DAMusings
By: Dominique Millette
Fit for life... well, for now... well, eventually!
Ah, the healthy life! Whatever the season, at one point or another, some of us will be drawn to fitness. It may happen through guilt at the thought that we have been lazy, or through the desire to look better. Make that the delusion that we will look better - since some features of our bedraggled bodies, such as saddle bags and cellulite, are remarkably resistant to any form of exercise, even on those really big machines with many levers and springs and metal plates all over them that require 15 hours of instruction to operate and only tone muscles located somewhere between your ankle and your big toe.
However intimidating they are, all those different machines are nevertheless educational. They open our eyes to a variety of muscles and muscle groups we may never have heard of before, or even know that we have. We will certainly be aware of them by the next morning. Let's see: there are quads, biceps, triceps, glutes and abs... You may initially look down and think: "abs? I don't have any. I think they left". But you WILL find your abs - or they will find you!
Exercise makes us feel better. According to numerous studies, exercise releases good chemicals called "endorphins" all over your brain. These make you feel happy for longer than, say, eating a bag of chips or a chocolate bar does. With this is mind, there are hundreds of fitness centers out there looking for your patronage. Most of them offer about 35 different programs with names like "Boxercise", "Aquafit", "Super Fat Burner" or "Step & Sculpt". Which one you take depends on your fitness goals. My own fitness goal is simple: I would like a workout that doesn't send me on an emergency visit to my chiropractor.
I have my preferences, of course. I will never understand why anyone came up with "step workouts" when there is a perfectly good -- not to mention free -- substitute exercise available. It's called "climbing the stairs". If you like, you can always don bright fuschia leotards and step on, off and on the same step over and over again. I'm sure whomever is in the stairwell for the purposes of actually going somewhere will not mind. They may even join you, since it looks like so much fun. There! I just saved you a ton of money.
Whatever path you take to fitness, I give you all my best wishes. I can also give you the name of a very good chiropractor.
(c) 2001 Dominique Millette, All rights reserved
Back to DAMusings directory
Lonesome George: one hot tortoise
The secret social life of plants
Back to school tips... for parents
Call of the wild: huh?
Rage, rage, everywhere a rage
You like it? Let's talk!
[email protected]