I joined the gym and so far have done two sessions of weight training.

It seems like my legs are stronger than my arms (relative to other people). I have little trouble stacking on the weights for exercises that require me to push or lift with my legs. But the best I can do with my arms is about 20 pounds. Heck, when I use my shoulders, I use zero weights!

I’ve been sore for the past two days. It’s not so bad now.

As a first time gym-goer, this is what I have found. I felt intimidated by all these gym regulars (mostly men) walking around but once someone explained to me how to use the machines, I concentrated on what I was doing rather than what other people were doing. Then I kind of noticed all the bad gym technique (lack of control of the weights) from some of the gym regulars and I felt better.

I really like carrying around my written program of exercises and ticking off the weights, reps and sets as I do them. I’ve always liked filling in boxes and ticking things off.

Doing strength training feels different to a cardio workout, like running or aerobics. You don’t feel puffed out at the end, as you would for cardio work. Instead, you feel weak. After my first session, my arms felt weak and strangely springy and tight. I didn’t know what they were doing, which made lifting pots and pans after coming home to cook more hazardous than usual!