This week of hotel workouts served as a great reminder of the meaning of the common phrase, “You do you.”
After taking last week off from workouts because of skiing (seemed unsafe and crazy to try to do intense strength workouts while skiing new terrain that was very tough for me), I was DETERMINED to get back to 80 Day Obsession this week even though I was traveling again. I made sure my hotel had free weights, brought my 80DO resistance bands with me on the trip, decided I would modify any move that needed floor sliders (either do them without the sliders or use hotel workout towels under my feet), and pull up the workout on the Beachbody On Demand app on my phone (since every single workout in this program is different, I needed to watch it in order to do it- no doing it from memory or workout sheets like I have with other programs in the past).
The flaw in my plan: no matter what time of day I hit the hotel gym, there were ALWAYS people in there. Luckily I had some blue tooth headphones so I could prop my phone up and listen to it privately. I’m not sure I would have had the guts to broadcast it to the entire small gym even though everyone else in there seemed to be wired into their own thing. I’ve done that before but only with friends who were doing it with me (power in numbers, people) and doing it solo required a little more courage.
The first day I certainly felt a little odd but also simultaneously bold and empowered.
Here’s what happened: every single day that I was in there, there were multiple other people in there not doing the standard/expected 20 minutes on the elliptical then maybe a quick bicep workout (no shame in that- I’ve done “the standard” many times).
There was a 20-something guy in there boldly doing some kind of crazy ninja-style workout doing a series of kicks and punches using light weights, all the while using his breath to increase the force he was throwing out (quite a sight with lots of sound effects). There was a person in there doing a series of alternating sprints and heavy leg presses. There was a woman in there doing her own circuit of moves on the other side of the gym. There was an older gentleman walking on the treadmill while typing on his laptop which was precariously perched on the treadmill screen (a TOTAL kindred spirit from my college days of doing the same thing)!
At any given time, the gym was full of all different types of people doing all types of different things to get to the common goal of HEALTH and FITNESS. On top of everything, everyone was SO COURTEOUS to make space for everyone else, return the weights immediately so they could be used by others, and to be considerate of whatever each person was doing.
Here’s what I learned:
*With some modifications and resourcefulness, it is possible to still stay in your workout routine no matter where you are
*It may feel a little weird or funny to do a different type of workout in front of other people (I have been taking at-home workouts SO for granted!), but if it’s your thing- do it anyway! You may even be inspiring the strangers around you!
*Intentionally look for the sense of connection among a group of people all working toward a common goal in their own ways. Appreciate and respect the other kindred spirits who are all seeking to better their health!
*Nobody is actually thinking much at all about what you’re doing so whatever your thing is, YOU DO YOU!
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