Technically what I really should be doing as far as workouts it swimming three days a week and doing a full-body weights workout twice a week.
I, uhhh… Well, I haven’t been doing that.
I don’t think I’ve ever dropped below two workouts (usually a 1000-1500 yard swim) a week, but I have a sedentary job, no yard to take care of that needs yardwork and sedentary hobbies. Two workouts a week with that lifestyle isn’t really enough to stay healthy and strong, and I know it. If I had a dog I was walking every day, or was doing something where I was walking the equivalent of a couple of miles a day, it’d be different.
However, with my lifestyle, a good solid workout every weekday is pretty necessary.
With that in mind, I hauled my complaining butt into the weight room today (swam yesterday) and decided that since I’ve been a slacker, I was going to drop back to embarassingly light weights just to make sure I did the darn workout. You know, Rule One and all.
I was weaker than I thought. That wimp workout was a challenge!
Ah well. I’ll do the wimp workout again on Thursday, and then next week do it again. Then I’ll be a little stronger and can add a little more. I wish I loved working out. I mean, it’s okay when I’m in the weight room and all, but I’d rather stay in a warm bed, I really would.
I actually found it hard to hit the weight room today — afraid of being judged or made unwelcome. That was goofy and there was no excuse for it. I knew the people in there. I see them several times a week. None of ’em have ever been mean to me, so there was no reason in the world to think they would do so because I was working out instead of working behind a desk! If they’re going back to their blogs or weight lifting discussion boards and making fun of how the fat chick looks at the squat rack, I certainly don’t see it. But they don’t behave as if they’re into that level of petty nastiness in the gym, so I’ve no evidence to think they would.
It got me to thinking. Sure there’s a lot of nastiness about appearance out there, no doubt. But it seems a bit unkind to brace oneself for it when one hasn’t any evidence that it’s likely to happen. Now, I got picked on in school, so I know what it’s like to cultivate the appearance of deafness, but be braced inside for nasty comments. I know the inward flinch, the way you script in your own mind for a good comeback. Which, of course, you never remember to use when the situation happens, anyway. That mental bracing is a waste of valuable butt-scratching time when you think about it. You’d be much better employed learning to fart the Jaws theme rather than spend precious mental energy on it.
And in my case, thinking about my form when the bar is loaded across my shoulders is a lot better use of mental energy than worrying about how I look to others. I mean, if I look around to see if I’m being judged, I’m more likely to fall and hurt myself. Forget that!