Throughout my life I have always stayed pretty active – baseball, football, tennis, weightlifting, and other outdoor hobbies that often required a physical component. There were periods here and there where I wasn’t active on a consistent basis, but the only extended time I wasn’t physically active was a year of recovery following a forklift accident, and the past five years, due in large part to my back to back to back mental health crises.
I had a date a couple days ago with some old friends. We haven’t hung out much over the last six plus years, as just surviving day to day was my biggest goal for some time, but I always wanted to get back to hanging out with them. As I dug my compression gear out of the darkest corner of my bureau drawer, I thought to myself, “ will they want to be a part of my life anymore?” This same question, this nagging doubt persisted as I slipped on my workout shoes, pulled my hair back, and shook the dust off my old, Gold’s Gym gloves.
Putting my gear on felt good, right, and if I’m being honest, amazing…a good sign.
First up, a ride on my Pro-Form. I bought the Pro-Form in 2016, not long after we purchased the house where we live now. I love my Pro-Form, it helps me get my legs ready for biking season, and though not as effective as an actual bike ride, I can use my stationary bike year round, in any type of weather, unlike my mountain bike.
The ride was short, only 10 minutes. I could have done more, but I want to ease myself back into the routine, plus, I walked a couple miles earlier that morning when I went grocery shopping. Doing too much too soon can lead to injury, a risk I’m not interested in taking, so 10 minutes of cardio is where I’m going to start.
Up next, a new friend I made a little over a year ago, but first, a little history.
In 1997, I bought a Weider home gym. For close to 30 years it was a fixture in my various home gyms, and was a constant companion during my workout routines. About 18 months ago, the lower bench arm broke off from metal fatigue and rust. It was a sad day for me, but I also saw an opportunity.
Since my senior year in high school, I wanted a Bowflex. What can I say? I thought it looked cool and the video was pretty slick for the early 90s. Now that I was an adult, had a job, and some disposable income, it was time to make my teenage dream a reality, so I ordered the coveted Bowflex. Outside of a couple of basic workouts, today would be the first real workout I had with my new piece of equipment.
The Bowflex is different than my Weider, quieter, smoother, but still effective. I miss the sound of the metal plates clanging together, but at the same time, the quiet resistance of the new machine let me focus on my breathing and my range of motion, getting each exercise as close to perfect as possible. The routine was simple, but it still got my blood flowing, and caused me to break a modest sweat, another good sign.
Bench press, done. Flies, done. Forward lat pulldowns, Reverse lat pull downs, both done. Trap pulldowns, done. My shoulders and arms burning from the exertion, it was time to call it a workout.
45 minutes from cardio to the last repetition, and I was done and the answer had come, yes, they were happy to hang out with me again, and I was grateful for their time.
In the coming months a lot is going to change. I left my position with a company I admire and respect and went back to a previous position I held with another company. I need to have maximum flexibility with my schedule because we are going to be moving, and I need to be able to focus on packing, and getting the house ready to sell.
You may be asking, “Moving, where are you moving?”
Keeping the answer simple, we are moving to Canada. The wherefores and whys I’ll save for another blog, but this move has been a long time coming, with more than a year of planning to get everything going.
When we set out on our Canadian adventure, I want to be in the best shape possible, both mentally and physically, and the only way to get to that point is through hard work and a big commitment of time, so my schedule needed to change to reflect this commitment.
I don’t know the future, all I know is where I want to be, and to get there is to take the first step, and that first step was getting together with my old friends.
Regards, John
Uncommon Karma 