Published: June 27, 2008 11:27 am            

In new exercise routines, pain hits before gain

This morning, I am feeling the burn, literally. On the advice of some people who work out regularly, I tried out this new exercise yesterday. Rather than ease into it, I worked too hard, and now it hurts to move.

This is why people don’t exercise as much as they should.

Sometimes, it hurts.

It’s not that I never exercise. Far from it. One doesn’t get a lot of physical activity just typing in front of a computer screen, so I bought a machine that gives a full body workout. Unfortunately, my stomach still isn’t shrinking enough to suit me.

My new personal trainer, our office manager, told me that one has to target areas like belly fat and love handles. So I tried this new exercise to do just that, and it apparently worked. Not that my stomach shrunk, but I’m measuring success by the amount of pain I’m in. It hurts for me to turn from left to right.

“It’s just because you haven’t worked those muscles before,” she told me. “Are you ready to work out?”

I know there’s the saying no pain, no gain, but all I seem to be gaining is the pain.

“One more set, one more song,” she chirped.

Being the semi-competitive person I am, I wasn’t going to throw in the towel unless I absolutely had to do so.

Eventually, I had to while she was still burning the calories away. As the dance music played, she kept on feeling the burn, and I hunted for any food I might have in my desk, particularly a stray bag of chips.

I suppose it’s my own fault that my stomach is in the shape that it’s in. You can only eat so many Whoppers and sausage biscuits before something has to give, namely my stomach. Those chips I love so well (any kind, any brand) aren’t helping much either. I’m a growing fellow, but it’s only my belly that’s getting bigger.

Everywhere in the media, we see how obesity is overtaking the country. Even children are suffering from an obesity epidemic. We’re getting bigger. For some folks, this is not a concern, but for people like me who watch their money, it’s an important situation.

I have lots of clothes, some of which I’ve had since college. They still look nice and, for the most part, fit, and I don’t want to spring for a new wardrobe because I let my stomach get too big. Some people might consider that cheap. I prefer to think of myself of as frugal. I’ve had to make that distinction for many years, but in this case, clothes generally aren’t cheap, especially dress pants and ties.

So it began again today, even though it hurt to get out of bed. I thought it would be good for me to take the day off from exercising. I thought about relaxing and maybe rewarding myself for the pain I’m in with a big hamburger. That’s a big no on all counts.

Next thing you know, I’ll be on a diet. Instead of eating hamburgers and fries, I’ll be eating salads that only have lettuce and without any salad dressing. I may even have to start eating tofu, and I’m not sure what tofu is. But, it’s not meat. I may be forced to give up my beloved potato chips and eat vegetables and not the ones I like to eat.

I need to calm down. I was starting to work myself into a panic. I just won’t order the extra large fries anymore. That should help some.

I was back at it again today, working and grimacing through pain. I’m not sure what’s worse, working out when my muscles are hurting or listening to the dance music that is supposed to get me to move. Let’s just say dance music and dancing are not my forte, but neither are some forms of exercise.

I suppose it’s a good thing that I’m making sure I stay fairly trim and fit because it could come in handy one day, you know concerning my health and all that sort of stuff. Still, the pain of exercise and sometimes watching what I eat are a lot to go through to make sure my pants fit.

Mark Blevins is a Princeton Times reporter. Contact him at mblevins@ptonline.net.

        

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