November 20, 2025 • 43 mins
Send Naihomy encouraging words!💕
We answer real questions about choosing a gym, leaving one that no longer fits, and how to build a training routine that sticks. From safety and budget to progression and recovery, we share what actually drives results and why strength supports long-term health.
• choosing a gym by distance, cost, safety, cleanliness, and culture
• using guest passes and trials before committing
• matching classes, equipment, and coaching to specific goals
• when to leave a gym and what trade-offs to expect
• switching to the YMCA for access, value, and proximity
• training solo with a simple plan and headphones
• what to pack: water, electrolytes, protein, creatine, wraps
• progressive overload as the driver of strength and results
• home vs gym: equipment limits and seasons of life
• strength for mood, bone density, insulin sensitivity, and aging well
• reframing weight loss toward body composition and recovery
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Thank you so much for listening!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker (00:41):
Hello, friends.
Welcome back to the podcast.
I hope you have been working onadjusting your wellness to the
winter season, like I spokeabout in the previous episode.
And in due fashion, as I tendto start new wellness things in
(01:02):
November, this month I startedat a new gym at my local YMCA.
And on my very first day, Iforgot my headphones, and I was
so extremely sad about it.
And I posted a story onInstagram on how I was starting
a new gym and how I forgot myheadphones, and I was really
(01:24):
upset.
And I went through a gazilliondifferent options in my brain at
the same time.
Should I leave and go get myheadphones?
Should I leave and not do myworkout?
Should I stay and do myworkout?
Just a bunch of things.
And because it was my firstday, I just gave myself some
grace, although we should havegrace with ourselves all the
(01:44):
time.
And I decided that it was okayif my workout didn't look like
how I was expecting it to lookand how it was okay for me to
work out without music.
I really wanted it as a safetyblanket.
I really wanted my headphonesand the music as a safety
blanket.
(02:05):
And I was also looking forwardto listening to music while I
worked out.
Now, I got a DM from acommunity member on Instagram
asking a ton of questions aboutthe gym.
And that is exactly what I'mgoing to be answering for you
(02:25):
here today.
And if you want your questionsanswered too, feel free to go
ahead and email me, send me a DMif you have wellness questions.
And I'm happy, happy, happy todo a QA right here on the
podcast so that we can learntogether.
And it feels more likecommunity interaction instead of
(02:49):
me talking into a microphonewhile staring at my wall.
Although I know you'relistening.
So thank you so much.
And by the way, if you havegained anything from this
episode or this podcast, pleasego ahead and share, rate,
review, and really support us bydoing those things, right?
(03:12):
This is how we grow, how we getto share information with our
community, and it lets me knowthat you're listening on top of
that.
So thank you so much.
Now let's get into thesequestions, right?
I've been consistently going tothe gym or working out for the
(03:32):
past nine years.
This month is my nine-yearanniversary or eight years.
I need to count.
Is it eight?
Let me see.
I think it's eight.
Whoops.
Um, eight-year anniversarygoing to the gym or working out.
And I say either or because wealso lived through a whole
pandemic where we weren'tallowed to go to the gym or be
(03:54):
in workout groups, and I stillcontinued to work out here in my
home using the Peloton app.
I ended up buying a spin bike.
Um, I had small weights, likewhatever I could, whatever
resources I had, I used duringthat time.
So, however, this episode isspecifically about gym questions
(04:20):
that a community member wasinterested in.
So, one of the first questionsthat they asked was, How do you
choose a gym?
Okay, I know that gyms are veryintimidating places, and they
are for me too.
I get really intimidated byseeing a bunch of equipment, by
(04:41):
seeing a bunch of people inthere working out, especially
dudes who are hogging up all themachines or the weight racks
and things like that.
And I get very self-consciouswhen people look at me,
especially in a new gym, oryeah, and a lot of times it's in
our heads, and a lot of timesit's not.
(05:03):
So, how do you choose a gym?
I would say do your research towhat gyms are around you, do
ask them for a guest pass.
Usually, a lot of gyms andworkout places have a guest pass
or a trial period where you canuse the gym without commitment.
(05:26):
I like to personally choose agym that's not too far away and
takes up a lot of commutingtime.
I think the max for me is likea 20-minute drive, and even then
it's pushing it.
I like for it to be 10 to 15minutes max.
So, yes, it has to be a placewhere I can get to quickly
(05:48):
because then it takes up timefrom your workout.
You need to add that time in.
So it's a whole 40 minutes ofjust commuting.
So let's say you have to add anhour to your workout in order
to commute to and from the gym.
So sometimes it's cute.
There are certain gyms andthey're really far away, but the
(06:11):
distance can really be abarrier to you showing up or
not.
So that's one thing.
How far is it from your home?
I wish I could walk to my gym,but I cannot.
There is none walking distance.
But thankfully, I have accessto a car, I drive, and there are
(06:32):
options nearby.
Now, another thing I like toconsider when choosing a gym is
the environment.
Do I feel safe in there?
How are the people treating me?
Not only the staff, but alsothe customers or the patrons
that attend the gym.
Uh, and it's not necessarilylike we need to be best friends,
(06:55):
but also I don't appreciatepeople being rude to me.
I used to go to this gym nearmy house, and there was one time
where I left because I justfelt really unsafe, and that was
after Trump won the election.
A bunch of old dudes came inthere wearing Trump's shirts,
like they freaking coordinatedthis, and I was so insanely
(07:18):
uncomfortable just by watchingthis that I kind of left early.
I did not hang around.
I was just like, I finished myworkout class and then I left.
Um, so yes, making sure thatyou feel safe, that you feel
welcome, that your needs arelistened to, that you're able to
talk to people and get answers.
(07:40):
Another thing that's importantto the gym is cleanliness.
This gym I was going to was notthe cleanest, however, it had
attributes that I was lookingfor.
It had group classes that werereally good, it had a sauna that
I was looking for, and it wasreally big and had a lot of
equipment.
So I never felt like I had towait for anything.
(08:00):
And this is a really long list,by the way.
We always have to kind of giveand take or make sacrifices of
some sort or continuously figureit out.
As I said, I'm no longer atthat gym and I had to figure it
out.
Um, another thing I like tokeep in mind is what are you
looking for?
Do you want a gym that hasgroup classes?
(08:22):
Do you not want is thatimportant to you?
Is the equipment important toyou?
Is the wait times important toyou?
So those are things to get intoconsideration.
At first, having group classeswas something really important
to me because they're fun, theybuild community, and so on and
so forth.
However, group classes are notnecessarily what's going to get
(08:48):
me to my specific goal.
So that's another thing.
I think group classes are greatto start building the habit of
going to the gym because youhave a place to be by a specific
time.
You start to kind of makefriends with the people that go
to these classes.
However, depending on what yourgoal is and if you've already
(09:11):
built that habit of showing upand exercise as part of your
world, then we start need tostart going deeper down the
rabbit hole of is this going toget you to the results that
you're looking for?
Okay.
Which if you're inperimenopause or you're trying
(09:31):
to lose fat and gain muscle andnot get hurt and recover well,
sometimes group classes, anddepending on how often you're
going to these classes, is notgoing to be the most effective.
