The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Thursday, November 11, 2010

Getting back in the harness


Today I did something I haven't done in 2 months. I went to the gym and exercised. For one month I was on a trip and didn't bother to exercise. I suppose I could have done some exercise at the workout facilities in the hotels we stayed at. But those rooms are designed for joggers, it seems. Treadmills and stationary bikes. No weights, nothing but cardiovascular equipment. Not my thing. Jogging down roads is boring enough but to run for 20 minutes and get nowhere at all? Beyond tedious.

After I got back, I fell victim to the flu. Some kind of flu that, as they all do, weakened me and settled in my lungs. For two weeks, I struggled with a cough and weakness. I still played golf but that isn't real exercise. Unless you count climbing in and out of a cart exercise.

I went today because I had been putting it off for a week. I felt well enough to do it but it had been so long that I just dreaded starting over. It's like work and vacations. When I worked I hated to take more than a week off. Each day over a week would make coming back to work harder; it would add two days to what I called "re-acclimation time", that time needed to re-establish your work routine. I dreaded that walk back into the gym, I was reluctant to even try to get back into my exercise routine.

The biggest problem in returning to an exercise regimen after a prolonged break is overdoing it. This leaves you with aching muscles and painful stiffness. And it is so easy to overdo. All you need to do is remember what you used to do and go do it.

But I am clever and know better. I did less reps and used lighter weights. I think I cut back enough but I won't know until tomorrow. That's when you find out. In the morning when you find you cannot get out of bed. When the back refuses to bend, when the knees wobble so badly that you just sit back down on the bed. When movement is so painful that your brain starts making excuses that you would have laughed out loud at any other time.

And I have to get up to play golf tomorrow morning. If I bail on that, you know I overdid it today.

6 comments:

Pearl said...

Douglas, you may or may not want to kick me in the ass for this, but have you tried yoga? I'm not kidding when I tell you that it makes you feel longer, stronger, and lighter. It makes you feel energized afterward. Don't know how old you are (although, according to an earlier comment, you seem to be approaching Old Farthood) but there are many levels of yoga. I mean, you don't start out standing on your head. Mostly it's about strengthening the spine and the gut.

I'm tellin' ya, Douglas! Yoga! Most places offer a week free. Go for a week and tell me you don't, as my father would say, feel like a hundred bucks.

:-)

Pearl

Douglas said...

Pearl, I lean more toward Tai Chi. Balance, fluid motion, mental discipline. On the other hand, Yoga is an attractive option. Hmmm... "longer"... really?

Michael said...

Routine is still such a struggle for me, but I need to be regimented in order to function as a student. You probably have it easier following some sort of order to the day... I need to join the army or air force or something.

Douglas said...

Routine gives us stability, a bit of predictability. But it also restricts. It is difficult to find the balance in life. We need to understand the necessity for order in life while only succumbing to it voluntarily.

Douglas said...

Routine gives us stability, a bit of predictability. But it also restricts. It is difficult to find the balance in life. We need to understand the necessity for order in life while only succumbing to it voluntarily.

Douglas said...

Pearl, I lean more toward Tai Chi. Balance, fluid motion, mental discipline. On the other hand, Yoga is an attractive option. Hmmm... "longer"... really?