You should have seen me at the gym

There's a reason why I coach entrepreneurship and not fitness. I joined a gym lately and I'm still trying to find my comfort zone there. The vision thing makes it tough at times. If you go to the gym you'll see me there looking like a female version of Magoo feeling my way around the room. 

Alma Taylor 

"You should see me at the gym!"

I was forced into entrepreneurship and learned to love it and I've got my fingers crossed that the same thing will happen at the gym. Did I mention that I am not a gym person.

I have noticed that my upper body strength is not what it used to be. I blame it on the sedentary lifestyle. A couple of days ago I went online and found an exercise that would work my arms. Next time I went to the gym I found the machine and got set up.

I set the weight at 10 lbs and sat down with the intention of doing 12 reps (I'm getting the lingo). Well, I couldn't even get to four and before I continued, I took the 10 lbs off and did it with the bar alone. Here I was trying to remember how to breath, where to position my feet, making sure I had the right form - all the while hearing the reel of my mantra STRONG BODY, STRONG BODY playing in my mind.

I was shocked that I was having such difficultly with this machine - I did a quick check over the shoulder to make sure no one was watching. This was bloody hard and I was getting slightly pissed.

Next day I'm at the gym and determined to get back on that machine. I walk over and there's a fella on the machine and you can tell that it's not his first time in a gym. You know what I'm saying? This man was buff. I watched how he managed with a lot of weight on the machine. He made it look easy. There was also something else that I noticed.

Before he got on the machine he brought this handle over the top and grasped them on the bottom. It's hard to write about here but can  you get the picture? The handle is flipped up and then when you sit down, you flip it down. I DIDN'T DO THAT FLIPPING DOWN PART the first day.

There's the reason why I couldn't do any reps. I took a second to laugh at myself and then I took over the machine when he was finished. Moved that weight to 20 lbs and I had no trouble at all.
I could have burst out laughing as I watched him flip this handle around and then start the exercise - I didn't use the machine the right way. No wonder it felt so awful. Thank goodness I can laugh at myself.

Here's the deal - if you are a perfectionist, you'll never try new things. Learn to laugh at yourself. Embrace the incompetence that you feel when you try new things. You've got to crawl before you walk and you have to make it fun.

Find out more about our new Membership Program for Entrepreneurs here.