So … I haven’t been to the gym in two weeks. 
I have a perfectly legitimate excuse. The first week, I had workshops, so I had to leave the house earlier. The second week, my cheques hadn’t cleared and the gym subscription had run out.
I bumped into the gym instructor three days into the ‘wallet-fast’ and he told me I could come in anyway. I didn’t take him up on it. It was partly guilty conscience, but mostly oversleeping.
Somewhere amid my hiatus, I had to go to a clinic for a routine tune-up. As usual, they checked my temperature and BP, then asked me to be weighed.
I’d gained 1.5 kilos!
Either those two weeks really did something bad, or the hospital scales were wrong. Because on my home scale, I still weigh exactly the same as I did six months ago. Weird.
Maybe it’s my home scales that are broken.
Anyway, I hit the gym today. It wasn’t as hard as I expected. I actually worked up a sweat on the bike, which I never do. I’m not sure if that’s a sign or progress.
And I felt my body warm up on the treadmaster, literally, which is another new thing.
When doing my arm work, the sweat was dripping down, which was freaky. I mean, who sweats while lifting weights? They’re only like 1.5 kilos a piece. And they’re pink!
I did manage to do 100 reps on the skipping rope, so that made me smile. On day 1, I could only do 30 reps per set, which slowly moved up to 50 per set. So when today In easily made 100, I was pretty pleased with myself.
Now I just have to move up to several sets instead of just one. I barely make it to 500 now.
I think the best way to stay motivated in workouts is to set small targets. Like, instead of looking for drastic weight loss, focus on little things.
I don’t feel any lighter, but my clothes fit better, and my blouse buttons don’t pop as much. I can skip longer without breaking, crunch mostly without whining, and the stretches and don’t hurt as much.
Even the scissor leg workouts are easier. Except my instructor has noticed it, so he made them more complex by adding depth and variation. Bloody masochist.
My next mini target is for the tummy-thigh stretches to work. I’m usually worked on while lying on my back – no gutter intended. They pull and twist the legs for a while, then they have you sit up and stretch your thigh muscles, before they eventually lay you on your tummy and pull moves uncomfortably similar an inverted submission suplex.
I’m used to all the other sessions, and my gym people are starting to wonder if they’re doing anything at all, because I don’t scream as much as I used to. But when I lie on my tummy and pull my front thigh, I cry like a little girl.
When I can handle a lying quad stretch without whining, then I’ll know I’m well on my way to true fitness. Until then, I’ll try to stay away from the scales until my dress size drops.
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Crystal Ading' is a professional author, editor, rock lover and mother. Her work is available through threeceebee.com.