Okay.
So that's something to keep inmind too.
And also, is this within yourbudget?
(09:51):
That's really important.
There are gyms that are thathave different price points, and
that is something that you needto take into consideration
because it's going to be anadded investment to your monthly
budget.
So these are all things I lookfor.
Um, in the particular gym Iwent to that I'm no longer at.
(10:13):
I also wanted at that point inmy life to hire a personal
trainer.
So they had personal trainers,some gyms don't.
And I went and interviewed andtalked to a few of them and told
them specifically what I waslooking for, and I got matched
up with one.
So if personal training isimportant to you, then that is
(10:35):
something to look for.
If you're going to use an app,if you have a personal trainer
already and they give you a planand you just have to execute on
that plan, that's an optiontoo.
Like there's many, many, manydifferent options.
And again, I'm giving a lot ofsuggestions, and you can take an
idea or leave it, right?
(10:56):
So, yes, price point isdefinitely part of it.
There are some gyms that arecrazy expensive or like group
fitness classes, and then thereare some that are most cost
effective.
And I always recommend for myclients to do some research
because there are alwaysbusinesses or gyms around that
(11:18):
you never knew existed, even ifyou've been living in that
neighborhood forever, like Ihave been.
Okay, the second question iswhat makes you leave one?
So it just depends, right?
Like maybe you can't affordthat gym anymore.
Maybe what you went for thatgym, what you signed up for in
(11:42):
the first place is not meetingyour needs anymore.
So the reason why I left myprevious gym is for two reasons.
One, my trainer was no longergonna be there, and two, I would
go to the group fitness classesthat my trainer would teach.
And since he wasn't gonna bethere anymore, and the trainers
(12:05):
that were there, I did notreally enjoy how they taught the
classes, and I didn'tnecessarily go to this gym
outside of those times.
I would go twice a week there,one day to to do personal
training, and the other day totake my trainer's group fitness
class.
And I didn't go to the gymoutside from that, then and it
(12:29):
was a big expense for me.
That gym was not cheap.
So I decided that I was gonnaleave because my trainer moved
on to another gym, and I decidedto continue training with them
at their other location.
So, again, as I mentioned,everything is a give and take
(12:50):
because what did I lose out onby not staying at this previous
gym?
I losed out on the sauna, whichis really important for my
mental health, especially duringthe winter.
I love to be in there and Ilove how it warms up my bones
and is also a really good way todetox.
It's also a really good way tohelp your body manage stress,
(13:12):
all these things.
And there's no current placefor me to use a sauna that's
included in a service, so Imissed out on that, and also the
community that I had alreadyconnected with there, I lose
lost out on that, and groupclasses in the schedule and the
days and the times where I wasgoing there.
(13:34):
Now I went to the other gymwhere my trainer works, and I
get to do one-on-one training.
I can continue to do that, butit's in a much smaller gym, so
there is not as much equipment.
Okay, so I was there for awhile, and but I also got to
expand my training.
So, aside from weight trainingor only weight training, I
(13:57):
incorporated kickboxing, andthat was great for me.
So I increased the day that Iwent to the gym, so now I went
three days instead of two, and Idid get community to a certain
extent, not necessarily in groupclasses, but there's always
other people there training.
So I get to be aroundindividuals, right?
(14:18):
So this is this is the reasonwhy I left one, and it's just
like if it's just not meetingyour needs anymore, if you found
something else, if you're doinga different strategy, if you
found something that's morewithin your budget, or maybe
you're feeling unsafe there,right?
You get to trust your intuitiontoo.
You get to decide to gowhenever you need to, or maybe
(14:43):
you're leveling up, right?
That's another thing, and andwhatever location is not meeting
your needs anymore to a certainextent.
So then I moved over.
Um, and I decided to join thenthe Y, the YMCA gym, and that
(15:04):
was because I transitioned frommy trainer from two days a week,
from three days a week to twodays a week.
And it's really important forme to train three days a week.
I wanted to continue that,however, because the gym that my
trainer's at is very small, andI was only doing personal
(15:24):
training with them twice a week,one strength training and one
boxing day, then I said, okay, Ineed to incorporate a third
day.
How am I gonna do that?
Now, my partner, my kids, myhubs, and my kids are already
part of the YMCA.
So for me to join the YMCAunder the family membership was
(15:47):
over half the price of the othergym I left.
So extremely cost effective.
Again, going back to how muchit costs is important, and it's
really big, it has a bunch ofequipment from squat racks to
(16:08):
machines to cardio machines,it's just it's just well suited,
like they have a vast amount ofequipment in that gym, and it's
also nice and clean, and it's awhole it's less than 10-minute
drive from my house.
That to me is amazing becauseit gives me even more time to
(16:30):
work out when my round trip uhtime is 14 minutes, which is one
way barely to this otherlocation.
All right, so that's anotherthing that we spoke about,
right?
Like how long does it take youto get there and back?
Because that time impacts howlong you're working out.
Because unless you're anathlete and this is all you're
(16:51):
doing all day, you have alimited amount of time for your
workout and you want to make themost of it.
So, one, it was cost effective,my family already goes there.
If I needed to walk there, Icould because it's so close, and
that was the other piece.
It's so close.
Then it's also really big.
(17:13):
Now, they do have classes atthe Y too that I get to take
advantage of, but in looking atthe schedule, nothing really
aligns with my schedule asidefrom a Saturday spin class that
I still haven't been to, butit's still an option, right?
Things change all the time, soI look just in case there's
(17:34):
really nothing that aligns thatwell.
However, I'm gonna need topractice new skill, which is
training on my own, and I canvery well do that.
I've been with my personaltrainer enough to understand
form, to understand how myworkouts is set up, to
understand how it should feel inmy body, all these different
(17:55):
things.
And I was kind of excited topractice this habit on my own,
to kind of zone like zen outwith myself and listen to really
good music.
Because usually when I'mtraining with a trainer in a
group class, you're listening toyour trainer or having
conversations or havingconversations with other people
(18:16):
and listening to their stuff.
So I got to practice this wholenew skill set.
Now, the first day, yes, I wasnervous.
I'm like, oh my gosh,everybody's looking at me.
What am I gonna do?
I feel so awkward, where's thestuff that I need?
Like all these questions, andthen soon enough I realized that
no one really cared, and no onewas actually looking.
(18:39):
I'm just in my head way toomuch.
And yes, you get to know theregulars at the gym, so maybe
they noticed, oh, there's a newperson here, but at the same
time, it was really, really,really not a huge deal.
And I just knew that the firstday it just feels different, and
I have to just show up enoughwhere I get used to it, so
(19:03):
that's the reason why Itransferred over.
I had to find a solution towhat my goals are to keep up
with my goals and what I wantfor myself.
So, again, problem solving,finding a way.
And it actually, I'm savingmoney and I'm getting what I
need, I'm getting to practicenew skills, and and then that's
(19:26):
that.
So the next question is what doyou always take to the gym?
This is a really greatquestion.
I think a lot of people, likeeverybody's different, but what
I take is the these are things Ialways take.
Number one, a bottle of water,and it either has water inside
(19:47):
or water with electrolytes.
