"Muscle Man Gym"

I've signed up for a gym - the first time ever. It has been about 2 weeks now and I'm feeling pretty good. There were two goals: to be fit during (and hopefully after!) the pregnancy and for Evan to get used to playing without Momma nearby. I was thinking about all the activities that we do during the week. Each and every one requires active parent participation - Gymboree, Mommy Group, and Soccer. I wanted to look for new activities where I could leave Evan in someone else's care, so that when pre-school comes around in the fall, it would not be this total shock to his system.

The results so far: So-So. I have signed up with a personal trainer and I think she's doing a good job. She knows where I'm coming from and isn't one of those aggressive, in-your-face, "One more set" kind of trainer. I was hoping to learn which exercises are safe for a maternity work out and how to properly use the machines. I'm trying to stick to the workout and after a few hiccups, have gotten into a good schedule that I think works for both me and Evan.

Some of our hiccups:
I was taking him on Monday evenings around 5:00. Big mistake. The gym was always so crowded at that time - and tons of kids in the play area! It was like a zoo! He had two meltdowns where we had to end our training sessions early because he was so worked up. I will try to take him in the mornings when things are much calmer and he feels more comfortable.

I have also decided to do my 10-15 minute cardio warm-up at home on the elliptical, so that when I get to the gym, I can get right into the work out and be out of there in 30 minutes. The first session was about an hour long and that was Meltdown #1. Too long.

Meltdown #2 was when a big boy tried to take away the one toy Evan wanted to play with all weekend long. Every day he would mention the "car wash toy". He was perfectly happy when I left him - barely said goodbye to me! But once the incident occurred, that was the end of that. It's definitely been a learning process for us!

Evan calls it the "Muscle Man Gym". The very first time, he was a little overwhelmed with all the people and machines. But now, he likes to see the Muscle Men working out. He says that I'm a Muscle Man too. But on American Gladiators, he knows the difference between Muscle Men and Muscle Ladies. Go figure.