Well, today will go on the books as a successful day! I got up, took my time with breakfast and getting dressed and stuff, and then didn't even entertain the idea of staying home from the gym. I will be babbling about the gym for a little while, now, so feel free to bail out. I won't hold it against you.
Good things about my gym visit:
* Not crowded! I went around 10 or so this morning, and there were maybe 4 people in the workout room. I was 1 of 2 people in the lap-swim area of the pool, and there were maybe 4 people total in the pool.
* I was alone in the (clean, tidy) dressing rooms, which have great lockers with built-in combination locks.
* The people there answered any questions I had very nicely, but they seemed bored and didn't initiate contact, which is PERFECT for me. Being in the gym as a fat person doesn't bother me. Having to interact with strangers is what's hard for me.
* I start my free coaching sessions tomorrow at 7am, and I'm really looking forward to it.
* The pool is heated, and did I mention I had it to myself? I could only swim 6 lengths before running out of energy, but I did them, woot-woot!
Things I didn't think of, but now I know for next time:
* If I don't take my glasses with me to the pool, I won't be able to read my locker combination when I get back to the dressing room!
* I should take sunscreen with me
* Ditto earplugs
* Ditto shower/deck shoes
* And a second towel to wrap my wet swimsuit in
* And a small towel for the equipment
I chose my three favorite exercises: swimming, cycling, walking. I can't do treadmill walking, so I decided on the elliptical instead. Dang, that thing was HARD for me! I'm way out of shape, so I did the best I could on all three, as a baseline, and I will get better as I go on.
Elliptical: 2 minutes
Cycle: 12 minutes HIIT (they're programmable)
Swimming laps: 12 minutes (3 lengths back and forth -- 6 lengths total. The 12 minutes includes the times when I had to stop to breathe or go really slow -- each length took around a minute not counting rests.)