So I always take my waterbottle and I always take my
protein shake.
Women, especially inperimenopause or after 30,
whatever, if you are female, youshould be taking advantage of
this strategy because it's onlygoing to help you, which is
(20:10):
getting at least 30 grams ofprotein after immediately after
your workout within 30 minutes,because that's when your muscles
are most um able to have muscleprotein synthesis where they're
nice and open, receptive, ableto take in all that protein for
(20:30):
healing, recovery, and growth.
So I always take my proteinshake with me.
I prepare it with my waterbottle.
Not only do I put my proteinpowder in there, I also put a
scoop of creatine and atablespoon of chia seeds for
fiber.
Do I blend this?
No, I don't.
(20:52):
I hate using the blender, Idon't add anything else, and I
mix it with water and I justshake it and drink it.
I'll add ice to make it cold.
But that is about it.
It's just a little chewy.
If you don't mind the texture,it's totally okay.
It's better for your body, likethe fiber is less broken down
than if you were to go ahead andblend it.
(21:14):
But if you want to blend it andthat's your thing, hey, do you
boo?
But I always do recommend haveI and I do have my protein
shake.
So those are two things Ialways take with me.
If I'm training with mytrainer, I don't take headphones
because he plays music overthere.
Um, however, when I go to thegym at the Y, I do take my
(21:36):
headphones, or if I forget them,then I forget them.
But I take my headphones and ifI it's a boxing day, I take my
boxing gloves and my wraps, butthat's about it.
I don't take much else.
Uh maybe I'll take a band if Ineed a stretch in a certain way,
but that's about it.
(21:56):
I think the most importantthing for me is my water, my
protein shake, and headphones,and that's that's pretty much
it.
Okay, how have you this is thenext question.
How have you made attending agym part of your lifestyle?
Great question.
So when I first started mywellness journey back in 2016, I
(22:23):
bought a group on for a localgym.
I followed a girl on Instagramwho I went to school with, and I
saw that she went to a localgym and it was gym like group
classes.
And that's how it started.
I decided one day that I wasgonna go after I had my group
on.
(22:43):
It was like uh 30-day free for30 days or something like that.
And the way that I made it partof my lifestyle was really
understanding how I felt andhaving that connection with my
body.
It wasn't about forcing myself,it wasn't about torturing
(23:07):
myself, any of that.
It was more out of love and itwas more of my capacity, and
yeah, I wasn't beating myselfabout up about it.
So I started to go to the gymand I had two babies at that
time.
My kids were six months andtwo, recently turned two.
(23:29):
Um and I started to realizethat when I went to the gym, I
just was a more patient mom.
I was a lot happier, I startedto feel strong, I started to
feel accomplished, I started tofeel energized.
Now I wasn't used to going tothe gym, and sometimes it was
(23:55):
hard.
So there were days, and Istarted in November, right?
November 2016.
There were days where it wasdark outside, it was cold, it
was snowing, or I was stillrecovering from postpartum, and
I chose not to go.
I remember actually the one dayI chose not to go.
I started the first week ofNovember, the first weekend of
(24:19):
November, and then and I alsowas in a corporate job, and then
this particular trainer had apop-up class, morning class on
Black Friday or Thanksgiving,one or the two.
It was either Thanksgiving orBlack Friday, and I decided not
(24:43):
to go because I was tired and Iwas like, I'm not going.
Can you believe if I told youthe FOMO that I had?
I had the ultimate FOMO when Isaw the class, when I saw
everybody there.
I assumed that people weren'tgonna show up, and it's like, oh
(25:03):
we tired, it's the weekend,it's cold.
No, baby.
That class was packed,everybody was there, and that
was my first example oflifestyle and how people show up
and are excited to show up andthey're having fun.
And everybody is probablytired, everybody has a job, a
(25:27):
lot of people are parents,right?
And I had the ultimate FOMO,and I was like, I did not show
up, I missed out, and now Ican't join this moment until
next year.
So that was one and two, when Iwould skip these days, I was
(25:48):
not my best self, I wasshort-tempered, I was not my
best self, I was not as patientand kind to my kids, and I
started to notice that, and Idid not like how that felt.
And this is before I got anyresults, this is before I lost
(26:08):
50 pounds, this is before myclothing sizes changed, this is
before the scale started tomove.
I just started to notice howbig of an impact it made on my
mood, on me as a parent.
Um, and and just overall how Ifelt.
Okay.
So, in making thoseconnections, I started to
(26:30):
realize wow, getting up in themorning feels really hard.
Showing up, like those first 10minutes when the alarm goes off
is really hard because I'mexhausted.
And in the beginning, I used topump and leave a bottle on the
nightstand for my hums to feedmy baby, and I would go.
So a little bit even more preptime.
(26:53):
And every time I would show up,everybody else was also there.
And I remember I would text mytrainer, I would be like, Is
there a class today?
It's snowing outside.
Is there a class today israining outside?
And he would be like, WTF,like, why wouldn't there be
class today?
Like, I am so confused.
(27:14):
And whenever I would show up,everybody else would be there,
and that's how I started torealize oh, these people get
results because they show up,these people get results because
they are here, they don't havethe excuse of the weather or I'm
tired or this or that.
(27:34):
They're really here everysingle weekend, every single
Saturday, because that's when Iwent.
They are here every singleholiday when they have extra
time to show up, they also showup.
So I became this person that Ijust worked out once a week, and
(27:55):
then I became this person thatI work out twice a week or three
times a week, and that wasthat.
I realized how, and this was atthe very beginning, where I
didn't know the longevitybenefits, I didn't know the
chronic illness benefits.
I just knew exercise as a pathto weight loss.
(28:19):
That was it.
I knew nothing about muscle, Iknew nothing about fats, I knew
nothing about body composition,I knew nothing about how to fuel
my body.
All I knew was exercise isweight loss.
That is it, and I started torealize so much more of how it
(28:43):
allowed me to feel physically,right?
So after I hit or like lost theweight, I was just I came to
this realization that I couldn'tstop going to the gym because
if I stopped and it wasn't evenabout gaining the weight back,
(29:03):
it was if I stopped, then Iwould no longer feel this good.
Okay.
And it was a a lot about thatin the beginning, and now many
years later, it's a tool toprevent illness, a tool to help
my body, who's very insulin andsensitive.
(29:26):
Like I am steps away frompre-diabetes, and it's just
generic for me, genetic for me.
Um, it is a tool for helping meage gracefully to prevent my to
prevent my muscles or yeah, mymuscles from disappearing and my
bones from getting weak.
It's literally my lifeline tobe a strong old lady, to be an
(29:53):
older woman who can preventfalls, who can prevent breaking
my bones, who can better remainindependent and autonomous, who
can remain a uh valued,important, and productive uh uh
part of my family, that's whatit means to me now.
(30:15):
And yes, it is great for youknow preventing me from maybe
gaining weight or not.
And that's not even the casebecause I I have gained weight
because I've had I've gained somuch muscle mass, you know.
I've gained a lot of musclemass, and muscle weighs is is
heavy.
So instead of that, I would sayit helps me maintain a good
(30:39):
body composition.
Good bone density, okay, whichmeans better quality of life for
me.
