Category: Exercise

  • The Treadmill and Me

    I’ve gained ten pounds in the last few weeks. Why? A deep and abiding affection for Simply Lemonade, Nabisco Ginger Snaps, and ice-cream (any brand will do) had nothing to do with the extra weight. I blame cold weather. Why? Because I’m a fair weather runner. I love running shirtless, and that requires sunshine, temperatures…

  • On Becoming a Gym Rat: Revisited

    January is the month for resolutions, and for lots of people, getting more exercise tops the list. We year-round gym rats see the influx of new faces every January. Some will stick around, but in a matter of weeks, most will give up and quit coming. Read on if you want to be around next…

  • An Update on My Healthy Lifestyle

    Two years ago, because the monthly membership fee was cheaper than paying by the class for Zumba, I joined a gym. To make sure I didn’t pay for something I never used, I got the most expensive plan available. Having never set foot in a weight room in my life, I figured the weekly sessions…

  • Masculine Enhancement

    Listening to talk radio on long drives keeps me from falling asleep. Depending on traffic, a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh can keep me seething for a good fifty miles. Though his partisan rants are intended to amuse, the real entertainment comes from some of the ads — especially the ads for masculine enhancement. For the…

  • Gotta Dance

    I don’t know about everyone else, but dancing is in my genes. No, I’m not talking about an inherited ability to trip the light fantastic. I can hold my own on the dance floor, thank you very much, but would never win any contests. My lack of talent, however, in no way diminishes the joy…

  • Addicted!

    Exercise has never really been my cup of tea. In the past, there may have been activities I enjoyed that happened to be good exercise. The dance floor at Johnny Angel’s kept me thin through my early twenties. Trust me, my interest in dancing had nothing to do with exercise. With each passing year, the…

  • A Little Operation

    Tomorrow I’m having surgery. Nothing serious. The surgeon will repair the hernia I’ve had in my groin for more than twenty years. It’s never bothered me, so the advice has always been not to worry about it. But it’s bigger, thanks to my gym routines, and now that I’m 55, putting off the surgery no longer…

  • Good News from My Village of Doctors

    Everyone knows it takes a village to raise a child. Growing older requires a village… of doctors. In the last few weeks I’ve had appointments with my dentist, hygienist, optometrist, periodontist, internist, dermatologist, retina specialist, and my colorectal surgeon. Today I saw the surgeon about a hernia repair I’ve needed for at least twenty years. Don’t…

  • The Longest Night

    Winter is my least favorite time of year. I hate cold weather, and the shorter days trigger my Seasonal Affective Disorder. Throw in all the holidays that revolve around food and a tendency to carb-load, and the biggest gift I get every year is an extra twenty pounds–or more–that I spend the next twelve months…

  • I Gotta New Attitude

    When I joined the gym last fall, I really didn’t think I’d stick with it. Nothing about my track record gave me reason to think otherwise. After a few weeks of sporadic and half-hearted use, any home exercise equipment I ever purchased went unused. I don’t know what made me think I’d go to the…