As a stay at home parent, I think it is IMPERATIVE that you have a hobby or something that you can do on your own. There needs to be one thing that you can do on your own that will allow you the opportunity to blow off some steam, interact with adults, and get away from the kiddies for an hour or so.
My "free time" comes on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings after I drop off the little one at preschool. From about 9am until 11am I know that I will be able to throw on my iPod, listen to some expletive laden rap music from the 80's and 90's and do some serious people watching at my gym.
For those of you that have been reading, you know that my #1 tip for Job Security is staying in shape! I stand by the original statement that if your wife is willing to put in the 60 hr work week, the least you could do is stay in shape so that when she comes home she is not staring at the college frat guy on the couch with a beer in one hand and his manhood in the other. Listen, the days as a SAHD can be brutal. There will be days when the kids don't listen to a thing you say, someone calls you "Mr. Mom ( hate it! ) and you feel like the clock has stopped and the thought of wifey coming through the door is a mirage. The gym gives you the opportunity to put all of that stress to good use. Where else can you go and burn calories being angry? Come up with a solid program that will help you reach your goals and simply get after it. I view the gym as part of my responsibility as a SAHD. And listen fellas, you are 15 pounds away from potentially being traded in! And lets be honest, if you do happen to get traded in, you want to be front line ready!
The other part of the gym that fascinates me is the people watching. I belong to one of the major chain gyms here, and the people watching is fantastic! I have even come up with nicknames for the folks that frequent during my 2 hours of stress release :
The Grunter : We all have one at our gym and love them to death. While in the middle of an exercise you will hear this god awful noise coming from the "grunter" who typically has the equivalent of a car on a barbell and is curling it like its his job. The "grunter" always makes me smile, and no never directly at them. Smiling or laughing at the "grunter" could end up with you in a dumpster behind the gym.
The Cruiser : The cruiser is a slick one. He/she looks as if they are working out and putting in the time, but if you pay close attention to them they are actually just walking around the gym and not doing a darn thing. Often they will walk up to a machine, take a good hard look at it, look around to make sure that nobody is going to write about them in a blog and then move on to another machine. If you want to disturb the "cruiser" walk in their path while they are on the way to a machine....completely throws off their game plan. You will often find the "cruiser" at the WiFi table drinking coffee when you are leaving.
The Creeper : Ok, so when I was younger and went to the Bally's on Palisades Pkwy, I was the "creeper" The creeper is the guy that intentionally gets a spot on a treadmill that is directly behind the hottest woman in the gym, thus making the three to five mile run much more doable. You can just tell a "creeper" by the smirk. When you think you have a "creeper" in your sights simply look in front of him to confirm. Sorry ladies, but there is a good chance there is a "creeper" behind you !
The Newbee's : God bless you "Newbee's" . Every year at the same time ( Jan 1st) we are inundated with "newbee's". You can often tell a "newbee" by the attire. If you see someone wearing a matching Sergio Tecchini sweatsuit, or an outfit that looks like it came straight out of 1989, there is a good chance you are face to face with a "newbee". Ladies, no leg warmers or headbands please! Be warned "newbee" , there are a handful of us that are actually betting on how long you will make it. I know, its an awful thing to do, but you set yourself up by purchasing a gym membership and coming 3 times. My advice to you is to ask questions! Don't walk around aimlessly hoping that the magic program will fall out of the sky and you will figure out how to navigate the machines on your own. I think"newbee's" fail because they get intimidated. Don't get intimidated, we were all "newbee's" once!
The Ditcher : The "ditcher" is they guy/gal with the cell phone by their side at all times. They are constantly checking emails and voicemails to make sure that the boss does not know that they are at the gym instead of in the "Field". You can always tell when the "ditcher" has an important call. They run to a secluded corner, take the call and then take a deep breath after they hang up.
The Professional : The "professional" is the guy/gal that comes in throws an iPod on and GOES! The professional knows where everything is and can navigate the gym blindfolded. Most of the times the professional will dress in a way that will let the others know they mean business. The iPod signifies the fact that they are not there to make friends and have one person in mind.....themselves! If the professional has a hat on it is most likely pulled down so you can't even see there eyes. The walk is intentional and they spend little to no time socializing. In, and out!
And then you have the Trainers. Unfortunately the majority of trainers at my gym look as if they came straight from the couch. The other few look as if they just came from the tattoo parlor! One of my greatest days at the gym occurred when I watched a trainer who was doing the "cool guy" walk, walk directly into a piece of equipment. And yes, I laughed out loud and directly toward him. He was not nearly as big as the "grunter"!
As a stay at home parent you will need a stress release. Find something that you truly enjoy to do and make sure you carve out some time to do it a few times a week. I love to workout so the gym was an obvious choice for me. I get to burn off the beer I so love to drink and do some people watching all in one place. Winner winner chicken dinner!
SVP-OUT!
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