Love at the Gym

I have a love/hate relationship with my body. Frankly, I think most people do. With that said, I have really begun to finally love what I've got here. I work at making it the best machine it can be.

If you've read along for a while, you certainly know about "My Jen's." I love these women more than I could really ever convey. They got me moving when I felt as if I could barely walk.

YEARS ago I worked out at a gym in Mt. Kisco, NY. I had a few other women I would work out with and I liked it a lot. I broke my leg skiing (that's a great story I'll share at another time) and pretty much stopped doing group exercise. 

I have yo-yo'd up and down, on and off, to Curves, to the gym, to the street, for most of my adult life. This past year I have made a concentrated effort to move FOR me. Again, if you have been here a while, you know my love of the riverwalk at the Hudson River. I walked that walk (2.7 miles) every morning through most of the late spring/summer/fall. Then, life through me a curve ball, it got cold, and well, walking in the dark when the temperature is in the teens is no one's idea of fun; at least no one I know.

Enter Adrenalin Gym. The home of the Jen's. The home of John & Carlos and a legion of testosterone driven body builders. The home of the WOMEN of Adrenalin. The home of Power Hour.

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Janet, Mary, Ellen, Tricia, Me, Marla, Terri, Jen Z, Jen C

This was taken yesterday morning, in our brand new space, at WTF-thirty (Ellen coined that time...it is exactly perfect) AFTER we worked out - that's why we all look so pretty. Note that it is still dark out. That's because this was taken at 6:00am - forty-five minutes after our 5:15am start time.

When you look at that picture this is what I want you to see. LOVE.

I was supposed to join Janet, Ellen & Marla at 5:00 THIS morning and get over my fear of weights without Jen C guiding me. (Mind you, she is there, in the gym at that hour, and I have nothing to fear except that little voice in my head that makes fun of myself. That voice is an ass...) I didn't go. I stayed in bed. I got up after they were done. And I woke to a FB message from Janet telling me they missed me. They got it. They would be here for me. WHENEVER I got around to waking up at WTF-thirty.

And so, today, MY love goes right to the women of Adrenalin. The women who lovingly remind me on my FB page and on my phone how many days it is until the next Power Hour. The women who know that eating crap food doesn't drown away your crap days. The women who only want the best for me and for each other. TOGETHER, we ARE Power Hour. We ARE strong. We ARE love.

And I am grateful.

Cause love's such an old fashioned word 
And love dares you to care 
For the people on the edge of the night 
And love dares you to change our way 
Of caring about ourselves 

UPDATE at 2:00pm 
I DID go to the gym. I elliptical'd to nowhere for three miles. 

My Pandora playlist continues to amuse me to no end. In the order they showed up:

• Neil Young - "Journey Through Time" - how have I never heard this song before?
  
• The Beatles - "Don't Let Me Down"
  
• Pink Floyd - "Wish You Were Here"
  
• The Commitments - "Take Me to the River"
  
• One Republic - "Feel Again"
  
• 
  

Note to JC: You KNOW "Do You" came on as soon as I got in the car!