First Day at the Gym: My Struggles and Commitment to Weight Loss

If there's something I don't like about myself lately, it's definitely my body status and how big I'm getting by the day. It even becomes more annoying when some friends tell me I'm fat or getting fatter. This gets to me, and I decided to initiate a change in that regard, and so I hit the gym. Prior to this time, I'm not the type of person who goes to the gym and indulges in any form of exercise except walking, but in my bid to lose weight, the narrative has changed, and here is a highlight of my first day at the gym.

Before I delve into my ordeal at the gym, it's worth noting that I first saw a scale with my brother Rahmon, and I decided to check my body weight. On stepping on the scale, I realized I'm about 106 kilograms. That's surprising because I thought it'd be way more than that, and I said this because four years ago I used to weigh 105 kg, and then I'm not as big as I'm now, so I'm unsure if it's only one kg I added and yet had so much fat. Well, my mission now is to lose body fat, stay fit, and maintain a decent body stature.

So at the gym I had to subscribe for a month, and that's cost 15,000 naira for a month, and with how tiring I fear the process might be, I decided to pay for a whole month that does a daily payment, which might make me not committed to the process. I let the gym instructor know my purpose for coming and how I'm not used to exercising and needing guidance to achieve my goals; he told me he'd be my coach, and so the journey to weight loss began that very day.

I started on the treadmill, where I was first asked to walk at a steady pace on the machine. As time goes on, the coach gradually increases the speed until I started literally juggling on the treadmill. Being someone who walks a lot, I thought it's going to be an easy task, but minutes into the process, I felt the heat and difficulty in maintaining the same pace or increasing for 20 minutes. By the time the coach called that phrase off, I was literally exhausted and panting heavily.

From the treadmill, he led me to this small, standing device, of which I don't know the name, and then he asked me to climb it and then jump down, jump on the same spot ten times, and repeat the same process over and over again. At first, I thought it's a fun activity that I'll easily do hungover without any difficulty, but just after 5 of such, I was already tired and felt loads of pain on my back, groin, and lap; it was so much that I had to stop for a while.

I guess the coach understood my plight and allowed me to rest for a minute and then continue once again. It wasn't an easy task, I must tell you, and at a time I was like, It's like I've used my own money to buy punishment for myself, but then I kept on going because of the main purpose that pushed me to the gym at first.

He also made me wear a glove and punch a punching bag. I've never all my life been involved in a fight that leads to throwing punches, so I was so awkward in that, and after watching the video of me punching the bag, I couldn't help but laugh at myself, but then he said it's also necessary in my quest to stay fit and lose weight, and the punch will help regulate the fat in my arms.

I also indulge in high knees exercise that we used a stick and have to move my legs up continuously; this is another exercise I thought would be easy, but I guess virtually everything is difficult or it's a so because I've never been exercising prior to that, so being my first time I felt it so much, I also did some other exercises which I don't know their names, and after about two hours at the gym, the coach called off the task for the day, and I decided to rest for a minute.

While resting, I began to lose weight continuously, and it seems as though I'm going to faint. I had to just lay down on the floor and rest for a minute before I regained some strength and went home. Overall, it's not easy at all, but I'm committed to the task at hand and hope to lose weight continuously till I'm fit and in shape.

All photos are mine.