I want to, I really, really want to run gushing with enthusiasm to my local gym...my heart full of desire for another push-up, my mind determined to make a million press-ups and my stomach burning and churning with the the thought of another crunch....but it's just not happening...I aspire to be one of those women who have a myriad of exercise outfits, that showcase abs of steel and arms that ripple rather than shake. I hope to talk the lingo, understand the equipment and the benefits .....But that hasn't happened and I have a feeling that it never will...it's just not me....I only care about my clothing after the session...trainers or
louboutins...lycra or
j brands?... I have a one track mind when it comes to labels ....
adidas and
nike just don't do it for me....I want someone (handsome preferably...) to set all the heavy duty machines for my workout and any in-between-when-I-have-caught-my-breath conversations I might have... well... body building chat just isn't my thing.....However often I go to the gym there is always some reluctance, a reticence and a secret dread. I know what is ahead of me...I know the pain and torture that I must will myself to endure but I also know that it is necessary...because unlike those gorgeous French girls...no gym means no good for me....I run up the stairs, like a good French girl...I walk and walk and walk, like a good French girl does...but somehow the genetics are against me...I am not finding that I have the cute little
derriere that I would like or that same one that I see bustling along the Parisian boulevards or swishing along the cobblestone pathways in the local village....It is sad but true...To avoid a
derriere of Montmartre proportions, I have to exercise and do the gym thing...
You see I have tried the French way and it did me no favours. It might have worked if I had eaten like a French girl with controlled portions and limited carbohydrates...but I found that not so much fun. It wasn't entirely my fault...France is a bit naughty....she lures you in with temptations that are impossible to resist...delicious wines and champagnes, succulent roast chickens and golden deep fried
pommes frites, soft and delicate cheeses that melt in the mouth only to disappear on the hips,
tartes, macarons and
madeleines that are extra sublime when you can have more than one....because generosity is important...isn't it? And bread....to say no to French bread is a cruel and nasty blow...and ...well...almost rude..and I would never want to appear ungrateful in my adopted country...that would be too grim for words...
So you see the gym is the only way out for me.....even though deep down I sympathise 100% with the French girl's philosophy and intellectually I agree that the gym is an entirely uncivilised way to maintain beauty .....But as today is Monday and Monday is gym day...I just felt the need to tell you...and to know....Do you find the gym as much of a challenge as me? xv
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I loved the gym so much I quit after three months!! The idea of paying to sweat with other sweaty people just didn't appeal! So now I have bought a good pair of walking boots and some waterproofs (not glamorous I know). I intend to walk as much as possible every weekend, walk home from work at least three times a week and somehow manage to avoid the gym and still enjoy fresh bread and cheese. Not sure this is going to work.....
ReplyDeleteYES! I joined for the first time this year, and went like clockwork for the first 3 months then...hmmm.
ReplyDeleteI keep vowing to return, this week, next week, sometime!
At the gym I used to go to here in St. Remy, the women wore scarves. Not "brrr it's cold in here!" scarves but rather "this is cute and will brighten my exercise outfit!" scarves. And of course they looked adorable. But all I could think of was: with my luck, my scarf would get caught in the wheel of the stationary bike or under my feet on the treadmill. That's my French gym story for today!
ReplyDeleteI agree I don't like the gym either and I have no excuse as we have one near where I live. I have found a sort of compromise, pilates and yoga and I force myself to cycle there and back (20 mins each way for the aerobic bit). twice a week and maybe a swim on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteLOL - "a derriere of Montmartre proportions" - I am quite sure you don't and would never have one!! I detest the gym and would rather cut back on desserts than become slave to it. I do exercise a little at home and try to exercise a little restraint in the portion control department but like you, I adore both good food and fashion - it's always a challenge finding the middle ground!!
