Collecting rejections day 23: Asking for free fitness equipment

I'm working on putting myself out of my comfort zone at the moment. The latest result was to get a full workout station for free! Here's how...

To explain, you just can't get any fitness equipment in the UK just now. Everything is sold out! Because of Covid half the world has decided at the exact same time they want to work out. It's not just weights - bikes are really hard to get a hold off as well. Any second hand weights are now extortionate as demand far outstrips supply.

Fortunately, my friend Dan saw I had found some dumbbells in my streets that someone threw out in the trash. I cleaned them up and gave them a new home! Dan then gave me a free workout bench last week! This is ideal for doing bench press. I just needed a barbell and some plates as the dumbells I found were too light for benching.

What I would have done before

• wait for shops to get weights in stock
• pay over the odds for second-hand gear
• get annoyed at the situation and just let the bench gather dust

What I did instead

• I asked my friends on Facebook if they had any weights they weren't using
• My sister saw my post and asked her friends and made a post on her suburb's community forum
• One of her friends said he had weights he wasn't using

The result of going out of my comfort zone?

I got a barbell plus two 20kg plates!

I've now got all the gear I need for bench press and shoulder press, not to mention lifts like squats and deadlifts where I don't need a bench.

Earlier this year in lockdown I was lifting a broom handle and milk bottles I filled with water.

It's nice to have some proper gear now.

All I had to do was ask!