It is no longer like exerciseequals weight loss, is not even
in the picture for me anymorebecause weight loss is so much
more complicated than that.
And why do and and how we loseweight is so important?
(31:02):
Like, I don't want to see thenumber on the scale go down if
it means that I'm losing muscle.
I want it to actually be bodyfat, visceral body fat at that.
So this is a very long-windedanswer as to how I made
attending the gym part of mylifestyle, but the reasons just
(31:27):
kept expanding and expanding andexpanding, starting from wow, I
feel so much better, so muchmore energized, a better parent.
Um, I feel so much more calmand grounded when I do this.
And that honestly was whathooked me and and helped me
(31:55):
continue to show up even after Ilost 50 pounds and was ecstatic
with whatever my gene sizes wasand whatever I was seeing on
the scale.
It is so much more than that.
And when we start to understandthe bigger picture and the
impact that appropriate andwell-organized exercise has
(32:21):
because it's not just move yourbody randomly, is not just show
up to five group classes, is notthat, okay.
I just want to make that clear,it's a start, but it's not a
long-term strategy.
When you start to understandhow to organize your workouts
and how to show up and what thelong-term implications of these
(32:45):
things are, where reallymovement and strength equals
freedom for the long term andgood, you know, health, then
it's like, oh yeah, I want tocontinue doing this, at least
for me.
Okay, last question (32:59):
what makes a gym better than at-home
workouts?
This is a great question.
So it depends how muchequipment you have at home.
The gym workouts are betterjust because of the access to
equipment.
(33:19):
That is it.
If you're gonna show up at thegym, if you're gonna show up at
home, great.
You're still showing up, that'sgreat.
The difference between home andgym is the access to equipment.
Because one of the best kindsof workouts that you can do for
yourself is progressive strengthoverload.
(33:42):
And I don't know how manypeople have access to that kind
of super heavy equipment intheir home, and some people do,
so working out at home is justfine if you have access to
equipment to progress.
Okay, but that is not the case.
Like at home, I have 20 poundkettlebells, not even 15 pound
(34:07):
kettlebells.
No, I do have 20 poundkettlebells, eight pounds.
Oh no, sorry, not kettlebells,dumbbells.
I have 20-pound dumbbells, 15pound dumbbells, eight-pound
dumbbells.
I have a 25 pound plate that Iactually stole from a loved one.
I have a 25-pound kettlebellthat my mom found in her home
(34:30):
when she was moving.
I have a mat and I have bands.
That means that there is noprogression at this moment.
My those kinds of weight willdo nothing for my body when I
can squat 165 pounds.
No problem.
I don't have access to thatequipment here.
(34:53):
Okay, so that's one.
Two, it's form and structure,okay, which is something you can
get at home.
There are trainers that willgive you a plan or look at you
over Zoom.
I always, always, alwaysencourage that.
So no matter how great you are,this is why the best sports
(35:17):
players still have a coach, andpersonal trainers have personal
trainers, is because sometimeswe tend to slip up on our form.
Okay, so if you're at a gym andthere's staff there that can
help you with that, that'samazing.
That's great.
Even in group classes, right?
If you tell I've always toldthe instructor, hey, can you
(35:40):
look at how I'm doing thisexercise exercise or another,
then that's really helpful.
I also have a spin bike athome.
I rarely you I really use itnow, right?
And these my home limits mebecause I don't have the
equipment.
Now, some people do invest theequipment, you need a certain
(36:02):
kind of access to that.
You need space for to build ahome gym, you need a lot of
money, right?
Like maybe you have the moneyto invest in a lot of gym
equipment.
Um, and then you need to go useit, right?
So some people really benefitfrom changing locations.
(36:25):
I got so tired of working outat home, y'all don't even know.
So I was so excited when thegyms opened back up and I and I
got to be outside.
So for me, a physical change oflocation is very important for
my mental health.
Um, and that's a value to me ofcreating that space between
(36:45):
home and and the gym or whateverelse.
But if you're the type ofperson who is totally okay doing
everything at home, that's cooltoo.
But you will be limited, and Ican tell you that I have seen
women who have I've known for afew years and have consistently
(37:09):
worked out every single day orhowever at a cadence similar to
mine, and I have seen very,very, very, very for the amount
of time that they have spentworking out, very little
progress in their strength, intheir stamina, in their
(37:34):
endurance, in a lot of things,because they're limited by the
equipment, and they're limitedby someone progressing them at a
faster rate than they can dofor themselves.
Okay, so I think that that'sthe difference between a gym and
(37:54):
a home is not that one isbetter than the other, is that
one gives you a different typeof access if you don't have
thousands and thousands ofdollars to spend on gym
equipment or the space as towhere to build um where to build
a gym.
I know of someone who hadaccess to a home gym and who had
(38:18):
um equipment that could helpthem progress, but what
happened?
They had a big um life change,they had a big life change, and
working out from their home wasno longer working out because
they really needed thatseparation, they really needed a
(38:40):
sense of community, they reallyneeded um guidance, and going
to an outside gym worked betterfor them.
So maybe there's a season ofyour life where if you have a
home gym or some equipmentthere, it is useful, but always
know that you need access tosome sort of progression, okay,
(39:02):
and some sort of equipment forsprinting or for doing hard
cardio work, right?
And some people don't haveaccess to certain kinds of
equipment unless you're goingoutside running, right?
But sometimes that is a littleinaccessible, depending on the
weather or safety, right, ofbeing outside, all of those
(39:25):
things are also important.
So it just depends if it haswhat you need for to meet your
goals and to progress.
That is it.
But if you show up at somecapacity, then you show up.
It's just knowing what thelimits are and what you would
need to progress or to hit yourgoals.
(39:47):
Okay, I think that's thedifference.
So I hope this episode has beenhelpful.
I know the gym can beintimidating, it can be, you
know, a lifestyle that is hardto get used to.
I know I did not see any ofthis modeled for me.
(40:07):
I thought the gym was only forathletes.
That is it.
Or for older people orwhatever.
Even though I have always beeninterested in physical activity,
I just thought it was notreally for me.
There was a limit.
I didn't really understand it.
I was always in pain,especially in my early 20s.
(40:29):
My knees were always hurting.
I did not understand that myknees hurt because my legs were
so weak.
I just thought I was broken,right?
And it wasn't for me.
So I really want to encourageyou and let you know that if you
are in pain, is most likelythis is generalizing because I
clearly don't know you.
(40:50):
Um, is generally because you'reweak, right?
There are ways to make youstronger so that you are not in
pain anymore.
And this has been the case foralmost every single one of my
clients, where they started offin pain, gotten strong, and boy,
were they amazing andprogressed at their workouts no
(41:12):
matter what, okay?
Because we built we started towork on that and build on the
actual strength while you knowrealizing that it does hurt
sometimes, and so manymisconceptions about exercise
and how our bodies work and whatit looks like, and let's not
even talk about learning how torecover from exercise
(41:36):
appropriately.
Like we can go on and on and onand on here, but all these
things are important.
None of it was taught to me asa kid, none of it was modeled to
me as a kid, but boy, am Ifreaking glad that I have
figured this out now.