ReplyDeleteThere you go again Vicki, posting on exactly what I am thinking/obsessing about! I have been asking myself this week "should I or shouldn't I?"--as in join a gym. Sigh. I hate them too. So I do yoga and I power walk but...that is not cutting it. As in I have gained 12K over the past two years! Everyone warned me that this would happen after 40 and sure enough. Did I think that because I live in France, I would retain a French body? Alas, my body knows that it is all-American. A cute French shopgirl recently advised me to "just eat steamed vegetables". Um, non. I didn't move hear to only eat green. So, if I want to eat I think I am going to have to join a gym and suck it up (literally)! Glad to know that I am not alone in the dread. I hope that you at least have a quiet, clean gym to go to--here it is filled with young guys with shaved heads listening to rap at the weight machines! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteOff! If I added up all the months of membership at my gym I've paid for... months where I hadn't even stepped inside ... it would pay for a couple of pairs of Louboutins.
ReplyDeleteSo yes. Hate.
I so agree that if I had been watching what I eat since I was a teen, I probably wouldn't have to go to the gym either. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the gym. I pretend to be a dancer and concentrate on perfect form and the muscles I'm using, doing concise, smooth moves. That way I tune out the world and have time just for myself to relax and be alone.
Sam
Oh boy can I relate. I live in the states. I always thought I was a lucky one. Taking off weight was never that difficult. As a friend of mine said recently-Remember when going on a diet meant you'd skip lunch that day?- Well age kicked in and I learned what I ate wasn't all I needed to do. I did join a gym. I drag myself in three to 4 times a week. It's not as difficult as it used to be. I still rather not go but I go and it's corrected most of my problems areas. OK, I'm not going for the supermodel look. When I'm in there tired and feeling sweaty I remind myself now I can have that cupcake and not feel guilty. As you get older you'll be really glad you forced yourself to do this. It's amazing how much older people seem that don't get any exercise. Where I live for about 5 months the weather is just too brutal to go out and walk for long periods. Sorry to ramble on.
ReplyDeletekathy
Kathy
Yes! I know some women love the gym but i am not one of them, as you say it is just not in my genetic make-up. Thank heavens cycling works so well for me or I would be in "big" trouble in the derriere, or should I say "bigger" trouble! Keep going Vicki, I am sure it is working for you. XO
ReplyDeleteThank you for all you post here. I visit very often. I adore your shots and all you share with me. Some time ago, I am not sure if this was on your page or not, you may have shared where to get IKEA sofa's slip covered from another company. I recall you shared a beautiful velvet gray and the company name. I could be mistaken I found it here. If I am not can you share that with me again, I seem to have lost the contact information. Again, your site is so lovely, informative, and inspiring. I enjoy coming here in my day! Thank you, sincerely, Suzanna
ReplyDeleteIndeed. But I also have a physical job, so it helps.
ReplyDeleteYes--so much so that we rigged up a bike on a stand in our house (in front of a tv) so I don't have to go to the gym!. Still hate it, but much easier to get to.
ReplyDeleteI can empathize with you! I would love a harder, slimmer body than the one I have now, but I absolutely despise the gym. I try to workout from home. I have found some online workouts I like (www.bodyrockers.tv) but I am not as disciplined as I should be. However, I too, loving everything French, have tried the Montignac diet and LOVED it (maybe you know it?). I saw results even without increasing my workouts, but most of all, I liked how it's not so much a diet as it is a way of eating, a philosophy. It's basically like a low glycemic index diet except French-ified. If you are interested, I bought Michel Montignac's book called "Slim Forever, the French way" on Amazon, but he has authored many more based on his method. He has very delicious recipes, and portion size is never an issue as long as you are combining the right foods. Although I found eating this way, I actually ate less anyway. The reason I'm so enthusiastic to share this is because it has changed my whole outlook on eating. Now eating is something I enjoy instead of feel guilty about.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a good workout today ;)
I don't love the gym. But I love carbs even more. And I love fitting into my clothes. So off to the gym I trot! Save me a croissant, please!
