Facing a problem? Annie has answers. Ask away!
Dear Annie,
I’m hoping to start going to the gym and exercising more frequently, but I’m not really sure how to go about it. I don’t know how I would fit it in my schedule or what exactly to do once I get there. Do you have any tips on starting to go to the gym, or anything on starting a new routine?
Staying tuned,
The Buff
Dear The Buff,
Before Hercules could go the distance, he had to pencil training sessions into his day to take his scrawny arms to muscular proportions only seen in late 90s animation. Even if Disney set an unrealistic bicep-to-body ratio, they were right about one thing: You must make time to see results.
Beginning a workout routine is intimidating. Walking into Lerner Health and Wellness Center to find athletes lifting like they’re training to climb Mount Olympus when you’re only trying to stay healthy can incite pain and panic. Before you can bulk up, you have to strengthen your mental planning muscles. Starting any habit requires a great deal of intentionality.
When planning your week, build exercise time into your schedule, perhaps creating a new section of your color-coded Google Calendar. Seeing your intention to go to the gym listed alongside classes and appointments will make exercise feel more like a commitment instead of a hobby. Feeling like exercise isn’t optional could be the push you need to tie up your shoelaces.
Set reasonable goals so you feel accomplished when you meet them and motivated to continue. As you’re just starting, aim to go to the gym one to three times each week. If you push yourself beyond your limits at the start, you’ll find yourself blue in the face from exhaustion. Training montages — the cinematic peak of any hero’s journey — never started with the hero at the top of their game. Crucially, the hero always gets up and returns to their task, making their behavior more habitual even when it’s hard.
Once you set time aside to work out and arrive at Lerner dressed in your best gym attire — mesh shorts from seventh grade and a free shirt from orientation week — it’s time to show everyone what you’ve got. Ideally, coordinate your first few sessions with a friend who frequents the gym. Your friend can impart their calisthenic wisdom, teaching you which exercises pair well together and how to avoid hurting yourself.
If you can’t find a friend to accompany you, download a workout app to guide you through the unfamiliar territory. There are plenty of free apps, like Nike Training Club, and aids with a student discount, like Peloton’s $6.99 monthly student membership. If you feel self-conscious about following a guide, you can put in headphones and turn down the brightness. Eventually, you may develop your own rotation, but patiently following a guide will help you avoid injury and confusion as you get settled.
Remember, no one at the gym is looking at you — they’re distracted by their own vanity.
Despite what the Muses in Hercules sing, nobody goes from Zero to Hero in no time flat. When starting a new hobby, working out or something else, you have to set aside time to practice and stick with it. Once exercise becomes a part of your routine, it will feel like second nature. Until then, you have to practice self-discipline and patience.
Hail to the buff,
Annie
