Thu, May 4, 2006

The theme of 2005 was "Changing Course." It took almost exactly one year to do it. (Eerily, nearly a year to the day – the wheels were set in motion around 1/26/05, and it was 1/21/06 that I pulled into my parents' driveway in Florida.) But it cannot be argued – the course was changed!*

The theme of 2006 is to be: "Get in shape. Get a life." I decided to focus on the first part first, and then "see how things go" with the second part. I'm not a miracle worker. So, needless to say, the first thing I did upon returning to Florida was... gain ten pounds.

Whoops! Turns out Mom's home cooking is considerably healthier than frozen Tyson chicken nuggets four nights a week – but the portions are, comparably, massive. That "get in shape" mantra really started to feel critical. There's a certain amount of time I'll cheerfully spend Photoshopping my neck fat out of family pictures, but at some point it starts to cross a line.

So, Li'l Sis and I started investigating some gym options, and tonight was our first official visit with our new personal trainer, Clark. He's awesome and the gym is awesome, and I'm very excited to be embarking on a regimen that will hopefully sustain a healthier lifestyle long into the future.

However, reps suck.

Dear holy monkey-smiting God, do reps ever suck.

Because, I'm pudgy compared to what I should be, and I'm not in great shape, but I'm reasonably able in terms of physical feats. I can do just about anything once. (Except watch Yes, Dear. I learned that the hard way.) But reps? Are awful. Just terrible. I don't just start questioning my fitness goals. I start questioning why it is even worth it to be alive.

Of course, Clark wouldn't make us do them if they weren't good for us, so here's hoping in the long run the reps will be a good thing – they'll convert fat into muscle and I won't be forced to start wearing sweatpants to work.

* There's a long column entitled "Mulligan" that I've been working on since last December 23, which describes in detail the whole process behind "2005: Changing Course" – the decisions and activities. I intended to post it back then, but it's been challenging to work on because there are so many things involved. I can only write it in short bursts before getting exhausted, and it's absolute murder to reapproach it after any significant time off. Hopefully it will be posted someday.