Saturday, November 23, 2013

El Gimnasio

When we were preparing to come to Huanuco, we knew we wanted to keep up exercising, so we downloaded a bunch of videos to follow and such since we weren't sure what the running situation would be here. We live at the top of a hill, and running on the hill would be deadly. 

This week, we had the glorious experience of trying out the gym in Peru. Yimi (pronounced "Jimmy") asked us if we wanted to go to the gym. Being the adventurous spirits, in need of new places to visit and things to try out, we decided to give it a shot. 

The first time, we walked to 3 different gyms before we landed on one to try out. The first gym didn't have any women, so Yimi thought that would be awkward for us. The second gym closes from 12-1pm and we arrived at 11:45pm. The third gym was just right...or something. 

The gym we ended up at on Monday, first of all, cost S/. 2.50 (that's less than $1!). That is a price I can handle. It was a small gym, but had the basic gym equipment. Mostly, it just didn't have as many of each thing as the gyms in the States. One or maybe 2 of each machine/station. Each gym we went to, Melissa was looking for cardio machines, so first thing her and Yimi hopped on the elipticals. Unfortunately, there were only 2. While standing waiting for them to finish for my turn, an employee from the gym came up to me and was like do this ab machine, 15 reps x 4. After my turn on the eliptical and everyone doing a turn at the ab machine, we then were guided through a leg workout (at no additional cost; say what?!). All of the machines were things I have used in the states. (Some of them were even Golds Gym brand.) We did all of the machines that target thighs. Hmm.. Everything went pretty well, except that the trainer was a bit rude. I know that being blunt is a thing here - you're fat, you're really short, you're Chinese (even if you're not), are common things to hear. However, someone trying to make a pitch of why they should be your trainer, should be a bit more suave about things. At any rate, we weren't looking for a trainer, we just wanted to use the machines at the gym because they have things we can't do at home on our own. Plus, it's fun and different. 

On Wednesday, we visited another gym. It is closer to the market (main part of town), so it cost S/. 3 (a little over a buck). Still not gonna break the bank. This gym was a lot bigger with more space between equipment and some open floor space to do non-equipment things. Melissa's favorite part was that they had a mascot at this gym - it was a little black Scotty (?) dog. He was pretty cute and was just sort of hanging out at the gym. Again, somehow, we ended up working with a trainer and he wanted to do the exact same things we had done on Monday. Why?? Idk. We were already a bit sore from Monday, so doing the same things on Wednesday, was a bit rough, but we stuck with it for a while. One of the machines is for working out your inner thighs, and well, it is the most awkward machine to use at the gym. On top of that, it faced into the big open room that is full of people. So, you sit on this machine and open and close your legs.. and everyone can watch. Not that they were, but it doesn't make the machine less awkward to use. Finally, after doing all leg exercises, we gave up on following the trainer. We just wanted to do an arm work out because we don't have weights at home. More awkwardness ensued as there wasn't a lot of space in front of the weight wall, so we snuck into this little corner in front of another machine that people kept coming over to to take the weights. At the other gym, people would stare at us, but we seemed to be more of a spectacle at this gym. Every time we switched equipment there were eyes following us. 

Maybe, when we go back to the gym in the future, we can tell the trainer what we want to do rather than just being told what to do. It is nice to have them tell you what things to do and how to do them though. I also enjoy being able to switch up the workout routine. 

I am definitely glad to be back to healthy so that we can take on these activities again. In Callao, we had gotten into a pretty good exercise routine and it felt good to be active. When we moved here and then got sick on top of it, it threw everything off. We enjoy being able to exercise just as something to do on our own.. plus it makes eating potatoes and rice for or with every meal not so horrible (still not ideal, but we don't get much say in that department). 

This morning, we got Yimi (and Fabrizio and Eynor for a few seconds) to do Thai Chi with us. We follow a video that is instructed by Dan Fiori - I think it is geared towards the elderly, but whatevs. Thai Chi is about focusing on energy, balance, and breathing. I liked the videos because Fiori is good about explaining how to do the moves and how to transition from one thing to the next. He also explains the benefits of the moves, such as "This move helps lower blood pressure" and "If you do this move often enough you could grow .5 inch", which I am not sure if either of those have happened, but it makes for a good time imitating him. It's a good way to start the morning. 

Now, about that papa rellena (fried mashed potatoes with a boiled egg and onions inside) and french fries {YUM!} I just ate for breakfast... How many miles do I need to run to work that off?? Hahaha, probably better not to think about it. 

*Just enjoying life* :) 

~nos vemos





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