Going to the Gym in Korea

My roommate, Kelly, and I have started going to the gym in the morning before work. We walk to the local community centre that is about twenty minutes away. Going to the gym in Korea is really quite similar to back home, but with a few differences.

The overall experience is the same, and many of the machines are the same. The gym we go to is rather small so there aren't that many machines. However, there usually are not too many people at the gym so it's not so bad. Some machines that I haven't seen back home are the vibration machines. There are two kinds. The first is one where you stand n a platform and two pedals underneath your feet move up and down and your whole body shakes to the vibration. I was skeptical of this machine at first, but now I love it and use it at the end of my workout. The other kind of vibration machine is the one with the belt that vibrates. You have probably heard of or seen these before, maybe a couple decades ago. This I was also skeptical about but it is really good if your muscles are sore. It feels like a really good, intense massage. They also have leg massagers there to use. They feel nice on the feet, but I am a little too ticklish for them and I start to giggle.

What I love the most about the gym is probably the people. Because it is a community centre, there are many older ladies and a few men who like to frequent the gym almost every day. The first few times I went to the gym, you could have sworn I was the first foreigner they had ever seen. It was awkward to feel eyes on me constantly especially while trying to work out. Now it is a little different and you kind of feel like a family a little bit. The ladies and I say hello and bow to one another when we see each other and sometimes they invite me to their coffee breaks. Yes, there are coffee breaks at the gym haha. They are also very encouraging to me and motion that I look slimmer.

There are still the people that are jacked and make you feel inferior, but that will always be there. Also, I tested out the cross trainer (elliptical) one day and I think I am too tall for it because it felt odd using it, like I couldn't stand straight on it. I avoid that machine now.

Kelly is a really good person to go to the gym with because she gets my but out of bed in the morning to go and helps me with my form. She is more focused on how much she weighs though, and I just want to feel good.