Workout Woes

True confession: I don’t like to exercise.

The reason is quite simple. I don’t like getting sweaty, and so the thought of getting sweaty on purpose just makes no sense to my brain. You can laugh, it’s quite alright. I laugh at myself all the time.

I have, however, been trying to overcome my dislike of exercising and make it a more consistent and ‘normal’ part of my life over the past few months. But sometimes I do something that makes me question whether or not this whole thing is really worth it. Ever have those moments when exercising?? This week is a perfect example.

On Monday, my friend Shanda (because they say it always makes it better to drag someone else into this “recreational activity” with you) and I went to the gym for a “strength and endurance” class. We’ve been before and liked it, but this week there was a substitute teacher (**warning bells go off in the brain – run awaaaaayyyyyyy**). She smiled so sweetly and then said “ladies, tonight we’re going to do squats!!!” What she failed to mention is that we were going to do every single kind of squat imaginable for a solid HOUR. With weights, without weights. On the bench, off the bench. While we were doing arm exercises. While we were doing crunches. (Don’t think that’s possible? It is.)

All of that to say that Tuesday morning arrived, and Shanda and I could barely walk. Wednesday wasn’t much better. We tried stretching, walking around our office building, staying still….but the pain continued relentlessly. I decided that the best way to loosen them up was to exercise more, so I headed back to the gym Wednesday evening for a water aerobics class. In my brain I saw it as a workout without all the pain, and the water may even help stretch out my very tight, sore muscles. And it worked, at first – while in the water it was absolutely lovely. Painless, buoyant, fun….brilliant, I thought.

And then I got out of the water. If I could barely walk before, I was hobbling now. Great. I came home, moaning as I got out of the car. I made it into the bathtub and soaked my aching body in really hot water and epsom salt for a little while, and discovered a tiny bit of relief. Today I am sore, but at least I can walk…..sort of. I’ve determined that I’m not yet ready for a solid hour of squats….I’m gonna need a few more classes to build up to that point. Although I’m not entirely convinced my body will ever again aquiesce to that kind of torture. It may just commit mutiny and bail. If it did, then at least I would have an excuse to leave the class early.

The good news? It’s gonna be a few more days before I can run again! The bad news? Now I’m off schedule. Oh well.

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