Yesterday was the opening (but not “grand opening”) of OneLife Fitness in the Hagerstown Mall. I have been anticipating this opening since last summer, when I saw a sign-up booth in the park in Williamsport, MD during a festival. The vendors said this was a great opportunity to get in on the ground  floor with a discounted membership/extra benefits. The club was under construction in the old Macy’s store space and should be open around Thanksgiving. 

I had been thinking hard about getting back into shape. My stamina and flexibility were going downhill fast, and I was experiencing waaaay too many aches and pains. I have trouble exercising by myself at home. I came to the conclusion that what I needed was some structure.  So, I signed up. And waited. And waited. And waited. So… here it was, January 25, and FINALLY opening day had arrived. It had been a long six month wait!  

I went to the club and took a tour of the HUGE facility, and signed up for an introductory hour with a personal trainer the next day. I went to the shoe store and bought a new pair of workout shoes. My current shoes were about 20+ years old – NOT well worn but very heavy! My new  HOKA shoes are like walking on a cloud albeit a very sturdy one! The are as light as air but the foot support is fantastic. 

Sporting my new kicks I headed to “my” gym for my introduction to my new world. I had a great trainer who spent about 30 minutes in questions, answers, ambitions and goals. We figured out, with the help of a machine, body fat (I even know how much each of my arms and legs weigh!) muscle mass weight, how much water is in my cells, and how much outside my cells. I told him I have arthritis in my knee and my doctor told me to lose weight, among other things. Goal setting time! Between now and March 2 he SAYS if I follow my plan I will lose six to eight pounds. Of course I don’t believe him! Four weeks, eight sessions, and eight pounds? Doesn’t sound possible to me! So we will see! The goals I chose for myself are nutritional – eat three servings of fruits per day, and take a multivitamin daily.

Next came 30 minutes on the gym floor. It went pretty fast, some things were more difficult than others, but I made it through feeling pretty good about my first “workout” of my journey. By the time I got home I knew I didn’t want to cook so we went out for pizza and a salad. See what I mean about those eight pounds! By the time I was home again the aches were getting intense. I took an Aleve and iced my shoulder first, then after 20 minutes iced my leg, and 20 minutes after that I moved the ice pack to my knee. That is the last thing I remember before I fell sound asleep in the chair…