A stranger in a strange land…

Picture this; it’s 6^th  June 1944, you’re in Normandy and for some reason you’re a soldier involved in Operation Overlord. You’re handed a gun, told to swim ashore and eradicate as many Axis soldiers as possible whilst dodging thousands of bullets. One problem, you’ve never handled a gun before, you’re barley able to stay afloat never mind swim and you’ve no idea who or what an Axis soldier is. That was me when I first joined Kirklees Active Fitness in Huddersfield. Perhaps a slight exaggeration but I’m trying to get across the fear and apprehension  I felt.

Over the last couple of weeks I had continued to eat more, and to incorporate more healthy foods into my diet. Now it was time to join my first ever gym. My wife, Jessica, kindly accompanied me to the gym and went about her usual routine whilst I signed up and tried my best to not look like a newbie. I was lead to a fitness instructor, and for the life of me I cannot remember his name. What I do remember is his patience, kindness and humour. He clearly knew just from looking at me that I had no idea what to do in a gym. I kept trying to make him laugh at my lack of knowledge and strength and this put us both at ease.

He asked me why I was here, what I wanted to gain from working out and what my past experience of training was. In response, I told him my sob story about the doctors frightening me about my weight, or lack thereof. Also, the fact that I rarely exercised in the past but that I was keen to learn and give it my best so as to become a lot more healthy, happy, and physically fit. From this, he put together a rudimentary 3 day workout plan, of which he quickly showed me the basic movements.

Monday		Wednesday		Friday
Cardio - 10 mins		Leg press -3 sets of 10 reps		Cardio - 10 mins
Lat Pull-downs - 3 sets of 10 reps		Leg extension - 3 sets of 10 reps		Shoulder press machine -3 sets of 10 reps
Bent over rows - 3 sets of 10 reps		Leg curl - 3 sets of 10 reps		Cable rows - 3 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell press - 3 sets of 10 reps		Abs 10 mins ( sit ups, planks etc.)		Incline dumbbell press - 3 sets of 10 reps
Barbell curl - 3 sets of 10 reps				Dumbell curls - 3 sets of 10 reps
Triceps push-down -  3 sets of 10 reps				Overhead Triceps extension - 3 sets of 10 reps

At the time, this seemed to be so complicated and time consuming, pretty much a lot of effort for little gain. But, as I previously stated I was keen to make a change and begin my journey to becoming healthy and fit. I began researching the movements online, checking out all the popular fitness YouTube accounts, watching again and again as they described how to perform each exercise correctly and safely. I quickly became obsessed. I even went out and bought my first tub of Protein!

I finally got the fitness bug! But little did I know that this was just the beginning of a long, lonely, dangerous road.

Next post, “My first week in the gym”.