ReplyDeleteFind it a challenge? No, not I--I have found the perfect solution for going to the gym: I run like hell in the opposite direction every time one approaches. Have a great week! Mary
ReplyDeleteha! I just wish I could FIND a gym in Paris that's remotely like an american gym!!!! the gyms here are like something from the "rocky" training era... the Paris girls just get minceur treatments, and that's enough for them. ;)
ReplyDeleteHappy gym day, Vicki!
Cate
No I don't find the gym a challenge, but then the only gym that I have managed to go to is one here in Italy, run by a friend of my husband, and she does classes only. I loved going to the gym, but I haven't been for a while (for budgeting reasons, solely), otherwise I would be there in a flash. And so I walk 6 days a week. And probably eat too large portions of pasta, but that is life. Now I am craving French pastries though. I hope today's gym session wasn't too challenging Vicki.
ReplyDeleteA challange to say the least!! I agreed with everything you wrote... my lifestyle in the US is so far from my lifestyle growing up in Scandinavia... so I, too, am forced to do the gym thing, and truthfully... I don't like it a whole lot :-(
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I feel the same way---it feels great when you're done though, it's just getting in the door that's tough for me!
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously considering a 4-month gym membership this year. I began running in 2009 (I've been an avid fitness walker for years and years). I love the toning and the improved ability to breathe running has given me, but it's impossible to run outside in the Minnesota winters for me with my type of asthma. And it's so hard to start over every spring after sitting on the couch eating chocolate winter.
ReplyDeleteI hate exercising indoors, there's just something unnatural about running in place on a treadmill or on an elliptical machine or on a track round and round and roun. But I really hope I do it this year. I really hope I do...
I'm loving this too. Would like to be a French girl myself...but like you I cannot control my portions or carbohydrates so to the gym I go. Mona
ReplyDeleteI have had a few memberships that I paid for and seldom used. Those French tips are being used here but they do not seem to be working for me either...
ReplyDeleteI have to confess I have never been to a Gym..plan to clean up a workroom, get a magical piece of equipment that will workout every part of my body, put a big Tv in front of it, as the only thing that will keep me going is if I can watch my fav. decorating shows....!
ReplyDeleteI hope gym day went well for you Vicki...I wrestle with this one all the time.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder the impact blogging has as well....I wish we could do it in motion. Think of the possibilities...someday!
Jeanne xx
I love your second paragraph! My husband just joined the gym again and told me he wants to work out together and is considering getting me a membership for Christmas! Quelle horreur...instead of new Chanel perfume or a beautiful necklace? Je ne crois pas!! I have never been a gym lover and would rather walk, try to eat healthier along with smaller portions, and do a ballet dvd. Much credit to you for braving the gym ;o)
ReplyDeleteAlicia
No one in my house likes the gym either :)
ReplyDeleteThe idea of my husband getting me in a gym would make us both fall down laughing... I walk miles ( not exaggerating) a day .. I lost 20 lbs when we moved here .. from walking .
I am afraid to live anywhere that I need a car because I might gain weight lol.
Starting my Monday with your writing - is there anything better? I think not.
ReplyDeleteGymm. I have to add the extra 'm' so it can be in the category it should be in -- the four letter word category. !! I hate the gym. I don't go. I go to a civilized and beautiful pilates studio(which is having stunning results, I must say) and do yoga with my group on the beach. It's my new thing, and I'll never step foot in a gym again.
Now, pass the bread... and cheese... my weaknesses... le sigh. such torture.
Happy Monday, Viki!
xo isa
I am not a gym kind of gal either, Vicki. However, I do Pilates once a week with a lovely personal trainer and have now started an adult ballet class. With walks in between :)
ReplyDeleteSo true...although I have been a runner consistently for 15 years, now that I am solidly in middle age I am beginning to realize that no amount of running will save me from the food that I enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI was persuaded by a dear friend (a gym lover) to attend the gym with her. All was well until I approached the first machine. I am not a friend of many machines and the feelings are reciprocated. I had no idea how to use this contraption and ended up sprawled in an undignified heap on the floor. I'd tried to work it backwards! My friend and I laughed so hard we were too weak to move.
