Exercising Hurts So Good

03.02.2009 9:30PM

Where in the World is D Today?

Sitting, stretching sore muscles.



Today I joined a gym. My body has been craving exercise. I need the movement, the heart pumping out-of-breathness that comes with exercise. I need it for both good physical and mental health, especially mental health. I can feel the good endorphins racing through my body even as I write. Nothing is good as a physical exertion high. OK, maybe one thing but I dare not even think about that, lest the good juju I got going right now vanish. Back to the gym......

The first thing I must tell you is I was the full and complete embodiment of "Free Entertainment" tonight. I did two classes tonight. The first was Hi/Low. I saw them warming up and thought, "I can do that! It'll be a piece of cake." The warm up was a series of aerobic moves I've done a a million times. Then the class started for real!

Turns out that is class was one of those never stopping, one move or pattern builds on the next. It didn't help that many of the moves started on weak beats and had very irregular patterns. This was definitely one of the times having a music background was to my detriment because none of it made musical sense to me. And OH YEAH, The class is in Chinese! I'm sure many of the people in the class were thinking, "We've seen a black guy with no rhythm AND Terets. COOL!" Fortunately I was on an end and not in the middle of things, lest I hurts someone. My one consolation was that there was one guy that was only marginally better than me, And he WAS in the middle of things. So I felt a little better thinking he was taking the heat off me just a little. There was one nice lady that came to me at the end of class and encouraged me to keep coming and that I would figure it out in time. She was nice and helpful and as I was trying to make my escape, she basically made me stay for the next class, Body Pump.

Now I am a man who knows his limits. I have not exercised in 2 months, doing too much my first time back is asking for trouble. But that lady was so nice and we she started getting weights out for me I just couldn't say no. Once she got me set up, she burnt out. What the heck!? So while I was a total spaz before, I did break a sweat and get my heart rate up. Mission accomplished. So I did the body pump without incident. I've done it before and don't really need to speak Chinese to follow. Then the coolest part of my experience happened.

OK, before I go into this cool experience I have to say for the record, this is the Cleanest gym I've ever been in. It doesn't even smell like sweat. It has no smell at all. How cool is that. And when I was in class, at no point did I ever feel like I would loose my footing. (Anybody who has been to Key Lago, formerly Gold's Gym in Columbia will appreciate what I'm saying.) I've got my new shoes, my feet are feeling good, I've got a good sweat happenin', and I go up stairs to the locker room to change. They give you a towel,locker and key automatically when you come in thank you very much. I would normally just wear my gym close out but I've got this what are they going to think of the foreigner if I do that. I'm thinking I hate group showers just about as much as I hate spiders. But I'm willing to take one for Team America, more specifically Black America. (I can remember being called dirty just because I was Black as kid in the 60's so I'm kinda sensitive to that perception.) So when in Rome.....

I disrobe wrap my towel around me and go into the shower room....... OMG!!!! There is this huge sauna in the middle of the room. I seem huge at the time. I have to admit that I didn't look very hard because there were naked me sitting around the edge. But it was cool take my word for it. Then I look for the showers. Again, OMG!!! Not only are there private showers, but the have curtains! Say it with me people, AWESOME!!!! After sign of relief quickly followed by enthusiasm, I get in the shower. Nice nonslip stone floor, towel rake above and out of the way of the water stream, And a Soap and shampoo dispenser...... I love this place, truly I do. I stood in the shower easily for ten minutes. I haven't talked about the shower, such that it is, in my apartment, but suffice it to say, it's horrible. And any body who knows me, knows I LOVE taking showers. So I had multiple showergasms today. You have no idea how much that one thing made me so happy. I don't care what the membership fees are, the shower rock. And by the way, the fees aren't anymore than I was paying in the U.S. This place is first class!

Tonight I will sleep well. I am tired and can barely keep my eyes open and I still need to walk home. I anticipate the stiffness that comes with exertion. That's OK, because A nice hot shower awaits me after each workout! Awesome!

Peace