Finally. And there was much rejoicing. By me. At the opening we had pizza and beer with the staff. When I signed my lease, it included free access to a gym. Then they took away the gym without lowering the rent. Now the gym is back and I am going to get some MONSTER TRAPS. I also want to be able to do that thing where you make grotesque ripples across your pecs at will.
But seriously, I have been thin all my life and it would be nice to have some muscles for once. I like fitness in general because it is the one area in my life where specific efforts are rewarded with specific results. Progress is natural and occurs in discrete parts. You do what the experts say and you get rewarded. You can even choose among experts and their varied advice. You can mix and match advice, using skepticism and critical thinking. Using previous knowledge, you can evaluate the evidence and decide whether to rely on the lore of fitness or the high-quality, controlled trials with an experimental design. You can trust a former elite athlete who later wrote a book (not ideal), or you can trust the research coming out of universities and exercise scientists. You can choose exercises that fit your life and your special concerns about your heart or your lower back, your endurance, your weight problem, et cetera.
Personally I just want to be fit enough to continue doing the things I already like to do, especially biking, camping, urban exploring, tree climbing, ultimate frisbee, and so on. And it wouldn’t hurt to balance out any excess right arm strength that may have resulted from my, um, lifestyle.
I have even been using the elliptical, a machine I previously thought was only for ladies. It shows you your wattage. I find I can comfortably put out 170 W for ten minutes or so. Watching the wattage fluctuate with effort is not discouraging like watching the "calories burned" meter. Putting out ten minutes of effort only to realize you have "burned" a handful of peanuts is not a fun realization.
pseudoisaac 