ReplyDeleteNow a tong term course of medication has left me 25kg heavier than I was at the end of a nine months pregnancy, and, despite 'eating programmes' and walking remains stubbornly attached to my curves. So ... I'm considering the gym. Whether I actually get there or not is another thing. Since my first foray, I have joined the gym three times but never actually been ... It will never be my favourite place to be. :)
i knew my french genes were the strong ones!!!
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. I am not a gym fan but have been thinking seriously of signing up. I walk EVERYWHERE and it does NOTHING. NOTHING!! Lately, I've taken to dawn jogs in our local park. xx
ReplyDeleteI use the gym purely for a strength training session - which all of us over 40 shoud be doing twice weekly ! (It can be done at home if gym is not your thing and there are lots of quick 20 min programs if you googled!)
ReplyDeleteI have decided that cardio and I are no longer friends and have taken up yoga when I have time and walk the dog daily - or she walks me! The best exercise to do is incidental - the exercise you do when you are not doing exercise!! Park the car a block away; take the stairs; talk to a colleague - don't send an email; housework - not a lot of pleasure but a whole lot of gain; gardening; dance around the house when no one is looking - or if you like an audience.....................??
No gym shoes and leotards for me Vicki I'm a macaron and tartlette gal - love the top pic! xx
ReplyDeleteBeen there done that, also have the home equipment to prove my intent on getting in the best shape of my life! Well....lets just say they aren't used as much as they should be but all is not lost, I do hope to get back in shape when I move! Yea I know excuses excuses, and lets not forget the French blood I have in me! Maybe that will save the day:)
ReplyDeleteLuckily I have the discipline and knowledge to be my own personal trainer, so I do it at home. Otherwise I would never go to the gym. At home it never feels like a chore...and I actually become a bit obsessed (as I do with everything!). No happy medium with me...especially when it comes to French food.
ReplyDeleteCatherine
I know exactly what you mean! The gym is not a place that I love, but the food that I love keeps me there. "
ReplyDeleteIs that machine taken?"
Hugs,
Patti
Oh dear Vicki, I am not a gym woman!! I just do not like to work out around other people and I cannot seem to ever make time for it.
ReplyDeleteNow that said, after this hip replacement I will have a very rigid rehab, so I could really get into a pattern of workout, which would be good!
Otherwise I detest the gym!! Well that's the truth!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Hi Vicki
ReplyDeleteI run 5 times a week between 3 and 5 miles daily. I try and do about half hr of floor work 3 times weekly but it does not always work as planned and the awareness of calories is a fact of life for me.
I have given up going to the gym.
Good luck and keep with it, it is good for your health.
Helen xx
The only gym class that is tolerable to me is spinning, as the lights are dimmed and the music is loud. Every other part of the gym, I would ditch in a heartbeat. A vigorous walk is always preferable (especially if there are lovely shop windows to look into along the way). Phil xxx
ReplyDeleteI think gym is boooooooring!
ReplyDeleteI was lucky to find a group of local ladies and am doing cha-cha-cha dancing with them 6 times a week in the morning for about 9 months now. It's fun, I made new friends, we even had a cooking class together (they tough me how to make moon cake for the Chinese Fall festival), here are some pictures
http://ilapko.com/irina/2011/09/07/my-first-moon-cake/
xo,xo
Yes as much as I try I just cannot keep up a gym routine - it is so difficult for me, I'd pretty much do whatever else vs go to the gym!
ReplyDeleteJe n'aime pas la gym du tout du tout!!!... je suis gourmande aussi!!!... Il est vrai que 10 minutes de plaisir c'est quelques mois sur les hanches!...
