You, like me, probably have a history with the Gym…that place where people go to “feel the burn,” lose weight, get fit, tone their bodies, and feel a bit smug. Over the past 3.5 years of practicing intuitive eating, I believed that I would never go to a gym again. To my surprise, I signed up for a 3-month membership at a local Gold’s Gym last week.

After reconnecting with a love for moving and walking outside, driving to a gym to do repetitive movements like walking on a treadmill or using an elliptical for 30 minutes to an hour seemed like a drag. The very idea of getting into a car to drive somewhere in order to move my body, when I can simply walk outside or move at home, made no sense to me at all.

In fact, the only time that I consistently went to a gym, is during my college days because the campus gym was within walking distance. On reflection, the only other instance that I might have been able to sustain a month or so of regular gym attendance was when I went into a frenzied mode of wanting “to lose weight.” Those new years resolutions or the constant barrage of messages about the approaching “swimsuit season” is usually enough pressure to send many of the gym’s fair-weather friends back into the fold.

However, weight loss as the central motivation, carried out by the use of willpower, never lasts long…at least not in my experience. In light of my own observed fickleness with the gym, I had decided that it was best for the gym and I not to be friends.

The fact that most gyms expect you to sign yearly contracts in an attempt to guarantee their revenue and motivate us to get “our money’s worth” also created an undesirable relationship for me. Who really wants to do something because of peer or financial pressure or feeling obligated? I know that getting my “money’s worth” was never enough of a motivation to make me or anyone else I know a gym regular over the long-term.

So, what’s behind my renewed interest in the gym and why this gym? There are several reasons and hear are some highlights:

1) In the past few months, I hit an intuitive eating plateau. I didn’t even know a plateau was possible with my intuitive eating practice because I basically felt fabulous for the first 3 years and assumed that the same would continue. Unfortunately, after growing progressively over the past 3 years, it seemed that I had reached an impasse and I didn’t feel so great anymore.

>Reintroducing the gym into my life is a way to shake things up and spur some new energy.

2) My body has been giving me signals and dreams about wanting to move more, increasing the intensity of my movement practices, and improving my cardiovascular strength.

>I know that gym equipment gives me great feedback on heart rate, distance, and can make me challenge myself more than when I move outside or at home.

>While listening to an audio program for my year-long health coaching certification program with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), I was reminded that the heart is a muscle and can get stronger when you challenge it!

3) I do enjoy using elliptical equipment and strength training.

>While visiting a few gyms over the past weeks, I began to develop a new and more inspiring perspective about the gym. A gym can provide you and me with great access to toys and open indoor space! Having access to equipment like row machines, medicine balls, a variety of free weights, strength training equipment, indoor swimming pool and racquetball and basketball courts, a room to jump rope in or take classes is pretty sweet. The gym that sold me had a sauna and a steam room too! I’ll gladly pay for access to a steam room. Wouldn’t you?

4) Gyms have 3-month options that are more financially manageable and adjustable to changing schedules and interests.

>I can actually see myself signing up for and using a gym for 3 months at a time whenever, I need to add some new life to my movement practices. A three-month membership over the winter months will be a great option.

After signing on the dotted line and beginning my membership, I genuinely felt a wave of enthusiasm and excitement about my new relationship with the gym and this phase of my intuitive eating journey. I haven’t felt enthusiasm for going to the gym since I was 18, when the gym and I met for the first time.

You know what? Focusing on intuitive eating and intuitive movement gave the gym and I some needed time apart from each other. During that time, the gym and I have both evolved and can now have a more mature and inspired relationship with each other.

In my first few days back with the gym, I have noticed that it can seem like a serious place. This morning, as I looked around at other people using different machines, each person looked like they were “workin’ hard.” However, I don’t know if they were really having fun or feeling the joy of moving their bodies.

Let’s start a movement. Go to the gym when it brings joy to your life, a smile to your face, and you’re going to have fun with your body. You can make the gym a real friend, who’s there for you when you need it.

P.S. Be sure to wear something cute to the gym too…work it baby!

Eat Intuitively, Move Joyfully, Love Your Body.