One giant gym response
Jan. 16th, 2003 08:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vicarzI do run on about the gym a great deal, but I really don't try to shove it down anyone's throat. Let me know if I do, it's not on purpose (I may not notice subtle hints btw). The gym is a big part of my life, a hobby / interest if you will, so I talk about it a great deal. It’s that or politics, and it’s difficult to talk about politics right now on the local, national, or especially the international level without sounding angry or depressed, so I avoid that.
I wish I knew more people outside the gym that were as fascinated by it as I am. Color me caught between worlds. I don’t know about the gym being filled with preachy people though…I’ve never been pressured in the gym myself, except by myself.
January is a big 'diet' or eat-healthy month, with resolutions and holiday excess being all the rage. I gave into the resolution fever for a few reasons – well one, I was getting out of shape. I had shifted to boxing and ditched much of my weight-lifting regime. Cardio was 100% eliminated outside of class. I was going to the gym less often, and had really let go in terms of soda, candy, and alcohol. The new job, worry about that new job, and my own weakness led me to becoming a soda-holic for a while, even stooping to diet soda. It had to stop, and now was as good a time as any. Resolutions aren’t a bad idea, however arbitrary the date. I like anything that pushes us to better any aspect of ourselves.
It’s true I don’t ‘have’ to work out in the gym, that my body will serve its desk sitting, hallway walking, computer typing purposes perfectly well in many other possible permutations of flesh – but I rather like this one. I know I get a bit nutty about the gym, but motivating myself to be there is a real challenge. I exaggerate things to keep me working there, for often I would much rather watch that Simpson’s re-run, or eat a pizza (the whole thing). Still, I enjoy the benefits the gym gives me: strength, stamina, high energy levels, endorphin buzz, and a rockin feeling of accomplishment.
I don’t need to learn to fight either, but I really have a problem with being picked on and made fun of. I also don’t like seeing others go through similar treatment, so I like to be able to step into as many situations as I can to assist others facing similar types of harassment as I can. The more fit I am, the better I am able to fight. The more I study fighting styles, the more fit I become. While neither fitness nor fighting ability necessarily should matter in this social technological environment, it’s clear to me that they both do.
In my case the little bit of 'looks' that I do posses are related to my fitness level. I’ve seen too many studies that show how many attributions are made about people on the basis of physical appearance to not try and work the system as best I can. No one has ever found me physically attractive when I wasn't in crazy club gear, mostly naked, or doing something cheesy like showing off my pecs. With these looks and a mouth and poor social skills like mine, I need all the help I can get.
I wish I knew more people outside the gym that were as fascinated by it as I am. Color me caught between worlds. I don’t know about the gym being filled with preachy people though…I’ve never been pressured in the gym myself, except by myself.
January is a big 'diet' or eat-healthy month, with resolutions and holiday excess being all the rage. I gave into the resolution fever for a few reasons – well one, I was getting out of shape. I had shifted to boxing and ditched much of my weight-lifting regime. Cardio was 100% eliminated outside of class. I was going to the gym less often, and had really let go in terms of soda, candy, and alcohol. The new job, worry about that new job, and my own weakness led me to becoming a soda-holic for a while, even stooping to diet soda. It had to stop, and now was as good a time as any. Resolutions aren’t a bad idea, however arbitrary the date. I like anything that pushes us to better any aspect of ourselves.
It’s true I don’t ‘have’ to work out in the gym, that my body will serve its desk sitting, hallway walking, computer typing purposes perfectly well in many other possible permutations of flesh – but I rather like this one. I know I get a bit nutty about the gym, but motivating myself to be there is a real challenge. I exaggerate things to keep me working there, for often I would much rather watch that Simpson’s re-run, or eat a pizza (the whole thing). Still, I enjoy the benefits the gym gives me: strength, stamina, high energy levels, endorphin buzz, and a rockin feeling of accomplishment.
I don’t need to learn to fight either, but I really have a problem with being picked on and made fun of. I also don’t like seeing others go through similar treatment, so I like to be able to step into as many situations as I can to assist others facing similar types of harassment as I can. The more fit I am, the better I am able to fight. The more I study fighting styles, the more fit I become. While neither fitness nor fighting ability necessarily should matter in this social technological environment, it’s clear to me that they both do.
In my case the little bit of 'looks' that I do posses are related to my fitness level. I’ve seen too many studies that show how many attributions are made about people on the basis of physical appearance to not try and work the system as best I can. No one has ever found me physically attractive when I wasn't in crazy club gear, mostly naked, or doing something cheesy like showing off my pecs. With these looks and a mouth and poor social skills like mine, I need all the help I can get.
