June 05 2008 / (2)

Unfit.

I've been writing on me3dia.com since the beginning of 2001. If you read through all the archives, once of the most common post topics would surely be my desire to get in shape.

Two things are going on there. One is, I really do need to work out more, and lose about 10-15 pounds. It's a goal, one I work at intermittently.

The other is that I'm mentally comparing my relative fitness to when I was 18, and wishing I could get back to those days. I was in great shape once upon a time (though even then, the cracks were beginning to appear).

The thing is, even if and when I do get into shape, when I achieve my goal, I'm still not going to be 18 again. Not at 33. My knees are shot (they were showing their wear even back then), my back is stiff, and there's no way in hell I'll have the stamina to play ultimate frisbee for three hours at a time anymore. I'm coming to terms with that. It's not a fun realization, but it's a good and important one.

I went to bed the Tuesday after Memorial Day with a sore shoulder. Not at all surprising, considering I spent the long weekend prepping the backyard for a new sidewalk (tore down part of a fence, pulled weeds and broke down the dead hedge, moved bricks); moving around 4x4" fenceposts, bags of dirt and concrete; and digging holes for the new fence. But the activity that caused the soreness? Playing tennis and bowling on the Wii at Sandy's on Monday afternoon.

Yep, playing a videogame. It's happened before; when Naz got his Wii, he got me to play for a couple hours, covering pretty much all of Wii Sports (except boxing, for lack of the equipment). The next day, I had trouble moving my arm in certain ways, a fact I discovered when finishing up in the bathroom, unfortunately. The soreness lasted for days, and made me worry that I was in far worse shape than I thought.

Oddly, I don't encounter such wear and tear when I bowl for real, so my guess is that the lack of resistance with the Wii is somehow the culprit -- maybe it leaves me more likely to overextend or give my muscles "whiplash" or something.

Not sure how to combat this particular physical insult. I'm not going to buy a Wii, which is the obvious solution (if I play it more often, it won't hurt anymore!). My bike will be getting more of a workout this year, especially with gas above $4 (yes, that's painful even for us Prius drivers). Maybe push-ups and sit-ups? I dunno. But more physical activity certainly won't hurt. I just need to pace myself remember not to push myself to reach the glory days of '93. Fit for '08 is good enough.

2 Comments / Leave a comment

June 05 2008, 09:47 PM / veronica

Yup...with gas more like $4.50/gallon, we're getting an attachment for Ella to 'ride' behind us during the summer months.

June 06 2008, 10:44 AM / Eamon

What you need is a challenge.





    

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Andrew Huff is editor and co-founder of Gapers Block. He writes ...well, just about anything, for a living. Email him at a.huff@this domain. The site's RSS feed is here.

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