And I am wishing and hoping andcelebrating the same for you.
(42:00):
You can do the same.
There is always a way.
If you need support and helpfiguring that out, and you want
to make this a lifestyle foryourself as well, and you want
some support doing that, somecommunity, hit me up, send me an
email, send me a DM, and we canhave a conversation as to what
that can look like for you.
(42:20):
I hope you took a lot away fromthis, and I'll see you next
week.
Bye.
Hello, friends.
Welcome back to the podcast.
I hope you have been working onadjusting your wellness to the
winter season, like I spokeabout in the previous episode.
And in due fashion, as I tendto start new wellness things in
(01:02):
November, this month I startedat a new gym at my local YMCA.
And on my very first day, Iforgot my headphones, and I was
so extremely sad about it.
And I posted a story onInstagram on how I was starting
a new gym and how I forgot myheadphones, and I was really
(01:24):
upset.
And I went through a gazilliondifferent options in my brain at
the same time.
Should I leave and go get myheadphones?
Should I leave and not do myworkout?
Should I stay and do myworkout?
Just a bunch of things.
And because it was my firstday, I just gave myself some
grace, although we should havegrace with ourselves all the
(01:44):
time.
And I decided that it was okayif my workout didn't look like
how I was expecting it to lookand how it was okay for me to
work out without music.
I really wanted it as a safetyblanket.
I really wanted my headphonesand the music as a safety
blanket.
(02:05):
And I was also looking forwardto listening to music while I
worked out.
Now, I got a DM from acommunity member on Instagram
asking a ton of questions aboutthe gym.
And that is exactly what I'mgoing to be answering for you
(02:25):
here today.
And if you want your questionsanswered too, feel free to go
ahead and email me, send me a DMif you have wellness questions.
And I'm happy, happy, happy todo a QA right here on the
podcast so that we can learntogether.
And it feels more likecommunity interaction instead of
(02:49):
me talking into a microphonewhile staring at my wall.
Although I know you'relistening.
So thank you so much.
And by the way, if you havegained anything from this
episode or this podcast, pleasego ahead and share, rate,
review, and really support us bydoing those things, right?
(03:12):
This is how we grow, how we getto share information with our
community, and it lets me knowthat you're listening on top of
that.
So thank you so much.
Now let's get into thesequestions, right?
I've been consistently going tothe gym or working out for the
(03:32):
past nine years.
This month is my nine-yearanniversary or eight years.
I need to count.
Is it eight?
Let me see.
I think it's eight.
Whoops.
Um, eight-year anniversarygoing to the gym or working out.
And I say either or because wealso lived through a whole
pandemic where we weren'tallowed to go to the gym or be
(03:54):
in workout groups, and I stillcontinued to work out here in my
home using the Peloton app.
I ended up buying a spin bike.
Um, I had small weights, likewhatever I could, whatever
resources I had, I used duringthat time.
So, however, this episode isspecifically about gym questions
(04:20):
that a community member wasinterested in.
So, one of the first questionsthat they asked was, How do you
choose a gym?
Okay, I know that gyms are veryintimidating places, and they
are for me too.
I get really intimidated byseeing a bunch of equipment, by
(04:41):
seeing a bunch of people inthere working out, especially
dudes who are hogging up all themachines or the weight racks
and things like that.
And I get very self-consciouswhen people look at me,
especially in a new gym, oryeah, and a lot of times it's in
our heads, and a lot of timesit's not.
(05:03):
So, how do you choose a gym?
I would say do your research towhat gyms are around you, do
ask them for a guest pass.
Usually, a lot of gyms andworkout places have a guest pass
or a trial period where you canuse the gym without commitment.
(05:26):
I like to personally choose agym that's not too far away and
takes up a lot of commutingtime.
I think the max for me is likea 20-minute drive, and even then
it's pushing it.
I like for it to be 10 to 15minutes max.
So, yes, it has to be a placewhere I can get to quickly
(05:48):
because then it takes up timefrom your workout.
You need to add that time in.
So it's a whole 40 minutes ofjust commuting.
So let's say you have to add anhour to your workout in order
to commute to and from the gym.
So sometimes it's cute.
There are certain gyms andthey're really far away, but the
(06:11):
distance can really be abarrier to you showing up or
not.
So that's one thing.
How far is it from your home?
I wish I could walk to my gym,but I cannot.
There is none walking distance.
But thankfully, I have accessto a car, I drive, and there are
(06:32):
options nearby.
Now, another thing I like toconsider when choosing a gym is
the environment.
Do I feel safe in there?
How are the people treating me?
Not only the staff, but alsothe customers or the patrons
that attend the gym.
Uh, and it's not necessarilylike we need to be best friends,
(06:55):
but also I don't appreciatepeople being rude to me.
I used to go to this gym nearmy house, and there was one time
where I left because I justfelt really unsafe, and that was
after Trump won the election.
A bunch of old dudes came inthere wearing Trump's shirts,
like they freaking coordinatedthis, and I was so insanely
(07:18):
uncomfortable just by watchingthis that I kind of left early.
I did not hang around.
I was just like, I finished myworkout class and then I left.
Um, so yes, making sure thatyou feel safe, that you feel
welcome, that your needs arelistened to, that you're able to
talk to people and get answers.
(07:40):
Another thing that's importantto the gym is cleanliness.
This gym I was going to was notthe cleanest, however, it had
attributes that I was lookingfor.
It had group classes that werereally good, it had a sauna that
I was looking for, and it wasreally big and had a lot of
equipment.
So I never felt like I had towait for anything.
(08:00):
And this is a really long list,by the way.
We always have to kind of giveand take or make sacrifices of
some sort or continuously figureit out.
As I said, I'm no longer atthat gym and I had to figure it
out.
Um, another thing I like tokeep in mind is what are you
looking for?
Do you want a gym that hasgroup classes?
(08:22):
Do you not want is thatimportant to you?
Is the equipment important toyou?
Is the wait times important toyou?
So those are things to get intoconsideration.
At first, having group classeswas something really important
to me because they're fun, theybuild community, and so on and
so forth.
However, group classes are notnecessarily what's going to get
(08:48):
me to my specific goal.
So that's another thing.
I think group classes are greatto start building the habit of
going to the gym because youhave a place to be by a specific
time.
You start to kind of makefriends with the people that go
to these classes.
However, depending on what yourgoal is and if you've already
(09:11):
built that habit of showing upand exercise as part of your
world, then we start need tostart going deeper down the
rabbit hole of is this going toget you to the results that
you're looking for?
Okay.
Which if you're inperimenopause or you're trying
(09:31):
to lose fat and gain muscle andnot get hurt and recover well,
sometimes group classes, anddepending on how often you're
going to these classes, is notgoing to be the most effective.
Okay.
So that's something to keep inmind too.
And also, is this within yourbudget?
(09:51):
That's really important.
There are gyms that are thathave different price points, and
that is something that you needto take into consideration
because it's going to be anadded investment to your monthly
budget.
So these are all things I lookfor.
Um, in the particular gym Iwent to that I'm no longer at.
(10:13):
I also wanted at that point inmy life to hire a personal
trainer.
