Jamming at the Gym!

Some of my friends on fb have been enquiring as to why I have 'silent' on fb of late. The reason is hardly magical, mysterious or morose. It's more in the region of the modern mundane, to wit, evening sessions at the gym.
With other preferred modes of exercise (think, walking & yoga) not making it to my self-motivation list, the walled-in, mechanised exercise drome prepped up by pumped-up men & women professional trainers seemed to be the only way out of a sedentary slide into shapelessness.
Armed with a fair degree of determination I went ahead & enrolled myself in early August. The one-hour fitness profiling undid my hitherto fit feeling the very next day when I was physically tired & mentally groggy. This, combined with work beyond usual hours ensured I dutifully absented myself for over two weeks after signing-up.
Aherm. Conscience, coupled with consideration for the money I had invested in health & fitness, stemming from a healthy respect for well-being, nudged me briskly back into the cool, colourful, steel & glass spaces where professionally trained men & women smiled & gently but firmly took the novices through the paces.
So that's where I have been spending most of my work evenings these last two weeks.

And ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls, I am now ALL admiration for you folks who are in the modelling, film, well any profession where the fundamental premise is prime physical fitness. I see 'normal' (the corporate types, housewives, retired personnel, students etc.) men & women around me doing feats with machines & weights which seem jaw-droppingly formidable. I cannot BEGIN to imagine what professional models, actors, bodybuilders, security agents & the like do to maintain & sustain thier physical perfection.

The trainers (all in their teeming, towering, testesterone twenties, btw) on the floor who assist us wet-behind-the-ears beings tells me in a PT master's tone: "No, no, not 5 pounds, take 7.5'' when I pick up the 2nd lightest dumbells. Feels quite bad. When I go for the machine-enabled routines, I feel even more bemused. The person doing it before me (an average Joe) was attuned to 50 pounds. I set mine to 20 & then quickly to 15. Tell myself "early days yet". And then I think of the comment a personal trainer made (in the trial one-day session) "all loose, madam" & equally quickly sounded "but you have maintained well'. Ha! Loose & well-maintained, indeed! Reminded me of a sagging sack of sodden spuds.

But yes, I have increased my level & pace on the treadmill. yay!!

Increasing speed or level on EFX though is more of a bleak proposition.

Whew, DOES it take serious mindmuscle power & sheer fortitude to grin & bear the pulls & puffs & stretches & weights to pull off a perfect figure - be it brawn or size zero!

Methinks it easier being an intellectual heavyweight than a muscular one. Give me TS Eliot & Beckett anyday!

But yes, more power to all the gym visionaries & the increasing population of trainers. We need more of you now & going forward, as open spaces get more clogged & roads unsafe to take walks in. Keep up the good work & get more of us into shape!