It's a New Year!... no duh! Anyway It Makes Me Happy!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I spent my new year playing rockband with my brother, boyfriend, roommate, my brother's roommate and my brother's girlfriend. It was AWESOME! Stayed up till like 5am. Got snowed in,... didn't keep up much on the blogging during that time. Had a lot of work to do.

I posted a link to the interview I did with my coach Sean Calder on his forums that I write in. They're at www.seancalderpersonaltraining.com just click the members area, and you'll find links to my forum threads. It's in the second to most recent set of posts. Check it out for sure if you're planning on getting fit.

Something that I think I should talk about, just incase you decided to make a new years resolution to lose weight, is Gym Etiquette.

Now a lot of people have had some time in the gym and know most of this. But I know that when I started I had NO idea what to do. So here's some handy tips for Gym Noobs:

1. Re Rack Your Weights - trust me.. if you don't do this it will annoy people. EVEN YOU GUYS! You drive me nuts when you leave six 45 pound plates on a machine and I have to haul each one of them off of it... YEAH.. so what if you can lift that much.. I DON'T CARE.. be nice and put them away.. someone like me could come along and not feel like showing off because she wants to get a serious workout in and have to take the time to put your toys away. Jeebus! ..

2. It's ok to carry a note book and pen. Don't worry. The people who know what they're doing in a gym won't think you're a wierdo for tracking your lifting. It's actually a good thing to do espeically when starting out. Track your sets, weight, and reps. Handy tool... very handy. I used to be so self conscious about writing down my workouts.. now it's no big deal. Sometimes I even type them into my blackberry and email them to myself. *yes. I'm a nerd.. I know.... * But whatever way works for you, go for it.

3. Grunting... hehehe... oh man. I've heard so many rants on this one. If you can.. please refrain from making grunts that sound like you're taking a 12 pound dump. I can understand if you're going super heavy ... but in EVERY exercise.. every set.. every rep.. grunt grunt grunt... it's annoying.

4. iPods! I love ipods! If don't have one yet.. or any kind of mp3 player.. it would be a wise investment. It's perfectly fine to wear an ipod to the gym and rock your face off! It really helps me get the last few reps in when I'm feeling tired. Crank it up!!

4. Oogling people. Ok guys.... (and some gals) .... well here.. wait.. before I start on this one let me give you an example. Whoever knows what a stiff legged deadlift is will know where I'm coming from on this one. If someone is doing these... and hiding in a corner on purpose... DON'T FOLLOW THEM INTO THE CORNER SO YOU CAN STARE AT THEIR BUTT!!! It's embarassing!!!! I can't concentrate when I know there's some yayhoo with his eyes glued to my rear. I've even seen girls staring down a nice pair of bike shorts from time to time... (guilty) but STILL!... at least let her get her set in before getting that glazed over look in your eye.

5. Post Workout Shakes - if you drink something post workout, it's totally fine to make it at the gym.. just try not to make a huge mess and get powder all over. It's a pain to clean up. One of the handy tricks I use is to put the powder in a zip lock bag... when I'm done lifting I go fill the ziplock with water... squish it around, bite the corner off and drink my shake through it like a cake frosting cone. Then just toss the baggy. Handy.. yessh.

6. Asking for a spot. That also, is not uncommon and most of the time it's fine. I would ask that you DO NOT ASK the people who are in the middle of a set.... or anyone wearing sunglasses, an ipod, and a baseball hat... indoors. They're probably very serious about their workouts and wear those things so that people won't approach them to ask them questions.

7. A good time to ask questions is if someone takes their headphones out of their ears. That is a signal to the world that they're probably done with whatever they're doing and they don't need to be all hardcore anymore.

8. Mirror Space - Many people need to see themselves in the mirror to keep their form right. When you walk in front of people while they're working out it can be kind of annoying. Try to walk behind people. Oh yeah.. and if you see people flexing in the mirror... they might not be the self centered person you think they are.. they're probably getting ready to do a bodybuilding show and just want to check on their posing. Posing is very important for competitors.

9. Gyms as places to pick up chicks... or dudes. - BAD YOU!... Ok not really.. maybe... well.. this one depends. All I know is that I HATE being approached while I'm in the middle of a set for some guy's chit chat about who knows what that only leads up to a corny pickup line ( I love good pickup lines though... they make me giggle)... it messes up my chi. When I'm mid set I want to concentrate on my form.. not on some guy. If you're going to ask her out.. maybe get her on her cooldown on the treadmill so she'll be able to actually hold up a conversation instead of just spray sweat on you and trip over herself trying to talk to you while running at 8mph.

10. Perfume... - ohhh pleeeeeeeease don't put this on to go to the gym. Best thing you can do is take showers or use deoderant.. just don't go overboard on the smelly stuff. It can give people headaches and distract them from workouts.

11. Makeup... ladies.. you really don't need to do this. You'll get a nice healthy glow from working out... :) Sweat makes your eyes look brighter too.

12. Jewelery... - be careful about wearing rings. They can get smashed easy.

13. Cell Phones - RINGERS.. OFF... (nuff said)

14. Cell Phones part two - FOR THE LOVE OF PETE DO NOT MAKE PHONE CALLS IN THE GYM... go out side, go to your car.. anywhere but in the gym. Nobody can concentrate when all they hear about is how your old aunt So and So bit the big one and now you don't know what to do with her 14 cats.

(Sorry for ranting.. my bad... please forgive me).

15. Gloves. - if you're going to lift and you don't want blisters.. use them. :)

16. Thongs - uhhhhhhhhhhh... heh.. just don't.

17. Locker Room Nakedness - brief moments.. fine.. but don't run around conversing with people while you're in your birthday suit.. that's just wrong... silly and wrong. I don't care how hot you are it's uncomfortable for most people and they will appreciate your courtesy for wearing clothing when talking to them.


OOOOkeydokey.. I think that's about it for ranting. I hope this clarifies a few odd behaviors at the gym and helps you understand why people do what they do and when it's ok to do what and so on and so on.

I hope you have a great new year!~ My fingers hurt from typing!

Tiff :)