I Need to Exercise

It's true. I need to do a little work on myself. Now, there are folks who scoff when I say that I'm unhappy with my body appearance. I think they scoff mainly because I am a rather thin person. I am not struggling with obesity. However, my sedentary lifestyle has caused back problems for me, it drains me of my energy, and I have atrophied muscles. Yes, it's time to do something about it.

I work at a college, and our college has a "work-out" space (for lack of a better term). I've always thought that this would be a good (free) alternative to spending big bucks to drive somewhere just to pay money to do basic exercise. So, I packed up some clothes and brought them to work with me. And last Friday, I finally worked up enough courage to enter the weight room.

Is the suspense killing you?

One main deterrent is the fact that I have no idea what to do in a weight room, and I don't like to look stupid in front of other people. Thus, working out in a weight room filled with athletes can be a little intimidating...or a LOT intimidating. So I went early in the morning. I know that those jocks don't get up before noon if they don't have to!

So now I'm in the weight room by myself. There is a nagging thought in the back of my head that a person should not work out alone. I could drop a free weight on my head and smash it in. I could pass out from all the heart palpitations and not be discovered for hours. I shouldn't be alone. OR...I shouldn't do anything dangerous while I'm alone. That was the conclusion I came to.

In order to not hurt yourself, you need to know what you are doing. I decided there were only about two machines that I could safely operate without fear of great harm. An elliptical-type walking thing, and a weight machine that would not require spotting. So, I alternated between the two. I set the weight on a rather low setting (I think it was 70 lbs), just so I didn't strain myself. I was in there for about 40 minutes, when I decided I should get back to work.

Here's the other problem with working out alone for the first time. No one tells you that there is a lock on the locker room doors. I can't take a shower without a code! Dang! Now I'm going to smell like nasty, sweaty man all day long.

I'm not sure if my little workout outing had any effect, until the next day when I couldn't raise my arms above my head. Luckily, I don't often have to raise my arms above my head, but I sure felt the pain. Apparently, this weight worked on one VERY SPECIFIC muscle...a muscle I was unaware I had until it screamed in agony the next day.

Have I gone back yet? No. Do I plan to? Yes. I'm hoping that eventually, I'll be able to work out in front of other people, use a variety of machines, and become a more fit person.

Who knows, maybe someday, I'll look like this:

Then again, maybe I won't.