ReplyDeleteJe dois reconnaître que j'ai de la chance, je peux me faire plaisir dans devoir penser à faire de la gym!
Gros bisous
not in love with the gym, but know it is the right thing to do ...so i go 3 x a week.....I'm 58 and can see that it makes a huge difference....so i continue...it's a discipline....... and i like the results
ReplyDeleteI hate exercise with a passion only surpassed by my love for eating!
ReplyDeleteFood is fun, exercise not so fun :( My best advice?; buy a pedometer, wear it every day and keep track of how much (or how little) you are moving. It really helps to motivate you to take the stairs, make that extra trip to the mailbox etc. It really works!
Oh Vicki, I was an 80's gym girl (Olivia Newton John style). It got me nowhere. I have ditched all memberships and at the tender age of 45 have started running. In the beginning it hurt and sort of made me feel sick. But I persisted. I needed to understand why runners are like reformed smokers and never go back to 'not running'. I gave it enough time for the endorphins to kick in.. and they do! Now I put on my gear no matter what I have planned for the day. It's a habit. Like cleaning my teeth. I feel so good afterwards, like I have achieved something great. It's hard, and exhausting but so exhilarating when you start to get some fitness. I feel physically younger than I did when I was 25. That's my story... and I even do it with a dodgy knee. I just strap it. Your French food descriptions make me weep for France... I have to get back there asap. I ate my way through Paris. The best food experience of my life.
ReplyDeleteA-M xx
Oh yes, every Monday I start with the best of intentions. I think I have the most extensive range of excuses by now. Monday my gym clothes were in the wash. Tonight I had to rush home to cook a lovely roast for my husband. Somehow I think I really should right this week off as I am already exhausted. I am pleased someone else feels the same way. I felt so virtuous when I joined up however that feeling dissipated very quickly.if you come up with a secret weapon to learn self discipline please tell. Sally-Ann x
ReplyDeleteOh yes! The gym for me is such a waste of precious time. Still, I make a point of going three days a week.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, I should I say lack of desire to visit the gym. I do one year on, four years off!
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't go to the gym. I walk and go on local hikes, move around a lot. Gyms are money making gimmicks, in my opinion. People have got around not going to gyms for a lot longer than when they started the gym craze.
ReplyDeleteYes. I am in great shape.
Ugh! I am definitely no gym lover. I like to walk and go to yoga or pilates, but going to the actual gym? No thanks!
ReplyDelete~ Clare x
curiouslookingglass.blogspot.com
I recently witnessed the arrival in the Cath Lab of a young, fit woman of 45 who in the middle of a Zumba class dropped like a stone with a total occlusion of her Left Coronary Artery. Some fast action by the Interventional Cardiologist saw her stabilized with angioplasty & stenting. It was scary & put me off Zumba for life! I'll stick to the uphill climbs around the roads of Stirling with Puppy Lulu. It's so steep in places my pulse rate goes into the stratosphere. Never took you for a gym junkie Vicki, you do surprise us!
ReplyDeleteMillie xx
I'm in the same boat, Vicki. My "bide" is seriously getting out of control. I just can't stop stuffing myself with French pastries. Mmm, those beignets do it everytime.
ReplyDeleteBises and good luck!
La Mom
I understand your pain... I never really look forward to working out but it is a regular part of my schedule. It is so much a part of my life now that I miss it when I cannot work out and I notice that I am edgy without the stress release. I must be hooked on the endorphins.
ReplyDeleteHi Vicki,
ReplyDeleteI'm late to the party, but i was at my country home when I read this and could not respond. We are technology challanged up on the mountain...I just wanted to suggest my workout blog super find with which I got in the best shape of my life (at 49!) It is: www.bodyrock.tv
It is a home workout program which takes only 15-20 minutes per day (in my case every other day) and best of all it's free. Check it out if you have time.
best,
Emma B
nice blog. thanx for sharing
ReplyDelete