So they had personal trainers,some gyms don't.
And I went and interviewed andtalked to a few of them and told
them specifically what I waslooking for, and I got matched
up with one.
So if personal training isimportant to you, then that is
(10:35):
something to look for.
If you're going to use an app,if you have a personal trainer
already and they give you a planand you just have to execute on
that plan, that's an optiontoo.
Like there's many, many, manydifferent options.
And again, I'm giving a lot ofsuggestions, and you can take an
idea or leave it, right?
(10:56):
So, yes, price point isdefinitely part of it.
There are some gyms that arecrazy expensive or like group
fitness classes, and then thereare some that are most cost
effective.
And I always recommend for myclients to do some research
because there are alwaysbusinesses or gyms around that
(11:18):
you never knew existed, even ifyou've been living in that
neighborhood forever, like Ihave been.
Okay, the second question iswhat makes you leave one?
So it just depends, right?
Like maybe you can't affordthat gym anymore.
Maybe what you went for thatgym, what you signed up for in
(11:42):
the first place is not meetingyour needs anymore.
So the reason why I left myprevious gym is for two reasons.
One, my trainer was no longergonna be there, and two, I would
go to the group fitness classesthat my trainer would teach.
And since he wasn't gonna bethere anymore, and the trainers
(12:05):
that were there, I did notreally enjoy how they taught the
classes, and I didn'tnecessarily go to this gym
outside of those times.
I would go twice a week there,one day to to do personal
training, and the other day totake my trainer's group fitness
class.
And I didn't go to the gymoutside from that, then and it
(12:29):
was a big expense for me.
That gym was not cheap.
So I decided that I was gonnaleave because my trainer moved
on to another gym, and I decidedto continue training with them
at their other location.
So, again, as I mentioned,everything is a give and take
(12:50):
because what did I lose out onby not staying at this previous
gym?
I losed out on the sauna, whichis really important for my
mental health, especially duringthe winter.
I love to be in there and Ilove how it warms up my bones
and is also a really good way todetox.
It's also a really good way tohelp your body manage stress,
(13:12):
all these things.
And there's no current placefor me to use a sauna that's
included in a service, so Imissed out on that, and also the
community that I had alreadyconnected with there, I lose
lost out on that, and groupclasses in the schedule and the
days and the times where I wasgoing there.
(13:34):
Now I went to the other gymwhere my trainer works, and I
get to do one-on-one training.
I can continue to do that, butit's in a much smaller gym, so
there is not as much equipment.
Okay, so I was there for awhile, and but I also got to
expand my training.
So, aside from weight trainingor only weight training, I
(13:57):
incorporated kickboxing, andthat was great for me.
So I increased the day that Iwent to the gym, so now I went
three days instead of two, and Idid get community to a certain
extent, not necessarily in groupclasses, but there's always
other people there training.
So I get to be aroundindividuals, right?
(14:18):
So this is this is the reasonwhy I left one, and it's just
like if it's just not meetingyour needs anymore, if you found
something else, if you're doinga different strategy, if you
found something that's morewithin your budget, or maybe
you're feeling unsafe there,right?
You get to trust your intuitiontoo.
You get to decide to gowhenever you need to, or maybe
(14:43):
you're leveling up, right?
That's another thing, and andwhatever location is not meeting
your needs anymore to a certainextent.
So then I moved over.
Um, and I decided to join thenthe Y, the YMCA gym, and that
(15:04):
was because I transitioned frommy trainer from two days a week,
from three days a week to twodays a week.
And it's really important forme to train three days a week.
I wanted to continue that,however, because the gym that my
trainer's at is very small, andI was only doing personal
(15:24):
training with them twice a week,one strength training and one
boxing day, then I said, okay, Ineed to incorporate a third
day.
How am I gonna do that?
Now, my partner, my kids, myhubs, and my kids are already
part of the YMCA.
So for me to join the YMCAunder the family membership was
(15:47):
over half the price of the othergym I left.
So extremely cost effective.
Again, going back to how muchit costs is important, and it's
really big, it has a bunch ofequipment from squat racks to
(16:08):
machines to cardio machines,it's just it's just well suited,
like they have a vast amount ofequipment in that gym, and it's
also nice and clean, and it's awhole it's less than 10-minute
drive from my house.
That to me is amazing becauseit gives me even more time to
(16:30):
work out when my round trip uhtime is 14 minutes, which is one
way barely to this otherlocation.
All right, so that's anotherthing that we spoke about,
right?
Like how long does it take youto get there and back?
Because that time impacts howlong you're working out.
Because unless you're anathlete and this is all you're
(16:51):
doing all day, you have alimited amount of time for your
workout and you want to make themost of it.
So, one, it was cost effective,my family already goes there.
If I needed to walk there, Icould because it's so close, and
that was the other piece.
It's so close.
Then it's also really big.
(17:13):
Now, they do have classes atthe Y too that I get to take
advantage of, but in looking atthe schedule, nothing really
aligns with my schedule asidefrom a Saturday spin class that
I still haven't been to, butit's still an option, right?
Things change all the time, soI look just in case there's
(17:34):
really nothing that aligns thatwell.
However, I'm gonna need topractice new skill, which is
training on my own, and I canvery well do that.
I've been with my personaltrainer enough to understand
form, to understand how myworkouts is set up, to
understand how it should feel inmy body, all these different
(17:55):
things.
And I was kind of excited topractice this habit on my own,
to kind of zone like zen outwith myself and listen to really
good music.
Because usually when I'mtraining with a trainer in a
group class, you're listening toyour trainer or having
conversations or havingconversations with other people
(18:16):
and listening to their stuff.
So I got to practice this wholenew skill set.
Now, the first day, yes, I wasnervous.
I'm like, oh my gosh,everybody's looking at me.
What am I gonna do?
I feel so awkward, where's thestuff that I need?
Like all these questions, andthen soon enough I realized that
no one really cared, and no onewas actually looking.
(18:39):
I'm just in my head way toomuch.
And yes, you get to know theregulars at the gym, so maybe
they noticed, oh, there's a newperson here, but at the same
time, it was really, really,really not a huge deal.
And I just knew that the firstday it just feels different, and
I have to just show up enoughwhere I get used to it, so
(19:03):
that's the reason why Itransferred over.
I had to find a solution towhat my goals are to keep up
with my goals and what I wantfor myself.
So, again, problem solving,finding a way.
And it actually, I'm savingmoney and I'm getting what I
need, I'm getting to practicenew skills, and and then that's
(19:26):
that.
So the next question is what doyou always take to the gym?
This is a really greatquestion.
I think a lot of people, likeeverybody's different, but what
I take is the these are things Ialways take.
Number one, a bottle of water,and it either has water inside
(19:47):
or water with electrolytes.
So I always take my waterbottle and I always take my
protein shake.
Women, especially inperimenopause or after 30,
whatever, if you are female, youshould be taking advantage of
this strategy because it's onlygoing to help you, which is
(20:10):
getting at least 30 grams ofprotein after immediately after
your workout within 30 minutes,because that's when your muscles
are most um able to have muscleprotein synthesis where they're
nice and open, receptive, ableto take in all that protein for
(20:30):
healing, recovery, and growth.
