Okay, So That Was Nice

[jmfargo]

Twenty minutes at the gym this morning on one of those gliding running machines set to "Hill Interval, Level 2." 335 Calories burned, three-quarters of a mile traveled. Yes, slow, but up-hill slow.

I'm back at the gym. I plan on going Monday, Wednesday, Friday, two times each day with a cardio workout in the morning and weights in the evening with Maria. I have to do something to get in shape. Even if I don't lose weight, it'll be nice to be able to trek up the big hill at LARP while chasing after goblins without having to ask them to pause for a second or two while I catch my breath*.

I often say that I "feel good" when I exercise. The truth is, I feel tired, and sore, but my conscience feels good. Mentally, I like the fact that I can honestly say I'm trying to do something about my weight and overall health. I don't enjoy working out, but it's nice not to have to lie to myself.

Will I ever like working out? Probably not. Will I like playing racquet ball against my buddy Earl (6'7", in extremely good shape, mops the floor with me in just about any sport on this Earth) and not feeling like a slow, inferior being? Sure, that'd be great, but it will never happen because he's a Sports God. How about, "will I like being able to go for a walk around the block with my dogs without feeling out of breath at the end of it?" Yes. Definitely.

And not dying of a heart attack at 32 will be great too.

*I have never actually done this, this is just an attempt at humor. LARP is NOT that lame; they won't wait for you. They MIGHT wait for you to get really tired, then turn around and beat the crap out of you, but they sure won't wait for you to catch up to them!

Comments

[spaceoperadiva.livejournal.com]

There's a metaphorical hill out there in exercise land. When you first begin some rigorous exercise routine, you feel like beaten crap. You go to bed tired, you wake up tired, everything in between is a zombie-haze of sore muscles and stiffness.

If you keep at it, one day you wake up and you're not tired any more. You feel great! There is still a stiff muscle here and an annoyed hamstring over there, but the grinding fatigue and zombie haze are gone. You've topped the hill.

It's like waking up to the most beautiful spring day imaginable after a horrific winter.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Believe it or not, I do know this. For a while, on one of my (unfortunately MANY) quests to get in shape, I was hitting the gym twice a day 5 days a week, and then once a day each weekend day.

I got to where I DID feel good! I wasn't in shape by any stretch of the imagination, but the sore muscles were mostly gone, and going to the gym was a natural part of my day. I liked going out and sweating a bit.

But then the Plantar Fasciitis (or however it's spelled) kicked in, and the doctor didn't explain much of anything to me except to say that I'd have that horrible pain in my right foot for the rest of my life; that I pretty much just had to deal with it.

Long story short(er), I stopped going to the gym because it hurt. Since then, helpful people on LJ have told me how to overcome the foot pain, and so now I'm back at the gym with no sore foot. Yay!

[spaceoperadiva.livejournal.com]

Yay no more sore foot!

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Talking about it gave me a psychosomatic twinge, but it'll be fine, especially as long as I stay away from the harsh treadmill and only do the elliptical machines.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Believe me, my favorite part of the workout IS when it's over. I agree 100% with you there!

I don't think I'll ever enjoy pushing myself for a workout, but when I actually do get in shape I know I'll enjoy pushing myself in games of racquetball, or LARPing, or whatever. :)

It's all about the end goal for me.

[hippie-mamabear.livejournal.com]

Your willpower is infinitely better than mine, though i'm thinking that chasing down goblins and seeing the surprise and fear in their eyes is probably decent motivation. XD

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

One of my driving goals is to get in shape for playing in LARP games.

I mean, it'd be nice to be able to play an elf some day. Fat elves just should not exist. :)

[hippie-mamabear.livejournal.com]

I love the idea of a fat elf, LOL!

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Well, I could always go by the name of "Keebler," I suppose...

[hippie-mamabear.livejournal.com]

Some people would read that as a joke. I see it as a valid character concept. :P

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

"Fat Elf" could be a valid character concept, but I can't see naming him after the cookie elves, because it would be too much of a joke character, you know? MAYBE as an NPC, one-shot character, around 1 AM, when most characters have gone to bed and the rest are so bleary-eyed that they'll think it was just a dream. :)

[(Anonymous)]

The gym is definitely not for me. It would probably be good, I have no upper body strength really, and the gym would help that... but I think what works for me (so long as it's actually working, and keeps working) is just having enough things that I ENJOY doing that are good exercise - DDR, going dancing for 3-4 hours a couple times a week (and that dancing usually means sweating buckets, not just "mmmmmm bop" dancing), skating, biking, hula-hooping... it's all fun, and it definitely burns calories! I just don't think the mental frame of "I'm doing this to get in shape" you get going to the gym would keep me going. Having FUN doing all the above things IS enough.

And if you haven't watched it (you probably have), watchtheguild.com
I think I'm in love. Felicia Day, 29, redhead, plays violin, guitar, funny (even geek humor!), smart, cute, how do I meet her? :)

-tt

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

She's on Twitter: http://twitter.com/feliciaday

But that's not really "meeting" somebody. She DOES talk to her fans, when they have something interesting to say. And yeah, she's pretty awesome.

As for the gym? I prefer doing the fun stuff to get in shape, but I don't have a lot of fun stuff that I enjoy doing that also ends up getting me in shape. I think that last sentence made sense, and if it didn't, reread it until it does.

And of course, when I go to do the things that would get me in shape that I do enjoy (ie. racquetball, LARP, rock climbing), I feel depressed because I'm so out of shape that doing it is hard work and/or I'm not good enough at it because my body is constantly working against me.

The constant thought in my mind is, "If I could just get thinner, I could do the things I want and not look stupid." I've never thought I was extremely self-conscious, but when it comes to doing the physical things I love, I guess I am.

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe you just need to find more things that work FOR you, instead of AGAINST you (like blogging ;) ). And take those things you DO like, and do them MORE. Even if it's hard, at least its fun, and the more and more you do it, 2 things happen - you get in better shape, AND you get better at what you're doing! And that's awesome! Nothing like PRACTICE that has other benefits at the same time!

Now if only practicing guitar would build my upper body strength.... gah!

-tt

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

What I'd really like to find is somebody local to practice sword-fighting against. I'm (surprisingly) not bad, but the LARP I'm doing now has shown me how much work I need. The fact that they use real-world skill versus any other LARP mechanics is nice, but means I need to find time between the events to get better.

So, if you could just come down here every Tuesday and Thursday to spar, that would be great. I'll provide the weapons, armor, and dinner. ;)

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

Maria said that we're going to start playing racquetball every Saturday, so that's a good start on this. I DO love a good game of racquetball, even if I don't do all that well at it.