The Gym Routine

So almost every weekday I wake up at 0430, pull my hair into a ponytail, drink 8 ounces of water, grab my gym bag, my purse, and my breakfast and walk out the door to head to the gym. I am either running, doing circuits, or lifting weights. I have quite a routine after all these years and this morning, I remembered my first couple of months and how hard it was to begin. So… I give you my tips, tricks, and tell-all about starting a gym routine.

CAVEAT: I work full-time; if you don’t, you probably have a little more time on your hands than my blog is for, but then again, maybe you don’t.

Years ago, when I first decided (or maybe I should say my pudgy stomach decided for me) to start going to the gym, I was scared. Scared of forgetting a piece of clothing; scared of taking too long and being late for work; scared of not having shower shoes, make-up, or a blow dryer – it was all fear of the unknown. The first time I went to the gym it took me three hours to pack my bag because I kept going through my head, thinking I forgot this-or-that, and then going back to it and re-packing it. Silly.

The second week, after a weekend of rest of recovery, I forgot my bra the first day (I hate Mondays), I forgot my towel the third day, and I forgot my  make-up the fourth. {That I returned to the gym the following week – or that many days in a row of mistakes – really is amazing in itself} Regardless, I knew I needed a gym routine or I would procrastinate working out till it was too late.

Finally I sat down and wrote up everything I needed to go to the gym before work. (You can do the same for wherever you go after working out.) I came up with the following:

• Towel(s) and washcloth
• Soap and shampoo
• Shower shoes
• Business outfit
• Business shoes
• underwear (bra, hosiery or socks, and panties)
• toiletries (deoderant, make-up, comb/brush, blow dryer, hair accessories)
• Headphones and iPod
• Knee brace (tore my miniscus during the Paris marathon in 2010)
• Water bottle

I’m not one of those gym-goers that needs a fancy bag, so I have a regular 3-compartment backpack (large) that I use. I put my work shoes and toiletry holder (a cute, mesh doodad that hold my soap, shampoo, and dry washcloth) at the bottom of the large compartment. On top of that goes my two towels (I have long hair) and my blow dryer and water bottle.

In the middle (smaller) compartment I place my make up bag that also holds my hair accessories and my underwear. And in the front compartment I put my iPod and earphones, plus my knee brace. There are also hooks in multiple places on the outside of the bag and I strap my knee brace around one and hang my shower shoes off another.

I then hang my outfit in the backseat of my car the night before and put the gym bag on the floor in front of it. Off to bed I go after setting my alarm for 4:30am.

In the morning, it’s a matter of getting out of bed, putting on my work-out outfit and shoes, drinking 8 ounces of water, and getting my things for work. I always eat yogurt and a banana for breakfast, so I grab those and put them in a cool bag and place that in my purse/bag (it’s a large purse, but it hold files, lunch, and sometimes two water bottles.) I fill the two aforementioned water bottles and add them to the bag before heading to the bathroom.

I do my morning thing, pulling my hair into a high ponytail, brush my teeth, put my gym shoes on (which I keep in the shoe cabinet by the front door) and head out the door. It takes me 25 minutes to get from bed to car.