...ouch...?

Oh. I guess I should introduce you... this is my WONDERFUL friend, Jodi Orlando. She's a circuit trainer. She likes to go from machine to machine to stretching to abs (do I have an "ab"?) back to machines... ME? I like to climb onto one of the beastly machines and... veg. I like to people watch. And you may have heard (or... possibly experienced) that I like to talk while I'm working out. For me, moving from place to place is only more painful, I can't CONSTANTLY MONITOR MY HEART RATE (I need to get a grip on this one), and I can't keep PERFECT track of the time if I'm distracted.

I'm sure many people out there are psycho about their exercise routines. Right? Do I have an amen? ...is this microphone even on...?

So last night I went to the gym for the first time in... FOREVER. Or August. I believe it was August. There are a couple of things that are GOOD about not going to the gym in forever. 1) You're so out of shape you can put in a minimal effort and your heart rate is through the roof and 2) you get a GOOD sweat in. It's odd- as I get more "in shape" I tend to sweat less. And the sweat I produce is like my little medal I wear around my neck that says "YES I'M FAT BUT LOOK- I'M SWEATY SO YOU CAN'T JUDGE ME." At least that's what's going on in MY head. Most people are probably steering clear of the sweaty fat lady because she probably stinks. (and that's true, too.)

I'm a good observer and while I was working out, I was watching one of the men who was there. He was close to my machine, working out on a mat. I'm sure there's a name for what he was doing but it involved a lot of body movement, stretching, odd positions, standing on his hands... Like, if he wasn't in a gym, someone would have called the authorities. When he was done, the guy next to me struck up a conversation with the "mat guy" about how often he does his routine and how difficult it must be. I really appreciated some of the things this gentleman had to say. I don't think the guy next to me was picking up what Mat Guy was putting down but I was... I took cell-phone notes. The guy next to me was going on about how many different types of exercise he has to do in a week to stay interested and how he has to read AND listen to music AND talk (sound familiar, Amy?) while working out. He said he had noticed that Mat Guy doesn't listen to music, or anything. This guy said "the goal of working out is what...?" The man next to me replied "well, to get into better shape." Mat Guru said "that's correct but within that, it's about challenging your resistance. Consistency is part of that resistance. Maybe silence could be part of your resistance." Consistency. That really struck a chord with me. I can go to the gym, faithfully, in wonderful spurts but will I be able to look back on my life and say "I was consistent in my efforts towards better health?" And is there a bigger picture to this whole exercise/fitness thing? Not just the "how much weight have I lost" part of it but also the "what am I learning and how am I growing" part of it.

Consistency is part of the resistance.

Think about that one today.

I'm sore. But I'm going again tonight so suck it, Jodi Orlando.