Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Back to the Gym


I've had a few humbling experiences in the past month or so. The latest has come this week as I've headed back to the gym for the first time in over 10 months. I had to stop because of a terrible neck problem. As this has seemed to settle down I decided to get back into a routine that has been part of much of my adult life.
The upside is that after doing it so long, my body is settling into something it remembers. I sleep better, drink less and feel calmer: less stressed.
The downside is that I've become one weak bastard.
I used to go 60 minutes on the bike, pound the weights, sweat oceans and shed all my work and personal woes in a workout.
It was as if I just got stronger and stronger as I got older.
Sure that goes back 5 years or so but even a year ago I could sweat out a good hour and a half.
Now I'm like a little, That much has become clear.
Creak, creak, splutter, splutter.
Jeeze its a long way back and I'm climbing the stairs one agonizing step at a time.
The mental clarity and shedding of stress has been pretty much immediate.
That's a good thing, cause I think I was going to pop my clogs if I'd carried on the way I was.
The problem is it feels like I'm sort of middle aged novice.
Low weights short work-outs.....
Rests.......
"Hey, shuffle out of the way and let us REALLY use the equipment oldtimer"
Ok , nobody actually said that, but I swear one or two were THINKING it.
UGH.
The real test will be once I hit the road again next week. Though most hotels have a decent gym, getting into a mindset whereby you don't veg in front of CNN or worse prop up the bar eating crappy salty "novelty snacks" can be more difficult than theory would seem to dictate.
I'm going to try and keep up this new virtuous me as long as I can.
Establishing it as a routine is half the battle.
No matter how lazy and tired you are, you always feel better if you drag your sorry ass into the gym and keep up the routine.
I'm not talking about heading for this sort of thing: I just want to get back to something approximating what I once was.
At 44 that may be a bit of a fantasy but I'm pretty sure that I'll feel better generally.
Time will tell.
I'll keep you posted.
Patience everyone.
Next week I'm away again and the posts will be a little more interesting with a cool pic or two.
T

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What's your excuse for aches and pains. You're 2 years younger than I am.

Listen, don't worry about it. It's all a part of getting older. It will still make you feel better, despite a few aches. And if it takes care of your stress, then you are way ahead of the game.

Take it easy pal!

Chris said...

Oh, Terry, it seems like only yesterday that you introduced me to Nautilus in Ottawa! Don't worry though: you'll be surprised at how fast your "44 year-old body" will spring back. Definitely a step in the right direction!

Terry said...

Thanks guys.