain a healthy fitness level.
Thanks for the wishes! :)
This reminds me a lot of myself. Except I was never fat.
But I hated sports. Still do. I got into food and later exercise for health reasons. I used to eat whatever, now I cook and eat healthy. And I lift. I tried the gym, and like you said I dropped after 2-3 months. More than twice. So I chose to home-train, bodyweight initially and then weights. And I like it now. And never missed a session for years.
Difference is, I understand what I'm doing. No one had even explained nutrition to me at the gym. I have to know why I'm doing something, otherwise it's really hard for me to do it. I'm still a home-trainer, didn't make the transition back to the gym. I just can't justify the waste of time, the time it would take me to get there, get back, wait by sweaty machines for others' turn, occasionally contract gastroenteritis, etc. :P
Shhh. Abi and Erica and others of their ilk might hear you...
If I had the space and equipment I would probaly still keep home-training. Who knows, maybe when I get rich from steemit I'll manage to have my super duper home-gym!
And yes, I do waste time to get there and then back home, it's the parking space hunt that bothers me most (I don't live in the town but a village 4km away) but one good thing is, it is rarely crowded during the hours I visit it, so I have it almost for myself (and a couple of more people that happen to be around).
Do you think Abi and Erika will take it as an undermining of their job? :P
I'm of the opinion that every house currently being built should have a gym room. If there will be 4 people living in the house (parents + 2 kids), you're saving countless money long-term for all these gym memberships, and also avoiding pouring more gas into the atmosphere.
However, there might be things we can't predict. Cars can become environment-friendly, for instance. There are social aspects to the gym, that may be beneficial. And also the gym shoulders any cost of future equipment that you may be unable to shoulder yourself. It can always update itself quicker than you can, cos it spreads the cost to its members.
However, so many years have gone by and we're still doing the same lifts Schwarzenegger was doing!
I think we'll become robots before we figure out a fundamentally new way to train! :P
But who knows.
I think mostly it's just personality. Some people prefer the social environment of the gym, and some people can't bear to smell other people's sweaty armpits! :P
I could not agree more on a home-gym just because you can go there whenever you like, dressed however you like, train whichever way you llike. If only the equipment was not that expensive...
Personality plays a major role and at a gym you can always choose whether you want to enroll for aerobics, weight training, dance, martial arts or even personal training. So, I guess they have lots of people covered :)
The story seems familiar, I think you wrote about it before, right? Not in that much detail, but enough, that I knew this part was right in your facts the other day.
Hehe.. was wondering, if it would trigger a reaction, if I "ignored" the ankle straps. My favorites actually.. didn't you promise to send the photo in high res? 😇😎
I mention this on every chance given. It has been a life-changing decision, so it's inevitable not to talk about it ;)
Hmm, did I promise anything like this? I don't remember... 😇😇😇
You promised ✌️ I wouldn't forget 😇
Good for you! Exercising really is the best mood enhancer, I've found. While I've never found any great passion for going to the gym, I do get addicted to jogging. I worked my way up to going on six mile runs, five days a week.
Now I've got a job in the city and commuting doesn't leave time for running. But strangely I've lost 15 lbs from walking around the city - and maybe from not having time to eat.
Well, as long as you can find a sort of exercise that suits your body capacities and lifestyle you are good!
I guess every cloud has a silver lining. At least you could go running at the weekends, no?
τέλειο Post :)! κι εμένα μ'αρέσει το γυμναστήριο .αλλά σαν υποστηρικτικό για κάποιο άθλημα(για όλα τα αθλήματα είναι απαραίτητη η ενδυνάμωση)
αν πήγαινα μόνο γυμναστήριο κάποια στιγμή θα το παράταγα,χαχα
Ευχαριστώ Μάριε!! Πρέπει πάντα να βρίσκεις το είδος προπόνησης που σου ταιριάζει και αγαπάς! Ιδέα! λέω εγώ τώρα, γιατί δεν κάνεις μια ανάλογη συμμετοχή στον ίδιο διαγωνισμό; ;)
το σκέφτηκα,αλλά είδα τους κανόνες και ζαλίστηκα,ζητάει πολλά λόγια και δεν το χω!
I love your hobby and the motivational story you describe!
The most important thing about it, is how you feel now and that your way of life has changed to the better!
Keep up motivating us girl!
Sometimes I even thought about joining trainers' courses and become an aerobics coach as a part-time job. But I still enjoy what I do and I could not leave my students :)
Thank you @katerinaramm for the encouraging comment!
I think it would be great, sharing a passion can motivate many girls (and not only) to find power in them.
For the success is not only in the achievement, one needs to find their 'trigger' and to give it a try before :)
I think that this will further inspire your writing, too!
p.s. I might write about a hobby of mine too .. still thinking about it :P
Exactly! Once you've found your trigger nothing can stop you!
Hurry up! The entries' deadline is on Monday! :)
I will say one thing: bravo! For your courage and your tenacity to have come to fulfill the fulfillment of your wish. To be beautiful, well in your skin and in shape. You have plenty of resources my beautiful @ruth-girl
Thank you so much for your sweet words @marie2018!!
That is to want to overcome and leave what makes you wrong, it is impressive what you share, there are many people who get stuck and do not leave their environment, you decided to achieve the goal you had in mind and so it happened, is a great example of overcoming, everyone should follow your example and be better people...
Thank you @marlongonzalez! People should be motivated :)
I'm not sure of what I like more... the life lesson of your post or the main photo! Both are great, but the photo is very creative and made me to visit the post (and read it all after all)!
Thank you @vovask! :)
The photo is a few months old to be honest, but it fit perfectly in this post :P