Workout Buddies | Beating the Bulge

Day 4 - Workout Buddies

by Michael on 30/04/09 at 1:59 pm

Yesterday I headed off to the gym by myself, my partner still hasn’t fully recovered from his illness. When I arrive in the cardio room, the row of elliptical trainers was nearly empty except for this one big bear of guy that I’ve seen around the neighbourhood. Normally I would have picked a machine at the other end of the line, but today, a little voice said, “Go workout beside him.” We said our hellos, and after I got settled on my machine, we started to talk. This is a big step for me. I’m not usually this outgoing, especially when I’m feeling so exposed as I do in a gym.

Jerome and I worked on our elliptical machines and talked for 25 minutes. (He was doing 55 minutes and I was heading for 30.) We compared notes about our workouts, got to know one another a little better, and we urged one another through the hills. And by the time he left, I realized that I had finished 25 minutes and I was nearly done. But something else happened. Jerome had asked me how many calories one needs to burn to lose a pound. He was a little surprised to learn that it was 3,500 calories. He stared down at his machine, which was reading in the mid 500’s; I could feel his disappointment. As he finished up his 55 minutes, the machine said he had burned 750 calories. He kept going and said, “I’m going until I burn 800 calories.” After Jerome had finished and left, I hit my 30-minute mark and noticed that I was at about 450 calories. And I thought, “I’m going to go to 500 calories. If he can do it, so can I.” So I pedaled my way for another three minutes.

I’m glad that I took the initiative to befriend someone at the gym. It really helped pass the time and it encouraged me through a little friendly competition to push a little harder. A few minutes later, in the locker room, I found another guy getting changed beside my locker. This is the third time now that I’ve bumped into him. So this time I blurted out: “We seem to be on the same schedule.” So now I’ve made another connection. And maybe, if I don’t feel so isolated at the gym, I’ll continue going.

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