Taking the Leap: Reflections on Saying Goodbye to the Gym

I’m no longer a gym member. It feels weird saying/writing that, because “going to the gym” has been such a big part of who I am over the last few years, and especially the last six months.

This place saved me. When we moved here I was so ignorant to exactly how hard it would be going from being a work outside of the home mom of three rowdy boys to a SAHM of three rowdy boys in a city almost 1,000 miles from friends and family. I just really had no idea. Couple that with a mixture of health issues that left me exhausted and unmotivated and it could’ve been a disaster.

I had some dark days over the summer, and I am eternally grateful that I had this place to go to, where I could drop my kids off at childcare and just put on my headphones and do work; I could sweat and construct more of myself both physically and mentally. I could pee without an audience. I could chat on the phone with my aunt or dad or one of my best friends from home uninterrupted. I would get in a workout at the gym by our house and then cruise across the Huey P to the sister gym site, where I would drop the boys off at childcare there for a little bit so that I could use the sauna or sit in the sun and get golden. I read, I reflected, I zoned out, I drank a beer  or a Gatorade or chomped ice and ate a Quest bar. I needed these precious moments alone more than ever this summer. 

Life would have been much, much harder without this place.

It’s time though. I’m sure I can get an excellent workout at home with my various Beachbody programs and the other assorted equipment I’ve acquired, and I’m dedicated to building a solid home gym. I thought about it a lot, went back and forth several times and talked with Chad, and we both agreed that it made more sense to save the gym membership money and put it towards a squat rack, which I’m very excited about.

I’m also excited because I think my workouts will have a little more joy in them. It’s weird; I love lifting and what it does to my body, but it really had come to a point for me where my heart was just not in it, and I’m not sure why, though I intend to look at that a little deeper. I’m looking forward to the variety that will inevitably come from a home workout, and strangely enough, I’m actually looking forward to cardio, specifically my all time favorite TurboJam, plus the runs that I’m doing to train for my Thanksgiving 5 Miler.

I’m more settled in now, New Orleans feels more like home. And because of that I know I don’t need a home away from home anymore, and that feels good.

Here's to the next part of the journey. 

xx.