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Every January anybody who attends a gym sees the same pattern. A flurry of new members join with New Year Resolutions to get in shape. These enthusiastic members block the squat racks and fill the treadmills motivated to create the physiques they have always wanted. The gym walls echo noise, no piece of equipment sits empty and said equipment gets abused in a dangerous and bizarre fashion.

A month later and the chaos is all over. Beer, fast food and the new Netflix series everyone is talking about replace good intentions. A handful of those new members have survived the chaos, traumatised but still standing, ready to continue their fitness journey. Countless gym goers who didn’t make it are forgotten. Until next January.

The first paragraphs aren’t to mock those trying to better themselves. Joining the gym is putting yourself in the perfect environment to improve, and I can’t fault people’s ambition. But the readers of this blog need to digest a simple truth any regular gym member understands. January is the worst month to sign up for the gym. The March release of this post is cleverly aimed at those who have attempted to get fit in January and fallen short. My one simple message is that now is the perfect time to join.

My Gym Journey

Sometimes it’s best to be honest. And guess what? I have never liked playing sport much. I dreaded P.E lessons at school, and as much as I had an enthusiasm for football growing up, my skills on the pitch never had much enthusiasm for me. Always bottom set, last picked, I spent most of my teenage years avoiding anything competitive. Resigned to losing, I avoided any kind of situation I decided would lead to embarrassment.

This trend lasted to my second year of University. Living with two gym attending friends, it took an entire term living in this house for me to act on their encouragement. Their weedy, smoking and poor dieted housemate would give the gym a go. For twelve days and twelve quid there was an introductory offer at the local gym. I loved it. Without a clue what to do I had two housemates who had been through every mistake I was about to go through, could show me the right exercises and technique to quickly get me progressing. I’ve been going consistently ever since and loved it, right? Nope.

Calling the last few years inconsistent is an understatement. For a while I tried an oversubscribed gym in the centre of Leeds, hating every session. After that I bought a flat bench, weights and equipment for my flat, which I’m now selling. But mostly in between these half efforts were lengthy periods of no physical exercise at all. Till six months ago.

My Recent Gym Experience

My girlfriend had followed her personal trainer to a new, smaller gym near my work and asked me to join. For anybody local to Leeds, it’s called Fitness Space and next to Granary Wharf. The gym itself is more expensive than previous my gyms, though on the cheaper packages competitive and not bank breaking. The plus side is fewer people as a result, the environment is more tailored to the client’s needs. I have a trainer who I work with monthly and also creates routines for me. His name is Paul, he kicks my arse every session using his superior knowledge. I’ve been going consistently ever since and loved it right? So far, so good.

My Tips for Gym Success

  • Find what works for you- Some people like weights, some classes, some cardio and some a mixture of them all. Whether training solo or in a group, there is no right way to train, so long as you are.
  • Team up! On the above note whether a friend or a personal trainer having somebody in your life that can hold you accountable for progress helps.
  • Take your time- A quick route to failure is treating the gym like a task rather than a process to enjoy. A solid year at the gym is better than inconsistent bursts of motivation.
  • Cheapest isn’t best- It staggers me that so many people sign up to ‘Puregym’ or ‘The Gym’ in Leeds with thousands of members when for a tenner more a month they could train somewhere the same size and that doesn’t eat your soul.

The Feeling of Progression

I will never be a world-class athlete, a ripped underwear model, or one of the world’s strongest men on channel five that can drag a truck with his face. That being said, a world exists outside of being able to drag a truck with your face, a world still worth experiencing. When I started at the gym, I had one particular aim in mind to fill out a T-shirt. If you look at any photo of me from nineteen and below, I’m covering my arms with jackets. In the few instances my arms are on show, they are stick thin in baggy sleeves. It only took time, but I completed all I hoped to gain at the gym. The rest is a luxury.

What the gym has given me is both self confidence and a physical outlet that never fails to make me feel better. As much as I internally whine and groan some days about the prospect of going I’ve never left a session feeling worse off. Whatever the science, my happiness clock ticks by faster whenever exercise is involved. This blog is being posted in March, where even the most pessimistic gym member won’t have been able to cancel their membership just yet. Why not give it a go safe knowing that the place will be half as busy as two months ago?

You can also follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamesdammauthor/

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