So I always take my proteinshake with me.
I prepare it with my waterbottle.
Not only do I put my proteinpowder in there, I also put a
scoop of creatine and atablespoon of chia seeds for
fiber.
Do I blend this?
No, I don't.
(20:52):
I hate using the blender, Idon't add anything else, and I
mix it with water and I justshake it and drink it.
I'll add ice to make it cold.
But that is about it.
It's just a little chewy.
If you don't mind the texture,it's totally okay.
It's better for your body, likethe fiber is less broken down
than if you were to go ahead andblend it.
(21:14):
But if you want to blend it andthat's your thing, hey, do you
boo?
But I always do recommend haveI and I do have my protein
shake.
So those are two things Ialways take with me.
If I'm training with mytrainer, I don't take headphones
because he plays music overthere.
Um, however, when I go to thegym at the Y, I do take my
(21:36):
headphones, or if I forget them,then I forget them.
But I take my headphones and ifI it's a boxing day, I take my
boxing gloves and my wraps, butthat's about it.
I don't take much else.
Uh maybe I'll take a band if Ineed a stretch in a certain way,
but that's about it.
(21:56):
I think the most importantthing for me is my water, my
protein shake, and headphones,and that's that's pretty much
it.
Okay, how have you this is thenext question.
How have you made attending agym part of your lifestyle?
Great question.
So when I first started mywellness journey back in 2016, I
(22:23):
bought a group on for a localgym.
I followed a girl on Instagramwho I went to school with, and I
saw that she went to a localgym and it was gym like group
classes.
And that's how it started.
I decided one day that I wasgonna go after I had my group
on.
(22:43):
It was like uh 30-day free for30 days or something like that.
And the way that I made it partof my lifestyle was really
understanding how I felt andhaving that connection with my
body.
It wasn't about forcing myself,it wasn't about torturing
(23:07):
myself, any of that.
It was more out of love and itwas more of my capacity, and
yeah, I wasn't beating myselfabout up about it.
So I started to go to the gymand I had two babies at that
time.
My kids were six months andtwo, recently turned two.
(23:29):
Um and I started to realizethat when I went to the gym, I
just was a more patient mom.
I was a lot happier, I startedto feel strong, I started to
feel accomplished, I started tofeel energized.
Now I wasn't used to going tothe gym, and sometimes it was
(23:55):
hard.
So there were days, and Istarted in November, right?
November 2016.
There were days where it wasdark outside, it was cold, it
was snowing, or I was stillrecovering from postpartum, and
I chose not to go.
I remember actually the one dayI chose not to go.
I started the first week ofNovember, the first weekend of
(24:19):
November, and then and I alsowas in a corporate job, and then
this particular trainer had apop-up class, morning class on
Black Friday or Thanksgiving,one or the two.
It was either Thanksgiving orBlack Friday, and I decided not
(24:43):
to go because I was tired and Iwas like, I'm not going.
Can you believe if I told youthe FOMO that I had?
I had the ultimate FOMO when Isaw the class, when I saw
everybody there.
I assumed that people weren'tgonna show up, and it's like, oh
(25:03):
we tired, it's the weekend,it's cold.
No, baby.
That class was packed,everybody was there, and that
was my first example oflifestyle and how people show up
and are excited to show up andthey're having fun.
And everybody is probablytired, everybody has a job, a
(25:27):
lot of people are parents,right?
And I had the ultimate FOMO,and I was like, I did not show
up, I missed out, and now Ican't join this moment until
next year.
So that was one and two, when Iwould skip these days, I was
(25:48):
not my best self, I wasshort-tempered, I was not my
best self, I was not as patientand kind to my kids, and I
started to notice that, and Idid not like how that felt.
And this is before I got anyresults, this is before I lost
(26:08):
50 pounds, this is before myclothing sizes changed, this is
before the scale started tomove.
I just started to notice howbig of an impact it made on my
mood, on me as a parent.
Um, and and just overall how Ifelt.
Okay.
So, in making thoseconnections, I started to
(26:30):
realize wow, getting up in themorning feels really hard.
Showing up, like those first 10minutes when the alarm goes off
is really hard because I'mexhausted.
And in the beginning, I used topump and leave a bottle on the
nightstand for my hums to feedmy baby, and I would go.
So a little bit even more preptime.
(26:53):
And every time I would show up,everybody else was also there.
And I remember I would text mytrainer, I would be like, Is
there a class today?
It's snowing outside.
Is there a class today israining outside?
And he would be like, WTF,like, why wouldn't there be
class today?
Like, I am so confused.
(27:14):
And whenever I would show up,everybody else would be there,
and that's how I started torealize oh, these people get
results because they show up,these people get results because
they are here, they don't havethe excuse of the weather or I'm
tired or this or that.
(27:34):
They're really here everysingle weekend, every single
Saturday, because that's when Iwent.
They are here every singleholiday when they have extra
time to show up, they also showup.
So I became this person that Ijust worked out once a week, and
(27:55):
then I became this person thatI work out twice a week or three
times a week, and that wasthat.
I realized how, and this was atthe very beginning, where I
didn't know the longevitybenefits, I didn't know the
chronic illness benefits.
I just knew exercise as a pathto weight loss.
(28:19):
That was it.
I knew nothing about muscle, Iknew nothing about fats, I knew
nothing about body composition,I knew nothing about how to fuel
my body.
All I knew was exercise isweight loss.
That is it, and I started torealize so much more of how it
(28:43):
allowed me to feel physically,right?
So after I hit or like lost theweight, I was just I came to
this realization that I couldn'tstop going to the gym because
if I stopped and it wasn't evenabout gaining the weight back,
(29:03):
it was if I stopped, then Iwould no longer feel this good.
Okay.
And it was a a lot about thatin the beginning, and now many
years later, it's a tool toprevent illness, a tool to help
my body, who's very insulin andsensitive.
(29:26):
Like I am steps away frompre-diabetes, and it's just
generic for me, genetic for me.
Um, it is a tool for helping meage gracefully to prevent my to
prevent my muscles or yeah, mymuscles from disappearing and my
bones from getting weak.
It's literally my lifeline tobe a strong old lady, to be an
(29:53):
older woman who can preventfalls, who can prevent breaking
my bones, who can better remainindependent and autonomous, who
can remain a uh valued,important, and productive uh uh
part of my family, that's whatit means to me now.
(30:15):
And yes, it is great for youknow preventing me from maybe
gaining weight or not.
And that's not even the casebecause I I have gained weight
because I've had I've gained somuch muscle mass, you know.
I've gained a lot of musclemass, and muscle weighs is is
heavy.
So instead of that, I would sayit helps me maintain a good
(30:39):
body composition.
Good bone density, okay, whichmeans better quality of life for
me.
It is no longer like exerciseequals weight loss, is not even
in the picture for me anymorebecause weight loss is so much
more complicated than that.
And why do and and how we loseweight is so important?
(31:02):
Like, I don't want to see thenumber on the scale go down if
it means that I'm losing muscle.
I want it to actually be bodyfat, visceral body fat at that.
