In which a gymphobe tells you to, just do it!

“Well I’m excited to wear my new leggings….Even though I just took the tags off and they are grey… sweat patches be damned.”

(A thought from one of my first sessions…)

My decided meaning for the Nike slogan, “just do it” occurred to me on a very busy Saturday in Oxford Circus, London. 

Having gotten over my initial – “I do not belong in a sport-shop, period.” fears, I had just asked the kind salesman in Nike for a pair of men’s, *gasp* vomero 12’s in their bright blue and I was feeling unnaturally chipper and upbeat.

The thing is, I’ve been doing a lot of conquering of my fitness fears of late. 

Breaking free from the 11 year old, secondary school fear of exercise god, at 26 I had finally started beating away the, too big for exercise demons I seem to have picked up somewhere along the line of mandatory leotard wearing at age 14. And now, finally 15 years later I have finally started understanding the Monika, “just do it”. 

The fact that the unfit don’t just get struck down by giant chocolate lightening bolts the moment we enter the gym is a god send and although I have to wear men’s trainers, there are somehow running shoes for six foot tall, accident prone women who apparently have a thing for neon blue.

Just do it of course, is the key. You want to loose weight? Then just do it! Want to lift weights until you look like John Cena? Then just do it! 

Need to ask the all too attractive men in Nike about trainers for post- stress fractures and broken ankles then just do it! Own it! And one day soon you might feel even braver! 

I realise I’ve just played into a simple marketing slogan but at this point I don’t care. I’m a gym-adrenaline junkie and I know it. I want to lift weights like the scary men in the free weights section, get arms and abs like The Bella Twins and you know how that’s gonna happen? 

Because I’m just gonna do it.

*have you got gym/workout fears, or just starting a new workout? Let me know below I want to hear all about your exercising adventures! (& Cheerlead too because I’m going all out!) 

Health and Fitness | Gym Attire and shopping plus size

Suedette Hat: Zara Men, Blue Nike pullover (old), Purple Adidas top (I couldn’t find this online?), Workout tights: Next, Trainers (old) New Balance

Yesterday I discussed the awkwardness of walking into a gym feeling bigger than your comfortable with. As I found out, people of all shapes and sizes attend the gym so really its not something to be worried about at all. Going shopping for bigger clothes to work out in however? Near to impossible… offline that is.

Its not something I suppose you think of, struggling to find larger sizes but as we headed into TK Maxx to do you know what I found? XL accounted for being a size 14!!! In womenswear, to say I was horrified was an understatement! In the mens section however, there were all types of different sizes and their Large was a real large unlike the female sides which were truly lacking.

Thankfully the sports stores do think women over  size 14 exist but only to the size 18 in general. Shopping was almost like bra shopping for bigger chests, upsetting and disappointing. Honestly, the whole thing made me wish for a better shopping experience. I’ve been mulling one over for a while now and I would just like stores to be better accommodating to sizes and shapes outside of the mannequins, imagine feeling welcome no matter the size on the hanger, to find clothes made for you instead of putting yourself into a pattern.

Where I can suggest however, is sadly, online, Next have recently launched their own sports range for women, I love Adidas for good sizing, great quality product and affordable price tags and for something fun, mix it up with other store brands like Zara and New Look who offer fun athleisure wear.