You Know You’re a Gym Rat…

I kinda just want to eat a brick of smoked Gouda.

I mean, it’s just sooo good. I’d forgotten how much I loved Gouda until I rediscovered it recently. It goes well on our turkey burgers.

My side was steamed broccoli and cauliflower with pesto. I had a scratchy throat yesterday–probably allergies–but there is no way I’m taking any chances getting sick before my vacation. Raw garlic cure! I slept well Friday night after a good swim and woke up pretty early for the gym. I ate an apple with some peanut butter and then headed out into the downpour.

You know you’re a Gym Rat when the first thing you do on a rainy Saturday morning is go to the gym. You also know you’re a Gym Rat when the girl at the counter recognizes you, says hi to you by name, and you know exactly which treadmills are the best ones to use.

Yeah I’m definitely a gym rat. Especially when I recognize all the other Gym Rats there. 😉 I saw the regulars there this morning but the rest of the place was empty. I was surprised by the lack of people. Where is everyone? Busy with tomorrow’s Shamrock Run?

Despite the place being a ghost town, another gym rat reached the Pec-Fly at the exact same time as I did. I think he noticed that my shoulders sagged with frustration (why aren’t there two of this machine? It is ALWAYS full) so he quickly said “Why don’t we work through together?” I said sure! I went first, did 15 reps on the Pec Fly at 45 pounds and then got up and let him have a go. He was doing about 150 pounds. When he was done, I hopped back on. I had to increase my weights from 45 to 50 because it was getting too easy.

It was a nice change to my normal routine taking turns with that guy. Normally I’d much rather just go to another machine instead of standing there waiting in between sets but it worked.

You might be a gym rat if you have a favorite machine. The Pec-Fly is definitely my favorite. It’s a popular machine too. I focused on the chest presses, shoulder presses, and did some back work. Then I finished up with ab work, stretching and hip exercises.

The time flew by and I burned a lot of calories. I wear the badge of “Gym Rat” happily and proudly. I worked hard to get to wear I am at. During nicer weather I’m much more inclined to skip the gym and play outside: biking, hiking, running. This Spring/Summer should be really interesting. Since I can’t solely focus on running and I’ve grown to love weight lifting so much I imagine I will still be a gym rat in some way. I will need to find a balance with weight lifting at the gym and playing in the sunshine.

Gym Stats:

Time: 1:43

Calories Burned: 792

QUESTION: Are you a gym rat?