I have decided to trial different types of workout gyms and studios around me. I want to see what I can tolerate, what feels good for this new body of mine and what will give me the best results. I am starting with spin and orange theory, then will try barre and pilates, maybe yoga (although it doesn’t sound like it’ll feel good in my body yet) and whatever other workout options I have near me. The pool, I have been swimming at lately, is closed for a month, so I figured now is a good time to trial these other options. Plus, I’m not allowed to run anymore and I’d like to add some good cardio into my workouts, so I think spin might be a good option for me. Time will tell and I’ll let you know after my several week trial is over.

*Update: I did my one free Orange Theory workout. I was really nervous about this as the treadmill is half the class, but there is an option to do the elliptical or to speed walk on the treadmill. I did the speed walk with hills because rowing and elliptical together is too much for my arm/neck. I was surprised to enjoy the class as much as I did. It’s a great workout and I lucked out with a great teacher! I don’t think I’ll be signing up for a membership though. I’m enjoying spin and think that it’ll be less harsh for my body over time. I do have a funny-ish story to share though.

So I had to arrive 30 minutes before my first class to sign paperwork and get a tour. I did the paperwork and when I looked down randomly, I realized I was wearing flip flops and I didn’t even bring sneakers with me. (Insert face plant emoji here lol). I told the girl who was touring me and I tried to joke and be funny about it, but I was totally embarrassed. She knew that I had had surgeries and not worked out for sometime. So this is how she responded: “most gyms require fully covered shoes, but I don’t know, maybe things have changed in the past two years.” Um, what?! Excuse me? Did you really just say that to me? I was so shocked I didn’t even have a good come back to say to her. I left extremely frustrated and gained more and more emotion about it as the day went on. I had to come back later to a different class since there wasn’t time for me to run home to change my shoes. I had PT within those few hours and I shared the story with my PT and she got all upset for me. I think I was most upset about her lack of awareness. It’d be one thing to be reassuring or to be blatantly funny about the situation, but she was neither. The more I thought about it, it actually wasn’t that weird for me to forget to bring workout shoes. When I took my first spin class, I showed up in flip flops because they give you the spin shoes. When I used to take barre, pilates and yoga, I always came in flip flops because the classes were taken in bare feet or with socks. I even go to PT in flip flops and do those workouts barefoot. Also, life happens. Things slip your mind. I still feel slow and affected from anesthesia, even this far out. And things like this remind me that I am still getting back to “normal” (I hate that word now). My takeaway lesson from this interaction is this: you never know what people are going through. Be sensitive with your comments. Be kind to yourself and to others. If you have a joke, make sure it’s delivered in the right way. My new favorite saying lately is “true words said the wrong way are better left unsaid.”