I'm sure my old gym was the exception, but there people changed in dark corners and hid their shameful nudity from the world, AS IT SHOULD BE.
Okay, okay, I'm kidding. But, at the old gym, each shower was in a room with a private dressing area and a big locking door.
The new gym has private shower stalls, but it's just the stall, and there's no place to put anything that will stay dry, so you have to venture out at some point, clad in a towel at most.
*sigh*
When in Rome.
Maybe it's because I never took P.E. in high school (I got credit for playing sports instead). And, well, my school didn't *really* have a locker room anyway. Not that we ever got to use.
So, I'm not used to this group nudity thing. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. My two main problems:
1. I don't want to force anyone to see me naked. Especially when I'm the only one getting out of the shower and changing. What if these people didn't sign up for nudity either?
2. I CAN'T HELP BUT STARE AT NAKED PEOPLE. I know, I know. I try not to. I fight it. I avert my eyes. I can't act normal. I don't know what to do.
At least the locker room is super nice.
The happy naked time shower area.
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We talked about:
Mostly the newness of it all. There was NO music playing (the old gym blasted shitty music at too high a volume, all the damn time), so it was weird. I spent most of the time listening to other people get trained/make creepy grunting noises. Very weird.
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The workout:
3x
15 shoulder pull down things? I have no idea. New machine.
15 (per side) single leg roman dead lifts (no weight, yo, just getting my stretch on)
3x (all with the TRX)
20 forward lunges with my hands in the TRX loops so my shoulders stretched back
15 squats while holding the TRX taunt with my arms straight up. IDK. This was fucking HARD.
15 lean back on my heels, pull myself upright again, elbows in
15 same thing, elbows at a 45 degree angle
15 same thing, elbows at a 90 degree angle
3x
15 squat to overhead rows
[pause to watch a guy in 70s style shorts do stretches that mimicked him blowing himself. SCORE.]
Then we tried to do some stretch thing. When my trainer demonstrated he looked like some graceful circus gymnast pretending to gallop like a gazelle while lying on his side.
I looked like a moose having a seizure. My body did not understand how to contort in certain ways. It's, as usual, a range of motion issue. With my shoulders. And hips. I felt stupid the whole time. It didn't help that whoever designed the top I was wearing never envisioned someone exercising while on her side, and what little boobage I had kept threatening to pop out. Weird.
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And, I had to resort to taking pictures of myself in a bathroom stall.
Change is stupid and I hate it. Okay, so this gym is closer to me, and bigger, and parking is easier. But, yeah, change is stupid.
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I'm sure I'll get used to it. This is the fifth different place I've worked out with my trainer. I always get used to it.
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If you go to the gym, what is your locker room set up like? Any tips or general rules for me?
What is your workout today?
hahahaha I have the hardest time averting my eyes too! And then I always feel weird when I spot a naked person out of the corner of my eye and snap around to face the opposite way and/or walk away. It feels vaguely like I'm insulting them.
ReplyDeletethat IS a nice locker room though! at least it looks clean. haha. it's just good that you're gettin' your work on. i am doing office workouts today!!!
ReplyDeleteNice lookin' locker room. Mine is a group locker room like yours but not nearly as clean and pretty!
ReplyDeleteYour story about gym nudity cracked me up. I was like that in high school, I didn't like shower in public (my school had mandatory gym class.) I got over my phobia when I joined the military. Our showers in basic training sucked. Two rows of showers.... facing each other!!! Ugghhh. Like you, I couldn't not look. O jeez.
ReplyDeleteToday I am doing my first fartlek workout as well as doing upper body weights later tonight. Heck yes two-a-days!
Yeah, I'm anti-nudity too. The WORST is when the other person is clearly not at all ashamed of their nakedness and then just stands there, all hippie-unshaved and everything, and tries to have a conversation with you. 10000x worse if the person in question is a sweet mentally-retarded girl that you actually do care about, and her mother has the same lack of inhibitions about nudity. AWKWARD.
ReplyDeleteI don't shower at the gym if I can avoid it. We have stalls with curtains, and I'm always convinced someone is about to rip mine back and expose my...I don't know what, cottage cheese (color an texture) butt? Horrifying. In high school we at least had doors...no hot water though. My only tip is to keep your eyes on their knees. That's harmless enough, and if you squint a little you can block the nasty bits out entirely.
I ran a mile this morning (cough cough where's your spin report?) and am going to a concert tonight...I'll try to dance like no one's watching, does that count?
Ahhhh! I hate forced gym nudity! My gym has shower stalls set up the same way where you can't put any bags in there because they'll get wet so you HAVE to venture out into the locker room to change. HATE IT! I don't want to have people looking at my naked body and I also can't help but look at theirs because they're just hanging out, all naked and stuff. Ugh.
ReplyDelete. . . and yet you force us to see you pantsless. Well played, Ma'am, well played.
ReplyDeletehahaha kat's comment just slayed me.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you aren't naked in that mirror shot, Miss Rose! ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm NOT into nudity at all. I would be the one driving home sweaty and stinky to avoid the nakedness of myself. I think I'd be distracted by naked people. Especially if they were really large - which I'm sure is opposite of most? Not sure. Sometimes I just get fascinated with girth in general.
I never change at the gym- my apartment is on my way home from work so I can stop. Thank God- I've been in our's once or twice and there's just way too many boobies for me.
ReplyDeleteThis made me laugh! Living in Germany made me totally used to the naked changing room situation. I guess I'm just not that bothered either way?
ReplyDeleteThat locker room is FAAANCY! I go to the Y and it's all open, all the time. Open locker area, open showers. There are a few showers in stalls with curtains that don't cover the whole opening but when those are full you gotta use the open room showers. Oh, and the hot tub, sauna, steam room---all open & nude. I like it! I think it's cool seeing all the bodies.
ReplyDeleteOur Y has individual showers and some individual changing rooms, but it's mostly lockers and changing out in front of everyone. I go mostly at the end of the day, so i just change and shower at home.
ReplyDeleteDid my 2nd strength workout of the week. It's been a goal of mine to add strength training to my running and biking, and I'm finally following through.