There is a new gym in town, Joust Strength and Fitness, and a pal has been having a good time training there. Joust has a nice program of classes and one-on-one training. But, I’m not going.
Now, I know strength training is an important part of health and fitness. I also haven’t really been doing it. There are just too many things to prioritize, daily meditation, professional society participation, social life, knitting, cardio, yoga, blogging, etc. So, I was intrigued by the classes, and the promise that they’d work with my scoliosis and help me train better and more efficiently. I believe every word of that.
My limitation – I simply refuse to drive to exercise. I walk to work. I have many workout options within walking distance of my work and my home, three of which are already in my rotation (RussaYog, spinning at Vie, and the Ann Arbor YMCA). And, I want to keep a lot of options within walking distance, so I simply can’t add another gym, particularly one I can’t walk to, to the list.
I struggled with this for a little while, tempted and overwhelmed at the same time. And then I remembered the advice in The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. Barry Schwarz argues that fewer choices are better, easier, and more satisfying. He advocated deciding what you’re going to decide. So, I recall that my choice is to live lightly on the earth, and driving to work out certainly doesn’t qualify, no matter how good the trainers and facilities. Joust is out, no regrets.
And then, I realized, I am not not doing strength work. In my rope yoga class, we use the ropes for balance, but also pull against them. Pull-ups on the ropes, while not a huge part of the class, is certainly strength work, and there’s a lovely mixture of release and effort that I haven’t yet mastered (not to mention the core work). When I heard myself explain my current workout situation to a friend, I realized that I was getting a lot out of the core work and strength work in that class.
So, I need to renew my commitment to the strength work I’m already doing, instead of adding a new commitment and car rides to my schedule.