Feelin' the Burn

I've recently discovered that where there used to be a Lutheran Church in my neighborhood, there's now a rather half-assed attempt at a park. It's got some planters, a few trees, an arch in the middle of nowhere, and some exercise equipment. No word yet on how the Lutherans in the area feel about all this.

The exercise equipment in particular caught my eye, as I'm currently in the middle of my 547th attempt to try and get serious about fitness. They've got this stair climber machine, a sort of upright bench press machine, a chin up bar, and some other stuff, including something called "Tai Chi Wheels" whose exact purpose I have yet to divine.

Now, I have a rather old elliptical at home, and I use it almost daily, in between getting repairs done on it. And I've noticed some difference, like increased energy throughout the day, but I don't feel like I'm actually burning any fat using it. So for the last few days, I've been attacking the stuff in that park, especially the ones that work on upper body strength.

The first time I tried it, I was thoroughly depressed by my performance. I couldn't do a single pull up, though that hardly surprised me, I couldn't even do pull ups in High School, much to my gym teacher's chagrin. The most I got out of that was some popping sounds as my spine decompressed from having my weight taken off it. Situps were likewise a fiasco, I think I did about five. I managed about 10 or 15 pushups, which heartened me a bit, and I did pretty good with the bench press thing (though I didn't realize till later that I had it on  the lowest possible setting).

So the last couple days, I went all out. I did as much as I could make myself do at each station, walked about a mile, then did it again. I could really feel it last night, and I was sure I'd wake up today sore as hell, a sure sign I pushed myself. And I do feel a bit sore in spots, but not what I was expecting.

So, I guess I'll just have to keep pushing myself. This time, I will get rid of that spare tire around my waist, and this time, I mean it. Just like every other time.

-Long Days and Pleasant Nights