So this is a very long-windedanswer as to how I made
attending the gym part of mylifestyle, but the reasons just
(31:27):
kept expanding and expanding andexpanding, starting from wow, I
feel so much better, so muchmore energized, a better parent.
Um, I feel so much more calmand grounded when I do this.
And that honestly was whathooked me and and helped me
(31:55):
continue to show up even after Ilost 50 pounds and was ecstatic
with whatever my gene sizes wasand whatever I was seeing on
the scale.
It is so much more than that.
And when we start to understandthe bigger picture and the
impact that appropriate andwell-organized exercise has
(32:21):
because it's not just move yourbody randomly, is not just show
up to five group classes, is notthat, okay.
I just want to make that clear,it's a start, but it's not a
long-term strategy.
When you start to understandhow to organize your workouts
and how to show up and what thelong-term implications of these
(32:45):
things are, where reallymovement and strength equals
freedom for the long term andgood, you know, health, then
it's like, oh yeah, I want tocontinue doing this, at least
for me.
Okay, last question (32:59):
what makes a gym better than at-home
workouts?
This is a great question.
So it depends how muchequipment you have at home.
The gym workouts are betterjust because of the access to
equipment.
(33:19):
That is it.
If you're gonna show up at thegym, if you're gonna show up at
home, great.
You're still showing up, that'sgreat.
The difference between home andgym is the access to equipment.
Because one of the best kindsof workouts that you can do for
yourself is progressive strengthoverload.
(33:42):
And I don't know how manypeople have access to that kind
of super heavy equipment intheir home, and some people do,
so working out at home is justfine if you have access to
equipment to progress.
Okay, but that is not the case.
Like at home, I have 20 poundkettlebells, not even 15 pound
(34:07):
kettlebells.
No, I do have 20 poundkettlebells, eight pounds.
Oh no, sorry, not kettlebells,dumbbells.
I have 20-pound dumbbells, 15pound dumbbells, eight-pound
dumbbells.
I have a 25 pound plate that Iactually stole from a loved one.
I have a 25-pound kettlebellthat my mom found in her home
(34:30):
when she was moving.
I have a mat and I have bands.
That means that there is noprogression at this moment.
My those kinds of weight willdo nothing for my body when I
can squat 165 pounds.
No problem.
I don't have access to thatequipment here.
(34:53):
Okay, so that's one.
Two, it's form and structure,okay, which is something you can
get at home.
There are trainers that willgive you a plan or look at you
over Zoom.
I always, always, alwaysencourage that.
So no matter how great you are,this is why the best sports
(35:17):
players still have a coach, andpersonal trainers have personal
trainers, is because sometimeswe tend to slip up on our form.
Okay, so if you're at a gym andthere's staff there that can
help you with that, that'samazing.
That's great.
Even in group classes, right?
If you tell I've always toldthe instructor, hey, can you
(35:40):
look at how I'm doing thisexercise exercise or another,
then that's really helpful.
I also have a spin bike athome.
I rarely you I really use itnow, right?
And these my home limits mebecause I don't have the
equipment.
Now, some people do invest theequipment, you need a certain
(36:02):
kind of access to that.
You need space for to build ahome gym, you need a lot of
money, right?
Like maybe you have the moneyto invest in a lot of gym
equipment.
Um, and then you need to go useit, right?
So some people really benefitfrom changing locations.
(36:25):
I got so tired of working outat home, y'all don't even know.
So I was so excited when thegyms opened back up and I and I
got to be outside.
So for me, a physical change oflocation is very important for
my mental health.
Um, and that's a value to me ofcreating that space between
(36:45):
home and and the gym or whateverelse.
But if you're the type ofperson who is totally okay doing
everything at home, that's cooltoo.
But you will be limited, and Ican tell you that I have seen
women who have I've known for afew years and have consistently
(37:09):
worked out every single day orhowever at a cadence similar to
mine, and I have seen very,very, very, very for the amount
of time that they have spentworking out, very little
progress in their strength, intheir stamina, in their
(37:34):
endurance, in a lot of things,because they're limited by the
equipment, and they're limitedby someone progressing them at a
faster rate than they can dofor themselves.
Okay, so I think that that'sthe difference between a gym and
(37:54):
a home is not that one isbetter than the other, is that
one gives you a different typeof access if you don't have
thousands and thousands ofdollars to spend on gym
equipment or the space as towhere to build um where to build
a gym.
I know of someone who hadaccess to a home gym and who had
(38:18):
um equipment that could helpthem progress, but what
happened?
They had a big um life change,they had a big life change, and
working out from their home wasno longer working out because
they really needed thatseparation, they really needed a
(38:40):
sense of community, they reallyneeded um guidance, and going
to an outside gym worked betterfor them.
So maybe there's a season ofyour life where if you have a
home gym or some equipmentthere, it is useful, but always
know that you need access tosome sort of progression, okay,
(39:02):
and some sort of equipment forsprinting or for doing hard
cardio work, right?
And some people don't haveaccess to certain kinds of
equipment unless you're goingoutside running, right?
But sometimes that is a littleinaccessible, depending on the
weather or safety, right, ofbeing outside, all of those
(39:25):
things are also important.
So it just depends if it haswhat you need for to meet your
goals and to progress.
That is it.
But if you show up at somecapacity, then you show up.
It's just knowing what thelimits are and what you would
need to progress or to hit yourgoals.
(39:47):
Okay, I think that's thedifference.
So I hope this episode has beenhelpful.
I know the gym can beintimidating, it can be, you
know, a lifestyle that is hardto get used to.
I know I did not see any ofthis modeled for me.
(40:07):
I thought the gym was only forathletes.
That is it.
Or for older people orwhatever.
Even though I have always beeninterested in physical activity,
I just thought it was notreally for me.
There was a limit.
I didn't really understand it.
I was always in pain,especially in my early 20s.
(40:29):
My knees were always hurting.
I did not understand that myknees hurt because my legs were
so weak.
I just thought I was broken,right?
And it wasn't for me.
So I really want to encourageyou and let you know that if you
are in pain, is most likelythis is generalizing because I
clearly don't know you.
(40:50):
Um, is generally because you'reweak, right?
There are ways to make youstronger so that you are not in
pain anymore.
And this has been the case foralmost every single one of my
clients, where they started offin pain, gotten strong, and boy,
were they amazing andprogressed at their workouts no
(41:12):
matter what, okay?
Because we built we started towork on that and build on the
actual strength while you knowrealizing that it does hurt
sometimes, and so manymisconceptions about exercise
and how our bodies work and whatit looks like, and let's not
even talk about learning how torecover from exercise
(41:36):
appropriately.
Like we can go on and on and onand on here, but all these
things are important.
None of it was taught to me asa kid, none of it was modeled to
me as a kid, but boy, am Ifreaking glad that I have
figured this out now.
And I am wishing and hoping andcelebrating the same for you.
(42:00):
You can do the same.
There is always a way.
If you need support and helpfiguring that out, and you want
to make this a lifestyle foryourself as well, and you want
some support doing that, somecommunity, hit me up, send me an
email, send me a DM, and we canhave a conversation as to what
that can look like for you.
(42:20):
I hope you took a lot away fromthis, and I'll see you next
week.
Bye.
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