The Accidental (Gym Rat): It’s Never too Late

Today, I set a set a new PB, or Personal Best, in my spin class. Now these numbers may not sound impressive to you, but in 60 minutes of spinning, I clocked 16 miles and burned 400 calories. Now there were other spinners in the class who undoubtedly went further and burned harder, just as there were spinners who pedaled slower and burned less. But their performance is meaningless to me. It is my progress that keeps me going back.

I share this with you not to brag or to embarrass myself, but to point to the fact that anyone can do what I am doing, at any age. Suffice it to say that I was already on Medicare when I discovered spinning.

My love affair with gyms began in 2005, when a colleague in Manhattan offered me a 30-day free trial to the New York Sports Club. That trial turned into a membership and a relationship with a personal trainer that lasted until I relocated from Connecticut in 2016. So that’s an 11-year history.

It didn’t take long at all to find a gym here in Charleston, having joined 02 Fitness in 2016. I know myself well enough to know that I will not stick with any diet or fitness plan if it does not touch my wallet and if I don’t have someone to report to or to help me stay on track. Somewhat embarrassing to admit at this age, but that is who I am .

My experience at O2 began with rehabilitation after hip replacement surgery. Talk about romance — I married one month (see The Accidental Newlywed, 9/02/19) and had my hip replaced this following month! Physical therapy was simply less expensive at the gym than it was at a PT facility.

It didn’t take long for my ability to surpass the simple leg lifts and steps that my PT required. My work-outs became increasingly more difficult, but always cognizant of my strength and my rehabilitation. But slowly but surely, I started to see what else the gym had to offer.

Now, my week at the gym looks like this:

• Two personal training sessions under the careful guidance of my trainer, Scott Hager, whom I cannot recommend highly enough.
• Two spin classes, my newest passion (see The Accidental Spinner, 8/31/19).
• One Body Flow class. The Les Mills Body Flow class is an hour of stretching that combines Tai Chi, Yoga and Pilates.
• An occasional Zumba class (occasional, because rhythm is simply not my forte).
• Lots of time on the recumbent cycle, treadmill, and arc trainer on my own.

Since 2005, I was never excited about going to the gym, though I always felt better after a workout. Because my work day and my commute to Manhattan were so long, my visit to the New York Sports Club in Westport was only weekly. (Certainly I could have visited many of the gyms in New York, but I did not.) Now, I am at 02 at least three days of the week and absolutely love it.

Trust me: it is never too late. Each class I have tried, I have done so with trepidation. Fears that I wasn’t good enough or nimble enough. Fears that others in the class would laugh at me. Fears that I was simply too old or not fit enough. But the actual truth of the matter is that no one is looking at me. Each person is too busy concentrating on his or her own performance, and hoping that no one else is watching them.

These classes and training sessions are my time at the gym. What they have done for my mind and body are beyond the pale. Give it a try.